THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With sunglasses riding jauntily high on his forehead, and the by-now familiar smile radiant on his face, Resul Pookutty - whose work in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ won him instant fame as well as the CAS, BAFTA and the Oscar awards - landed in the city on Friday to a rousing welcome.
A huge crowd led by Ministers Paloli Mohammed Kutty, M.A. Baby, K.P. Rajendran and Binoy Viswam was present at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to receive Pookutty and his family on Friday afternoon. Shortly afterwards, the celebrity sound engineer was whisked off to the VJT Hall for a public reception organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.
"I’m happy to be considered an artist in an area like sound mixing which is usually looked upon as a technical thing. A million thanks,” he said in his short speech.
On the stage, Pookutty obliged photographers by holding aloft the golden Oscar and BAFTA statuettes. The colourful, but brief, function was marked by the presence of four Ministers and other dignitaries, but obviously it was rarely a moment for long speeches. It was poet O.N.V. Kurup who spoke on behalf of the public.
“Resul Pookutty has brought pride to India and the small village of Anchal. He has brought sound mixing to the attention of the world,” ONV said. He said that he had first come across Pookutty’s work in ‘Beyond the Soul’, directed by Rajeev Anchal. ONV also cited the examples of Satyajit Ray and Adoor Gopalakrishnan who effectively blended creativity and technology to add meaning to visuals in their films.
Pookutty, accompanied by wife Babin Shadiya and children Rayan and Salna, left for Anchal afterwards.