The sense of sound

Sound designer Nithin Lukose brings alive films with his realistic capture of sounds

Till recently, one lamented the lack of technical and qualitative content in Telugu cinema. Not anymore. The equation has changed and now even Bollywood is looking upto Telugu cinema and engaging directors from here. It is a great time for independent filmmakers and sound designers to be in Hyderabad. Earlier a lot of focus was on sets and costumes but not on sound. Post Pelli Choopulu , C/O Kancharapalem , Ee Nagaraniki Yemaindi and Mallesham , there’s a new kind of awakening in the audience, where sound designing is getting wide appreciation. Sound designer Nithin Lukose feels it’s indeed good time to work here and looks forward to the release of Dorasaani and Dibakar Banerjee’s Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar .

In his five years of working in films, Nithin had worked in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada cinema and cites Bollywood, more professional than the rest. He comments on the current trend, “The whole track of the film is an evolution. Though the technical advancement is changing the face of cinema, South industry still follows 80s and 90s workflow, they haven’t upgraded. But I notice that the artistes are more professional and don’t like dubbing, instead prefer voice recording on location. It is a period of transition for regional cinema in sound.”

Ask him about the alternative career in sound, Nithin cites gaming, broadcast and television are also into sound installations. No sound is gratuitous and everything in a movie is designed for a maximum and broad impact. “When you go to a theatre, what you see is a suspension of disbelief. Sound helps you believe that something is happening in a real location. Upgradation happens every day — be it with microphones, in theatre platforms, Foley sound (create an ambience that is not available on location sometime) to enhance audio quality,” says Nithin.

Nithin is from Wayanad in Kerala and graduated from FTII. He made news with his work in the award-winning Kannada film

Thithi . Recalling his initial days of his association with cinema, Nithin says, “As a student I joined a film club where the teachers would talk about world cinema. I had watched only Tamil and Malayalam films as a child. So this exposure was new.” A post graduation degree in Sound took him firmly forward. He used sync sound effectively in Thithi and later came to Hyderabad, and used the same technique for Mallesham . The effort that goes into capturing audio, that’s realistic, is worth all efforts, feels Nithin.