After AR Rahman, Resul Pookutty says nobody gave him work in Bollywood after Oscar win

Mumbai: Sound designer Resul Pookutty on Monday said he stopped getting work in the Hindi film industry after he won an Oscar for "Slumdog Millionaire", with some production houses telling him upfront that they didn't "need" him at all.

Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman recently spoke about a "gang" that was preventing him from getting work in Bollywood.

His statement came amidst a raging 'insider versus outsider' debate in Bollywood that has following Sushant Singh Rajput's death last month.

Sharing Rahman's statement, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur had tweeted on Sunday that "Bollywood can get insecure of an artiste who has earned recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)."

In a reply to the director, Pookutty said he has gone through something similar in the industry and it was the regional cinema that understood his value.

Pookutty bagged the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing in 2009 for his work in Danny Boyle's film, while Rahman won the Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

"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 (who) told me at my face 'we don't need you' but still I love my industry, for it taught me how to dream," he said.

In a series of tweets, Pookutty said there were a "handful of people" who believed in him and continue to do so.

The sound designer said he could have "easily shifted to Hollywood" post his Oscar win but he didn't.

"My work in India won me the Oscar, I got nominated six times for MPSE (Motion Picture Sound Editors) and won too,again all that for the work I have done here... There will always (be) people to run you down but I have far more faith in my people than anybody else!"?

Talking about the "curse of Oscar", the 49-year-old said he realised much later that every winner faces it.

"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 and when you know people reject you, it's the biggest reality check."

Pookutty, in another tweet, put screenshots of all his tweets and said he was posting them so that they aren't "wrongly interpreted."

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

"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 for not taking me in their films."

Nepotism is the cheapest and most unimaginative corruption! — resul pookutty (@resulp) July 27, 2020

He later added, "Nepotism is the cheapest and most unimaginative corruption!"