Roaring success

Film Roar: Tigers of Sunderbans that released in October last year is going places. After the film’s nomination in MAAC Awards for special effects, sound designer Resul Pookutty, along with Amrit Pritam, has been nominated for Golden Reel Awards America, taking the film towards another international acclaim.

After scoring an Oscar with Slumdog Millionaire, this nomination, being one of the biggest internationally, adds another feather in the sound designer’s hat.

The film, produced by Abis Rizvi and directed by Kamal Sadanah, was well received by critics as well as masses and was talked about for being one of the first films shot at Sundarbans with several international names as part of the technical crew, including cinematographer Michael Watson of The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons fame and one of Asia’s leading VFX agencies, famous for their work in Hollywood films like The Amazing Spiderman, Harry Potter, Ghost Rider and Resident Evil, among others.

What makes the Golden Reel a big deal for the Oscar winning sound designer is that it is judged by the best of his fraternity, and since he is nominated in the Foreign Film category, he is up against the best in the world.

Resul says, “There’s nothing beyond this award in my craft, but the biggest high is that I’m nominated for my work in an Indian film, which just proves that if given the opportunity, funds and creative freedom, our talent is at par with the best in the world.”

Abis Rizvi adds, “We are proud of our association with Resul for our first production. The journey of the film has been a satisfying experience on the whole and these recognitions are very encouraging.”

The Golden Reel Awards presented by Motion Picture Sound Editors, now in their 62nd year, are considered the Oscars of the technical field. The ceremony will take place on February 15, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. We keep our fingers crossed for the talented and humble sound master.