MUMBAI: International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) has collaborated with Oscar winner Resul Pookutty to launch an annual scholarship for budding sound engineers in the Hindi film industry.

Pookutty, who graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune 15 years ago, will sponsor a student of the institute. The funds will come from his foundation - The Resul Pookutty Foundation.

The winner would be jointly chosen by Pookutty along with FTII officials every year. The selected sound engineer would receive $ 5,000 and a six month internship with Pookutty.

"We will give scholarship to a deserving candidate to gain knowledge about technical aspects of filmmaking. It is an initiative to help a keen learner and it is also an effort to promote technical talent in cinema," Pookutty, who is at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, told reporters at a press conference.

"The existing fee structure to learn sound engineering is very high and though talented many candidates are just not able to pursue the course. Even I came from humble background and somehow managed to survive," said Pookutty.

Pookutty, who won the Academy Award for his work in Danny Boyle's much acclaimed 'Slumdog Millionaire', says he had discussed the idea of sponsoring a student with IIFA brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan on a personal note after which he "really wanted to do it".

Pookutty added, "IIFA has proved its international approach. This move puts the Indian film industry at par with Hollywood, which already has a big trend of such scholarships that promotes talent. I'm very thankful for IIFA for their decision to support film technicians in this way. India has and will continue to produce the best technical talent in films in the coming years."

Pookutty is also in the process of initiating a scholarship on similar lines with the Kerala Government, it is learnt.