How often have you paused to think about the scores of people behind the camera that make a film worth a watch? There are a lot of technicians who toil night and day to get the job done perfectly and yet they are rarely acknowledged. We owe it to Slumdog Millionaire and the Academy Awards to talk about one such genius like Resul Pookutty. We admit and also regret that we never tried to know more about him until he picked up the golden trophy. The ace sound designer has worked in movies from Ghajini to Black to Saawaariya and many more.  Shah Rukh Khan’s Big Heart Comes to Play as Oscar-Winner Resul Pookutty Thanks Him For His Generosity Towards Kerala Floods Victims

On his birthday today, let's know a little bit more about Resul Pookutty who is one of the geniuses of our times.

#Hunger strike for acting

Pookutty didn't eat for three days when he couldn't bag the role of a child actor in a Malayalam movie. Speaking to Hindu, he said, "I applied for the role of a child actor after seeing a newspaper advertisement for a movie called Ishtamanu Pakshe (1980). My first professionally clicked photograph was for that application. When I didn’t get a callback, I didn’t eat for three days. I remember my mother felt very bad then. It was her rule that the kids go to bed with a full stomach."

#Shah Rukh and Ra. One

In the same interview, Pookutty revealed that he had told SRK, his walk from his caravan to the studios is worth more than the sound design budget of the film. "The valet of a superstar gets paid three times more than a film’s sound team. When I was doing Ra.One, I had to go to the sets to tell Shah Rukh that a pandal that was set up for him to walk from his caravan to the studio had cost more than the film’s sound design budget. Sound is usually the last thing on the producer’s mind. So the makers resort to libraries. They just don’t have the money to go out and get their own sounds," he had explained.

#FTII in the second attempt

Pookutty joined FTII's sound designing course in the second attempt. He wanted to be a physicist but when he couldn't get into Master's, he did Law. A few of his Physics classmates brought him an ad for FTII's course and he started preparing for it. He was rejected first and then he made it.

#The trophy

Pookutty revealed once that he keeps the Oscar trophy in his bank's locker. At times, he brings it out, polishes it, and then keeps it back there.

#Letters to NGO

Pookutty received so many letters after his oscar for help that he decided to start his own NGO. "Over the last year, so many things happened in my life. I received a huge number of letters from across the country, seeking financial help because many people thought that A.R. Rahman and I have won billions of rupees along with the Oscar, which was false because Oscar awards don't have prize money attached to it," Pookutty told IANS. His NGO takes care of the health of underprivileged kids.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 30, 2020 08:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).