‘I might turn my Oscar trophy into a doorknob’: Resul Pookutty

Resul Pookutty, film sound designer, sound editor, and audio mixer who won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for Dev Patel and Freida Pinto-starrer Slumdog Millionaire, is presently in the news for his directorial debut film Otta, which opened in cinemas today.

In an interview with Film Companion, Pookutty talked about how he would look at his Oscar trophy every month, but now he does not do so. In fact, he has not seen it in 3-4 years.

“After Covid, I don’t think I have seen the statue. It has been 3-4 years now,” Pookutty told the digital publication.

“I just want to forget it. I just don’t want to see it,” he added. “If my children want to see it, I show them. My banker one day said, ‘Sir can I take a picture with it? I said, ‘Yes sure’.”

The 52-year-old also recalled how even superstar Shah Rukh Khan had once asked him to show the trophy.

“One day Shah Rukh said, ‘Sir, can we see your Oscar?’ So, I took it out of the locker! We were working on Ra.One. So, he came, he looked at it and he took pictures. If there is some public demand like that, I will go and take it,” Pookutty said.

The sound designer-turned-director revealed that he might use his Oscar trophy as a doorknob one day.

“It’s too much of a trouble. Because you are not there at home, you keep travelling. It’s a security threat. Why do you want to get up in the morning and see it? You get up in the morning, you have an Oscar in front of you. There are lots of awards kept in my studio and all that. Except for these two, my Oscar and BAFTA are not there. It’s in the locker. Maybe sometime later, I might make my Oscar into a doorknob,” he said.

Stay tuned to this space for more updates and reveals.