Resul Pookutty says he had difficulty finding work in Hindi cinema after Oscar win

Oscar and BAFTA winner sound designer Resul Pookutty on Monday said that he nearly had “a breakdown” after nobody showed interest in working with him in the Hindi film industry post his win at the Academy Awards.

Pokutty took to Twitter in response to a statement by filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

“I had gone through near breakdown as nobody was giving me work in Hindi films and regional cinema held me tight after I won the Oscar,”. wrote the sound designer

Dear @shekharkapur ask me about it, I had gone through near breakdown as nobody was giving me work in Hindi films and regional cinema held me tight after I won the Oscar... There were production houses told me at my face ”we don’t need you” but still I love my industry,for it.... https://t.co/j5CMNWDqqr

— resul pookutty (@resulp) July 26, 2020

The statement by the Oscar-winning sound designer came a day after Kapur on Sunday tweeted an excerpt from a radio-based interview of music maestro AR Rahman .

During the interview, Rahman was asked why he works more frequently in Tamil cinema than in Hindi films. To which he replied, “I don’t say no to good movies, but I think there is a gang, which due to misunderstandings, is spreading some false rumours.”

Kapur, in a tweet, said that Rahman often faced difficulties in the Hindi film industry because of his Oscar wins.

You know what your problem is @arrahman ? You went and got #Oscars . An Oscar is the kiss of death in Bollywood. It proves you have more talent than Bollywood can handle .. pic.twitter.com/V148vJccss

— Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) July 26, 2020

Resul, however, said that he didn’t want to blame anyone “for not taking me in their films” as he believed he was facing the infamous “Oscar curse.” The superstition goes that those who are awarded the Hollywood’s most prestigious award see a slide in their careers.

@shekharkapur ...and much later when I discussed this with my @TheAcademy members friends they told me about #OscarCurse! It’s faced by everybody! I enjoyed going through that phase, when you are on top of the world &when you know people reject you,it’s the biggest reality check!

— resul pookutty (@resulp) July 26, 2020

Pookutty further said in his tweet, “I’m also not liking the direction in which the whole nepotism discussion is going. So peace! I’m not blaming anybody for not taking me in their films.”

All my post r not seen in my timeline, posting it here again so that it’s not wrongly interpreted.Oscar curse is over, We moved on.I’m also not liking the direction in which the whole nepotism discussion is going. So peace! I’m not blaming anybody fr nt taking me in their films🙏 pic.twitter.com/ldpzSNUlsP

— resul pookutty (@resulp) July 27, 2020

(With inputs from Asian News International)