MUMBAI: Resul Pookutty, the first Indian to get an Oscar for sound mixing for a film returned to a hero's welcome at the Mumbai airport with the Oscar statuette clutched in his  hands in the early hours of Thursday.

Resul Pookutty was accompanied by his wife, while his mother and daughter waited with the eager throngs at the airport to welcome him. Besides family, members of the sound association were also present at the airport with life size postcards of Pookutty. Due to security reasons and huge media presence, both Resul and Irrfan Khan where first taken to the Sahar police station in poilce vans before they left for home 

Pookutty was very enthusiastic and gung-ho about his win and frequently lifted the coveted Oscar statuette for photo-ops - that's the way it should be.

Akin to the old adage, which says, �Show me a hero, and I'll write a tragedy', the journey of Resul Pookutty was not a cake walk. Now 36, Pookkutty did his schooling in Malayalam medium and graduated from Kayamkulam. Going against his father's wishes, he dropped out of the law college in Thiruvananthapuram, and went on to graduate from the FTII in 1995.

Slumdog Millionaire bagged eight Oscars at the 81st annual Academy Awards. Radioandmusic.com congratulates the soundman for revolutionalizing the sound of Indian films and making India proud.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SLIDESHOW