Resul Pookutty, the maverick sound designer, who created a sensation of sorts two years ago after bringing the Oscar and BAFTA glory to India, is more than just a technician. He’s a versatile sound designer who feels that his moment of glory has just begun and winning international acclaim at an early stage of his career doesn’t mean that he’ll stop hitting the high notes.

In fact, he wants to cash in on his fame and branch out in several creative fields. “Soon after the Oscars, I received letters from across the country seeking financial help because people thought that A.R. Rahman and I had won billions of rupees along with the Oscar, which was not true because the Oscars don’t include prize money. There were hundreds of letters pouring in — for jobs, medical treatment, education. I was deeply affected by all that and wanted to reach out to the masses,” he says.

Certainly, Resul is having the time of his life. At this moment the spotlight is once again trained on him for his latest autobiography Shabdatharapadham (The Milky Way of Sound) in Malayalam co-authored by writer Baiju Natarajan and published by Penguin Books.

Pookutty autographs his book (top) for fans

The book, which has already sold 8,000 copies in India, traces Resul’s journey from his early childhood days spent in Kerala, to majoring in Sound Recording & Engineering from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, and then to winning the Oscar in the technical category for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire.

“When I received the offer to write this book, I laughed it off and kept delaying it for a month. I didn’t think at that point of time that my story was worth telling but my publisher thought otherwise. They insisted that the story of my struggle would motivate young people,” he says. The English version of the book is still being worked on and will be ready in the next three months.

That’s not all. The 38-year-old sound designer wants to use his stardom and his youth icon tag to reach out to the masses. “It feels great when youngsters acknowledge my talent. It shows that this generation is willing to know more about sound technology,” he says humbly at the launch of the book at Crossword Bookstore, Mumbai. But he also adds that he gets sleepless nights nowadays because “post the Oscar glory, expectations are sky-high and people will not accept shoddy work from me.”

Writing the book was a challenge in itself. “The biggest challenge was to write about my craft because Indian cinema lacks a serious book on sound technology. Sadly, in this movie-mad country what matters is commercial success. Unlike the West, technical excellence in films is hardly recognised. A sound designer is as important to a film as are the rest of the cast because he gives the final texture to the sound.”

What’s also keeping Pookutty busy are back-to-back Indian and international film projects. He has a punishing schedule of mixing and dubbing sound for Endhiran (in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi), a Rs 100 crore magnum-opus by S. Shankar starring Rajnikanth and Aishwarya Rai.

Whether it’s recording sounds in a dumpyard (top) or even capturing the crackling sound of flickering candles (above) for Endhiran, Pookutty is a perfectionist to the core

Next on the cards is Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra: 1 and then an untitled English film by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Pookutty’s also excited about meeting director Danny Boyle who is eager to work with him for another film. Among Resul’s other international projects, is an American independent film, Walk Away, that he has just wrapped up and two more projects for which he will start work soon.

In Endhiran, he has tried to create new sounds because it is a science-fiction film. He explains, “I am using a lot of new software in this film. I have tried to think out-of-the-box and have captured even the slightest sound of a small fly to bring out a certain kind of buzzing sound.” For Ra: 1, too, a Bollywood superhero film directed by Anubhav Sinha and produced by Shah Rukh Khan, he is using a lot of techno sounds. “It’s a dream project and I am experimenting with a lot new technology,” he elaborates.

It’s his perfectionist nature which makes him stand out experts believe. Says director-actor Rajat Kapoor who gave Pookutty a break in the film Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One in 1997: “What sets him apart is his vision for every project. He adapts well to a director’s vision and at the same time leaves his own mark.”

What are his biggest strengths? Director Feroz Abbas Khan, who worked with Pookutty in Gandhi, My Father in 2007, says, “Resul is not an easy person to work with because he fights for his idea of the perfect sound. He is extraordinarily prolific and versatile. Technology is at his finger-tips and he believes sound is an art. In my film, he was constantly looking out for new sounds.” He adds: “He wanted to get the perfect texture in Gandhi’s voice right from his youth to his old age, which involved a lot of micro- phoning and multi-track recording. He would work for hours to get the right sound.”

