A fascinating journey of Vijaykumar

by H.P. Naveen Kumar

Having come from a typical rural background, this person had no idea about his journey in life. After working hard for 14 long years, today he has become one of the most sought-after sound effects engineers in the country.

We are talking about Vijaykumar, a boy belonging to a poor family of Santhemarahalli in Chamarajanagar district, who braved all odds to become a successful sound engineer.

His journey began with him taking to distribute newspapers to households in his village. After suffering a loss in business, he headed to Mumbai and entered the film industry.

His latest movie ‘Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans,’ directed by Kamal Sadanah, has been nominated for the prestigious 62nd Gold Reel Awards instituted by Motion Pictures Sound Editors.

Vijaykumar shared his experience in a brief teate-e-tete with Star of Mysore. Excerpts…

Star of Mysore (SOM): Your journey so far has been fascinating. Tell us something about your childhood?

Vijaykumar: I belong to Santhemarahalli in Chamarajanagar District but my native is Malavalli in Mandya district. Since my father worked in a silk yarn manufacturing company, we had to settle in Santhemarahalli and even today my parents are residing in the same village. I am the second son to my parents. After completing my primary education in Malavalli we shifted to Chamarajanagar. I attended high school and PU at Govt. PU College in Yelandur. I have completed B.Com from JSS College and later studied Diploma in Computer Science. Unfortunately, I did not get a suitable job for my qualification.

SOM: How did you enter into film industry?

Vijaykumar: After completing my education, I started a newspaper agency to help my family. Unfortunately, I had to suffer a huge loss and was unemployed for few months. Suddenly, I remembered one of my friends who had settled in Mumbai. I explained to him about the problems I was facing. Without much delay, he asked me to come to Mumbai and join ‘Aradhana Sounds Service’ studio.

After joining the studio as an office boy for a salary of Rs. 900, I used to attend to the students who visited the studio. While, the students were being explained about the sound engineering, I used to listen to the experts. This is when the diploma I has studied came handy. With things being explained in an unknown language (Hindi) I could only catch a few words. But, slowly I developed Hindi knowledge which helped in learning sound engineering.

SOM: Tell something about your journey from an office boy to a sound engineer?

Vijaykumar: While, I was working in the studio, Oscar winner Resul Pookutty who observed my eagerness to learn, took me as his technical assistant. Initially, my work was to arrange the computer system for him to work. While, he worked I stood behind him and observed his work. After his work was done I used to ask him questions to clear my doubts. It is because of his guidance and my hard work that I reached this level.

SOM: Share something about your relationship with Resul Pookutty

Vijaykumar: Resul Pookutty had a lot of affection for me. While he quit Aradhana Studio to setup his own, Resul sir took me along with him. I have worked in many Hollywood projects along with him as an assistant. He also received the Oscar award for ‘Slum Dog Millionaire.’ Now, ‘Roar: Tigers of the Sundarban’ has been nominated for Golden Reel Award.

SOM: For how many movies have you worked with Resul Pookutty?

Vijaykumar: I have worked for most of his movies. Slum Dog Millionaire, Ghajini, Kochadaiyaan, Robot are some of the movies that I have worked with Resul sir. I have worked in Sound Effects Department for the movie ‘Roar: Tigers of the Sunderban.’

SOM: Which are the other films vying for Gold Reel Awards?

Vijaykumar: There are four other films of foreign countries nominated for the award that is for technical excellence and the award will be presented at a function to be held in Los Angels in America on Feb. 14 and I am eagerly awaiting for the outcome.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / February 08th, 2015