This is unbelievable. We can’t believe this. Ladies and gentlemen… sorry… I share the stage with two magicians, you know, who created the very ordinary sounds of Bombay, the cacophony of Bombay, into a soul-stirring, artful resonance called SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.
I come from a country and a civilization that gave the universal word. ”.That word is preceded by silence, followed by more silence. That word is “Om.” So I dedicate this award to my country. Thank you Academy, this is not just a sound award, this is history being handed over to me. My sincere and deepest gratitude to my teachers, Danny Boyle, Christian Colson, Paul Ritchie, Pravesh… and everybody who has contributed to this film, Glenn Freemantle and all the sound mixers. I dedicate this to you guys. Thank you, Academy. Thank you very much.” … Resul Pookutty
From his family and friends to the Kerala government - everyone is gearing up to give a warm reception to Oscar winner Resul Pookutty who is on his way to Mumbai. He will arrive from Los Angeles on Thursday.
Resul’s elder brother Byju said that he is coming to attend the first birthday celebration of his daughter Salna. “Salna will be one-year-old on Friday and they are celebrating it in their home in Mumbai. We haven’t decided if someone will go from here (Anchal),” he said.
Byju also said that his brother doesn’t have an immediate plan to visit Kerala. “But the Kerala government has already announced that he would be given a civic reception. And he said that he has got an invitation to visit Dubai for a reception. These are all the immediate plans for him,” he said.
Resul, who won the sound mixing Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, is settled in Mumbai with his wife and two kids. Son Rayan is four.
It was a Shiva temple in his village that hosted Resul Pookutty’s first stage performance.
It’s no surprise now that after winning the Oscar he said it was a Maha Shivaratri gift for the people of his country.
As a child, Resul used to perform at this Shiv temple captivating people with his story-telling skills.
“As a school student he used to perform ‘kathaprasangam’ here. He performed in this temple for the first time,” says Prasad, Member, Temple Committee.
The celebration was spontaneous. The local boy getting the highest honour for any Bollywood technician so far proved to be the icing on the cake.
Babu, owner of the village tea stall, recollects the days when Resul and his friends used to gather at the tea stall and would plan stage shows and performances.
“They used to perform Kathakali, mimicry, film song-based programmes. The high point used to be Onam celebrations. He had a good liking for music, dance and traditional art forms since childhood,” says Babu.
Villagers are proud of Resul’s acceptance speech at the Oscar ceremony.According to Anchal Soman, advocate and local resident, “The words uttered by Pookutty immediately after receiving the award shows how much he is patriotic to our country.”
Everyone is this village is now looking forward to the day when Resul returns.
During his return a grand reception will be organised to honour him and his achievement.
NEW DELHI: President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday joined a host of political leaders in congratulating the Oscar-winning ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ team, especially A R Rahman, saying they have made India proud.
“The President is specially thrilled with the remarkable feat achieved by A R Rahman, Gulzar, Resul Pookutty and making India proud,” a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said.
Music composer A R Rahman and Resul Pookutty became the first Indians to win the much coveted Oscars for music and sound editing.
The Prime Minister “congratulates A R Rahman, Resul Pookutty (sound engineer), Gulzar (lyricist), and entire Slumdog Millionaire team for the success at the Oscars,” a PMO spokesperson said.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee also congratulated the Slumdog team on bringing laurels to India.
The film bagged eight awards including two Oscars for Rahman for Best Original Score and Best Song for the song “Jai Ho”, which was penned by lyricist Gulzar.
Congratulating the team, Congress President Sonia Gandhi said “I am delighted that A R Rehman and Resul Pookutty have won this year’s much coveted Oscars for music and sound editing. They have done India proud, as have all the Indian actors, technicians and support staff who participated in the making of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’”.
