Pookutty's village basks in award glory

Thiruvananthapuram: It was celebration time early this morning at the nondescript village Vilakupara near Anchal in Kollam district, about 60 km from the Kerala state capital as thousands of miles away in Los Angeles the name of Resul Pookutty was announced in the Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles.

Friends and family members of Pookutty (36), who rose from humble beginnings in the little village to the height of Oscar glory, applauded as their beloved was picked the winner for sound mixing. They included his brother Saifudin and his two sisters.

The villagers had been high on expectation ever since Pookutty won a Bafta and a Cinema Audio Society award in the run up to the Oscar Awards.

The rapturous celebrations at Vilakupara village got further momentum when Kerala Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan complimented his achievement, saying that he was a hero of the land.

Pookutty had kicked off his aspirations in the tinsel world with a course at the Film and Television Institute of India at Pune in Maharashtra before hitting it big time in Bollywood with a series of successful Hindi movies.

His debut movie was Private Detective in 1997, which was followed by more famous movies including Black, Gandhi My Father, and Ghajini.

Hundreds of people who had gathered at his home in Vilakupara (Malayalam for lighthouse rock) that comprised dozens of television crew, erupted in joy as Pookutty dedicated his award to his country.

Interestingly, Pookutty is yet to get a break in the Malayalam movie industry. Film circles here say that he is considering directing a Malayalam film starring a superstar.

It is also believed that the Malayalam movie industry will now give due share to the sound mixing aspect, having realised its importance on the global stage.