Changing lanes

His distinct understanding of sound has made him a household name in the film industry, but Oscar Award winner, Resul Pookutty says that he wants to further explore the various avenues of filmmaking, including direction and production. Known for casting a musical web with movies like ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, ‘Black’, ‘Musafir’ and ‘Saawariya’, the sound designer is of the opinion that his journey into films will be incomplete if he does not try his hand at everything.

“My ultimate desire is to be a filmmaker as I can incorporate the sounds I want only in my film. Not matter how much I try to convince a person about a sound, it is ultimately their film,” he says. It’s only by being a filmmaker that he can sharpen his craft. Although the sounds will depend on a film, he adds that he wants to direct a human drama.

And this is what drew him to the script of ‘Gour Hari Dastaan – The Freedom File’. Directed by Anant Mahadevan and set to release on August 14, the Hindi film has Resul dubbing for a few dialogues. “Each time I see the scenes, I close my eyes and ears; I can’t handle the Malayalam accent that is very visible!” he laughs. While the director seems happy with the scenes, Resul remains embarrassed. As word spreads that this is his first time dubbing in Hindi, Resul smiles and rejects this. “I dubbed for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ as well.”

Talking about the movie, which stars Vinay Pathak, Konkona Sen Sharma and Tannishtha Chatterjee, he says, “It’s an interesting film and I liked it. When the producer narrated the story to me, I was immensely moved. It rightly sums up things that we ignore. It is a biopic about an Oriya freedom fighter who has to prove to the government who he really is. At least during the time of the British Raj, we knew who our enemy was; but when a freedom fighter says that he has to prove his worth to his own government, we know that we’ve failed as a country.” He adds, “Modern history is something we have glorified and is not something youngsters can relate to anymore. Films like this are capable of changing people; washing them out to make them better people.”

He describes himself as a “global citizen”, saying, “Although there are many things that need to change I wouldn’t be living here if I weren’t happy. I consider myself a global citizen and if I want, I could live elsewhere, somewhere better. There are problems but that doesn’t mean you run away. I’m not a politician or social scientist to comment on the social aspects of society, but it’s important for people to recognise that we are humans, keeping aside religion, politics and everything else.”

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> MetroLife / by Ananya Revanna / DHNS – June 29th, 2015