Very businesslike, she goes about the sets, dressed in semi formals, giving some instructions here and overseeing the dialogue learning process of the heroine.
You wonder if she resembles some actor, but she is so engrossed in the technical side of the movie, in this case, the Lal Jose directed ‘Spanish Masala', that you forget about this suspicion. Till she tells you her name is Samjuktha Sunil. That does ring a bell.
Assisting Lal Jose
Yes, she is Samvrutha Sunil's sister and she is assisting Lal Jose in the film. Not just that. She is the on location sound recordist. Resul Pookkutty sure has inspired the next generation. Few girls have shown an inclination to work in this field. “I did my audio engineering degree in Chennai and Sydney, Australia”, she says.
Later she assisted Raj Krishnan in Priyadarshan's studio in the final mixing of the sounds department. Her first stint as sound recordist was for Shalini Usha Nair's ‘Akam', for which she worked for a short while. Samjuktha was lucky to be part of the sound recording team for the Indo-Anglian movie, ‘Zoe' directed by Dr Biju. Acting? “No, my profession will always be an audio engineer. I love this job. I did get acting offers, but this is where I want to be,” Samjuktha is firm. The technical side of cinema fascinates her and under Lal Jose's tutelage, she is learning fast all about direction, assisting him with two others.
The love for sounds was inducted early on, as her father was always listening to music and the ambience at home was always a musical one. Samjuktha started learning classical music when she was hardly 6.
“I was always curious about the sounds in films and wondered how they were made. I love films and the magic in sounds,” says the young woman from Kannur who is articulate and says with resolve: In ten years, I will direct my own film.”
