A humble boy from Kerala goes on to make the right sounds… hah, quite literally… and soars to the global spotlight, winning an Oscar, no less!

Resul Pookutty, Academy award winner for 'Slumdog Millionaire' ('Best Sound Mixing'), earned collective media hype as 'Shabdathapadham' (meaning 'in the way of the sound track'), his autobiography in Malayalam, penned by Baiju Natarjan, was released by His Excellency Shri K. Sankaranarayanan, Governor of Maharashtra, at a scintillating event convened at a famed five star hotel in Mumbai.

The 'Mozart of Madras', A R Rahman bagged the privilege of receiving the premier copy from the hands of the Governor, even as eminent lyricist Gulzar looked on fondly.

The autobio, running into 53 chapters, traces Resul's journey from his early childhood days in the pristine surroundings of Kerala, studying under the lights of kerosene lamps in a remote hamlet, to studying law and ending up at the Film and Television Institute of India. Besides, the book also delves into the realms of cinema and sound, and spotlights his encounters with the legends of cinema.

Expectedly, it also looks at the one event that changed Resul's life forever. The glittering Oscar night at the Kodak theatre in Los Angeles and the mounting euphoria that it set off..

Says Pookutty, "I'm not sure whether this is an autobiography, travelogue, reference book or something else. For me, it is the journey of an ordinary man thrown into extraordinary situations."

Incidentally, this is the first time that an Oscar award winner in India has unveiled his autobiography, and it's English version is on the anvil too.

Besides, Resul Pookutty is all set to kickstart an author signing tour in Kerala, a unique happening and a first for any book published in Malayalam.

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'Slumdog Millionaire' star Freida Pinto, who was supposed to be part of the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival, will not be attending the event owing to shooting commitments.

The actress was expected to walk the red carpet with the stars of 'You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger' directed by Woody Allen.

'This is to confirm that Freida Pinto unfortunately will not be attending the Cannes film festival as she is shooting for 'Immortals' in Canada. Her film 'You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger' directed by Woody Allen will be premiering at Cannes,' said a statement from her spokesperson.

'Immortals' directed by Tarsem Singh is slated to release in 2011. The Cannes Film Festival opens May 12.

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Having had a successful year with SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, AVATAR and MY NAME IS KHAN - Fox STAR Studios India announced its association with Rohan Sippy EntertainmentRamesh Sippy, and directed by Rohan Sippy. for their latest project DUM MAARO DUM, produced by

"We are committed to working with the best talent in the business and are delighted to be working with the winning pair of Rohan and Abhishek on DUM MAARO DUM. It's an amazing script that we are all very excited about .It's going to be a film to watch out for in 2010." said Vijay Singh , CEO Fox Star Studios India

"Fox Star Studios has established a strong presence in the Indian Film industry in a very short time and have ably demonstrated their marketing and distribution capabilities - we are extremely excited to partner on our next project with people who are like minded and have vision to take the film places" said Rohan Sippy

Sanford Panitch, Head of Fox International Production says, "With MY NAME IS KHAN we have demonstrated our capabilities as a serious player in the film space in India. It is our endeavour to tap into local content that is entertaining, appeals to local audiences and is capable of standing on its own merits by working in the market that it is created for. We are quite selective about the films we partner with and we are extremely proud of our association with Rohan and Abhishek which reflects our ongoing commitment to partner with the best talent in the local market."

DUM MAARO DUM reunites Rohan Sippy and Abhishek Bachchan whose last film BLUFFMASTER created waves in India. The film also stars the talented Bipasha Basu, Aditya Panscholi and Pratiek Babbar and also provides a platform to Rana Dagubatti who is a well known star in Andhra Pradesh and will be making his hindi film debut with DUM MAARO DUM. The film keeping in mind the title will have new sounds and music created by the talented Pritam.

The movie is an exciting action packed thriller which races through the by-lanes, beach shacks and raves of India's largest tourist destination. Populated with unforgettable characters, punctuated with a soundtrack that moves from haunting Konkani songs to pulsating dance music and shot right in the midst of the teeming international tourist hotspots. DUM MAARO DUM takes you on a trip that will have you on the edge of your seat!

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Padma Bhushan awardee and Jnanpith award winner Girish Karnad Monday called 'Slumdog Millionaire' the worst film he has ever seen.

Karnad, a towering, multi-faceted creative personality in the field of theatre, literature, acting and academics, was speaking at a lecture on 'Colonialism and Culture' at the D.D. Kosambi lecture series, organised by the government of Goa in Panaji.

'I have never seen anything worse than 'Slumdog Millionaire',' Karnad said during a question-answer session which followed his lecture.

He also said the movie had completely failed in India. India's hunger for Oscars showed 'our own inferiority complex', he added.

'I don't know why we are obsessed with the Oscars or the Grammy (Grammy awards),' Karnad said, adding that the Indian film industry was perfectly healthy in every sense of the word.

Released in 2008, Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire' swept the 81st Academy Awards by winning eight Oscars. Out of the eight awards, three were won by Indian artistes - Resul Pookutty, A.R. Rehman and Gulzar.

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