Resul Pookutty becomes Academy member

Oscar winning sound technician Resul Pookutty will join compatriot, music maestro A R Rahman, as a voting member of the Academy of Motion Pictures and hopes that the membership will help him attract good work in Hollywood.
Pookutty will be a part of the elite 6000 member organisation that chooses the winners of the most prestigious awards in the world of cinema, the Oscars.
“I received the invitation to become a member of the Academy while I was still in India. You need the sponsorship of two governors from the Board to become a member. Those formalities were completed during my recent trip to Los Angeles. I consider it a great honour and am thrilled,” Pookutty told PTI.
The sound artiste who was in the capital to attend an event organised by the DAV Institute of Management said that despite winning multiple awards, including an Oscar and a BAFTA for his work in the Mumbai based potboiler ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, he is still waiting for good work from Hollywood to come his way.
But the 38-year-old is hopeful that membership in the Academy will boost his profile in Hollywood.
“At this stage in my career, I will not do a B grade film, just because it is a Hollywood project. The best work is handled by the unions of technicians and it is difficult to break into the market if you are not a member. But I am hopeful that an Academy membership will help,” said Pookutty.