“I was ecstatic. The student whom I taught became the first Indian to win an Oscar in sound mixing just a few minutes ago. And by expressing gratitude to his teachers he touched my heart again. That was too much happiness to handle at one point of time I guess,” said Kumar.

When Resul Pookutty left FTII 15 years back, the teachers knew he would make them proud as he was rated ‘excellent.’ Today, when the student they admired for his innovative sync sound tracks created history and expressed his heartfelt gratitude to them, they were short of words.

Three teachers who taught Pookutty during his diploma course in sound recording at FTII shared memories they have of the man who created history.

“His answer to my question whether he understood a topic or not, was usually a very endearing smile,” said Kumar. PM Ramteke who took music and sound mixing classes too remembers the smile. “In his student days at FTII we remembered him as an ever smiling persona. Only while working did anyone see him frown,” said Ramteke.

Rated high for his pre-recording-mixing techniques, Pookutty, from the very beginning of his diploma course showed an inclination towards sync sounds.

“He has his way with layered sounds. It’s not all about technique; you also have to trust and develop your instincts when it comes to sound mixing. There are so many different tracks and you will have to bring them all together in a balanced way. Pookutty’s dedication to sync sound sharpened his instincts for creating the perfect mix,” said Ramteke.