Resul Pookutty gets nominations for US awards

Oscar-winning sound artist, Resul Pookutty has won nominations for two films at the prestigious American Motion Picture Sound Editors' Golden Reel Awards. The 44 year old artist has won for his work in 'Unfreedom', a US production, and 'India's Daughter', a movie on the lines of the December 16, 2012, Delhi gangrape. Ironically, both the movies are banned in India. The Reel Awards will be announced on February 27, a day ahead of the Oscar nights. Other films/television documentaries in the list include 'Beware Baltimore', 'Chef's Table', 'Deadliest Catch', and 'The Undrafted', among others. Pookutty said a double nomination is a rarity in the industry and the beauty is that both of them are Indian work. Expressing his concern over the ban imposed on both the films in the country, he said, “I don't understand why a progressive society like ours should react the way we do now. I am pained at the suppression of artistic freedom.” He said both the works are analysis of extreme violence, which should be welcomed by any progressive society. “By banning such films we are nullifying the will of the people,” Pookutty said.