Vijay Kumar, a protege of Resul Pookutty, once worked as an office boy serving tea to stars in a Mumbai studio, but after Slumdog job he has his hands full with film offers
Vijay Kumar, a protege of Resul Pookutty, once worked as an office boy serving tea to stars in a Mumbai studio, but after Slumdog job he has his hands full with film offers
Oscar winningu00a0'Slumdog Millionaire' had as part of its technical crew a man whose story of triumphing against the odds is no less awe-inspiring than the tale told in the film.
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The 31-year-old was the dialogue editor for the Hindi version of Slumdog Millionaire.u00a0 Since the success of 'Slumdog Millionaire', offers have been pouring in from the Hindi film industry for the man who once worked as a studio hand serving tea and coffee to stars during his struggle days in Mumbai.
"Slumdog's changed my life," Vijay Kumar, the only Kannadiga in the technical crew of the film, told MiD DAY.
"Plenty of opportunities are in hand and it's a proud thing to be a Kannadiga at this point of time."
He is also an associate of the Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty.u00a0 He has worked in about 50 projects so far. Some of his recent works include Sanjay Leela Bansali's 'Saawariya,' A R Murugadoss' 'Ghajini' and the recently released Anthony D Souza's 'Blue.'u00a0
Apart from working in Rajnikanth's 'Endhiran' and 'Robot' in Hindi, Vijay Kumar will soon work for biggies in the Mumbai Hindi film industry, including in the Vivek Oberoi-starrer 'Prince'.
Only, Vijay Kumar, who is also a talented sound editor, is unable to provide dates for any new project for the next two years.
Tinsel town dreams
A silk factory clerk's son from Santhemaralli in Chamrajanagar district, Vijay Kumar arrived in Mumbai with dreams of making it big in the film industry.
It took nine years for the BCom with a Diploma in Computer Science to make a mark in tinsel town.
Vijay Kumar recalls the initial days when he served tea and coffee to film stars at Shakti Samatha's Aradhna Studios
"I started as an office boy and worked my way up to become an assistant," says Vijay Kumar.
"I don't have any regret in saying I even served tea and coffee as an office boy. Of course, things changed as I was good at computers and used my knowledge for the editing part."
Mentor Resul Pookutty feels it is the hard work that Vijay Kumar put in that has got him success.
"He is always willing to learn. With no formal training in this field, he has achieved a lot out of his great enthusiasm," Resul Pookutty told MiD DAY.
"I found this in him in when I was on one of my schedules in Mumbai and took him with me," added Pookutty.
"He is an enthusiastic student and his dedication is paying back. He will be with me in all the projects I have taken up."
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