AFTER THE OSCAR - A few Thoughts

The Oscar award had magically transformed tiny Resul Pookutty into a super mega phenomenon. Everywhere he went he was mobbed by thousands of people from all walks of life. TV Channels and newspapers were vying with each other for interviews and oraganisations are competing with each other to shower him with more awards and gifts. I was the witness for two of the occassions of which one of them was a TV Channel's Film Award night. At the jampacked stadium Resul got the biggest standing ovation and cheers even the so called "Super stars" of the Malayalam film industry could have ever imagined.

Reception at Thiruvananthapuram

Oscar and BAFTA awards

It was a very proud moment for me. I, as a Technician was really moved by the reception he got in Kerala - especially witnessing a fellow technician like Resul who remains on the set in the background as an invisible presence is being treated like a superstar. The spotlight and boquets are always reserved only for those who don the greasepaint. Those poor technicians who mould, make and and embellish them are treated as dirt. There are many Satellite TV Channels giving various Film awards - there are many awards for actors - Best Actor , Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting actress, Villain, Comedian, New comer, Best pair, Overall performance etc but NONE for Sound Recordists!

There was once a move made by some of the TV channels even to stop giving awards to technicians like Cinematographers and Editors etc. Their argument was why waste money on those who are behind the screen and the crowds just are not interested in seeing them! They only come to see the stars, the dances and to hear the songs and nothing else. But, strong opposition from Technician's Unions made them to rethink and some of the technicians managed get in the awards lists. Even when Oscar winner's names are published in the newapapers the technician's names are coveniently left out to save space. The full list never gets published! Sometime back even the Oscar telecast people wanted to trim down the length of the Ceremony but dispensing away with the Technical Awards distribution visuals!

Resul with CAS Award

When Resul got the CAS Award, which is a honour given to the Sound Mixers for the their career achievement in Motion Pictures by The Cinema Audio Society consisting of over 550 Sound Mixers and Associates from the Film and Television Industries. The Society was founded to create a proper channel of communication between the related sound crafts and between those instrumental to the production and distribution of film and television soundtracks. The winner can add “CAS” after their names in the film screen credit. The previous achievers include multiple Oscar winners like Ray Dolby, Robert Altman, Jack Solomon, and Walter Murch etc.

This important news item was conveyed by the Audiographers union to all the Print and TV Media houses, but none of them bothered to publish even a line or mention it in their newscasts! Strangely after the Oscars, the very same people were seen running after Resul for a glimpse of him!

This Oscar Award had changed their mindset. It had opened their eyes and the spot light is turned upon the hard working technicians, the unsung heroes of the film Industry. I hope from the next year onward the TV Channels and others will include an Award for the Sound Recordist too !

THE THIRD ONE

It had happened!

Resul had achieved the rare honour of bringing the THIRD OSCAR to India! His acceptance speech at the Oscar ceremony was truly great and bespoke his humility as well as his large heartedness!


All of us from the "BEYOND THE SOUL " team Congratulate him on this rarest of rare achievement!

Ajay ( Editor), R. Babu, Rajeev Anchal (Director) and Oscar Hero Resul

An OSCAR for the INSTITUTE ?

The countdown has begun for the Oscar Awards and Millions of Indians are hopefully waiting for the final announcement for the sake of Two Indian Nominees A.R.Rahman and Resul Pookutty who are slated to win the coveted Award! Already they have won the BAFATA Awards - the British equivalant of the Oscar for Danny Boyle's film Slumdog Millionaire.


Our prayers and well wishes are for both of them and especially to Resul who is our own boy - an Institutewallah!

Though he was my junior we met for the first time during the filming of the English film "BEYOND THE SOUL" Directed by Rajeev Anchal. It seems that as Resul is also from the Anchal neighbourhood he was picked up for the job. Any how it was our first meeting and instantly we became friends. I was really amazed at his patience and dedication to his craft as he minutely analyzed the various sounds into its components and recorded them effectively. After a long time I was shooting a Sync sound on location film ( far from the confines of the Studio floors!) and it was really nice to know the intricacies of live recording in such a noisy atmosphere of our country. The trolleys, cranes, HMI ballasts, paper frames, gels, generators all create their own levels of noises.

The first thing he did was to order out the catering unit to a far off place. He had an assortment of sound proofing rugs carpets etc to dampen the noises at source. He used various types of mikes placed at strategic places and also had an expert boom man to follow the actors. After the shot was taken it was his turn to call for silence on the sets and to record the ambience sounds both in mono and stereo. Altogether we had a nice time working at Trivandrum for that film.

We still keep in touch with each other through e-mails and I just missed meeting him last month while he was in Trivandrum for a felicitation function as I was away on a location shooting.

Listening Resul's Recordings at "BEYOND THE SOUL" Location !

I, along with Millions of Indians wish him and Rahman
Good Luck at The OSCARS!