Director Sanjay Gupta who worked with Pookutty in Musafir, Zinda, Dus Kahaniyaan and Woodstock Villa considers him his “friend and biggest critic because he understands cinema well”. Says Gupta: “When we worked together on Musafir he demanded that he be allowed to read the script. It took me by surprise because no other technician in Bollywood ever wanted to read the script. He is honest in his opinions and I always discuss my projects with him.” Gupta is looking forward to work with him in two of his forthcoming projects — Miltey Hain directed by Meghna Gulzar and a yet untitled film that he will direct.

(Top) The Oscar winner, Pookutty relaxes with his family; (above) Pookutty and A.R. Rahman pose with their Slumdog Millionaire Oscars

There’ve been rich dividends for all of Poo-kutty’s efforts. Recently, he added another feather in his cap — he’s been invited to be a voting member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences where he joins the Ivy League of creative artists. Does that mean more Hollywood projects? “I am flooded with international projects and I am happy that Indian talent is being recognised in the West. But I consider working in Indian films a greater challenge. I’ve nothing to prove in Hollywood and whatever I’ve learnt there working with international technicians I want to use in Indian cinema,” he says.

Though sound recording is still his bread and butter, he wants to tap sound technology to its fullest. The first step is doing sound-based installations along with visual artist Kabir Mohanty. Titled ‘Song for an ancient land’ the installation was put up at the Chatterjee & Lal gallery in Mumbai and Galleryske in Bangalore last year. Pookutty used recorded tracks and microphones for the installation. “I always want to do the unusual. My objective is to change the way people listen to sound,” he says.

At a slightly different level, Pookutty is also coming up with a series of gadgets for youth. He has been roped in as the technical advisor of Smart Infocomm (an IT hardware and mobile accessories provider). In India, the company is using Pookutty’s knowledge to make gadgets at affordable prices. He elaborates: “The partnership was an outcome of the desire to create affordable technology for today’s youth because they are our future. I am involved in developing technology that can change and simplify lives.” The company has plans to make its products available through 25 exclusive experience zones across India. The first of these include a Bluetooth enabled headset (Rs 3,350) featuring 16 hours of talk time and a 3-D effect output.

The Oscar winner is also actively involved in social work. His Resul Pookutty Foundation, a non-profit welfare organisation in Mumbai, works in the field of healthcare and education. The foundation has teamed up with the Kerala-based Lakshmi Hospital to provide low-cost treatment and heart surgeries. The Resul Education Society for Unified Learning (RESUL) is working towards dissemination of knowledge among the poor. Says Pookutty, “My basic livelihood comes from my profession. If I can divert the rest for a worthy cause, the larger purpose of having won an Oscar would be served. I was socially committed even prior to Slumdog, only today the scale has gone up.”

Interestingly, another of Resul’s ambitious projects is to develop interiors for a low-cost housing project on the outskirts of Mumbai. Resul will design homes that use technology to make modern living convenient and environment friendly elaborates Menon.

Though he is based in Mumbai today, Resul’s journey from his village Villakaparra in Kollam district of Kerala to films is a story of incredible struggle. Pookutty’s father was a private bus ticket checker. “I grew up in a small village which was devoid of proper healthcare and education. There was no electricity until my 10th standard and I had to walk 6km to school every day.” Incidentally, the road where his ancestral home is in Kerala has been renamed Oscar Junction.

Pookutty graduated from FTII in 1995 and moved to Mumbai thereafter to try his luck in films. In 1997, he got his break in Rajat Kapoor’s Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One. Thereafter there was no looking back with films like Black, Saawariya, Ghajini and Blue. He set up a sound recording studio in Mumbai last year called Canaries Sound Post.

How does he find time for all this? “If you ask a painter how he finds time to paint, he will not be able to answer. My mind is always active and I am a 24x7 thinking sound designer,” he says. He does his film-related work from seven in the evening till late at night and conducts all his meetings during the day. His leisure time is completely devoted to his family — his wife Shadia, two-and-a-half year old daughter Falna and four-and-a-half-year old son Ryan.

So how would he like to be remembered? He says emphatically: “As somebody who makes his voice heard through his work and leaves a mark.