Vociferous journey

He records the din, resonance and music of voice. The diverse modulations of sound have lured Thomas Kurian to the world of sound recording. This location sound recordist, hailing from Eraviperoor village in Pathanamthitta, may not yet be a known name in the local circuit, but to his credit, Thomas has worked for international channels like BBC, RFO (France) and ABC (Australia) for many years.

 The latest accomplishment of the sound recordist, who recently worked for the Kochi Muziris Biennale for ABC channel, is the critically-acclaimed feature film ‘Drapchi’ (2012), premiered at the Osians Cinefan Festival, the Warsaw International Film Festival and the Cairo International Film Festival. Thomas is the only Malayali involved in the project, besides director Arvind Iyer.

“Recording sounds, mixing and boom operating have been my passion for long. Having completed my film-making course from the film school in Los Angeles, I had mostly been doing projects for foreign channels, when the projects with a desi connect beckoned me. One such project is ‘Drapchi’,” explains Thomas.

“One fine morning, I got a call from Arvind Iyer, the grandnephew of Justice V R Krishna Iyer,” says Thomas, elaborating how the project came his way. “Several untold stories are hidden within the mystical land of Tibet. Inspired from a real-life incident, the film stars renowned Tibetan singer Namgyal Lhamo in the lead role as Yiga Gyalnang. The title has been borrowed from the Drapchi prison, Tibet’s most notorious jail. The film focuses on the singer’s abduction from her land, the tortures she endured in captivity and her later rise as a famous international opera singer,” says Thomas, who adds, “Working in ‘Drapchi’ was an amazing experience. Since the film was a musical drama, sound had an major role.”

Another ambitious project, ‘Toxic Valley’, on which Thomas is working with his brother Simon Kurian, gave him a chance to bring forth the issue of endosulfan. “For ‘Toxic Valley’, a film on the life of the victims of the dangerous poison, I have been to places like Kasargod, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab, and the trips made a lasting impact on me. From India to Australia to the USA, the film digs deep into the effect of endosulfan from an environmental and personal point of view,” says Thomas. “I went to the houses of rural Kasargod, and the sights of the patients was heart-rending,” says he. The shooting of the film that tells the story of pesticide poisoning from three very different parts of the world, is currently under way.

Thomas, who is also closely associated with the Biennale, has been at the venue of the art show since November. Having interviewed the artists and recorded a multitude of sounds, he says, “It is an appreciable effort that is sure to place Kochi on the international map.” Thomas had recently worked for a documentary starring English actress Felicity Kendal, for the BBC. The film is about the Shakespearean plays and their roots in India. “It was an excellent project, that gave me a chance to visit the far-flung lands of the country,” says Thomas.

An ardent film and documentary lover, Thomas is still fond of the old black and white Malayalam movies. The technician, who is stationed at Kochi for some time, says he is eager to work in Malayalam films. “I have closely watched some of the recently-released movies which have made use of sync sound. The industry is yet to realise the true potential of location sound recording. It will be exciting to work in this developing scenario, especially since the myth about sync sound being expensive has started to bust,” says Thomas.