Rising Stars: Rakesh Madhusoodanan Sudha

Audio Pro International’s focus on the best of the industry’s up-and-coming audio engineers continues with the latest addition to our Rising Stars section.

This week, we hear from Rakesh Madhusoodanan Sudha – currently finishing his studies at Birmingham City University, but originally from Southern India. Here, he tells us about his background in the Bollywood film industry, his favourite audio equipment and how he plans to return to the Indian movie sector once he graduates.

Where are you currently studying?

BSc (Hons) Sound Engineering And Production at Birmingham City University.

Where are you originally from?

Trivandrum in Kerala, India.

What made you decide to pursue a career in audio?

I have a musical background, having learned Carnatic classical music and tabla (traditional Indian drums) from a young age. I used to play tabla and percussion pads for music shows and wanted to have a career related to music.

I started doing sound recording in my home studio, recording jingles, then took up a Diploma Course in Sound Recording at the Amritha School of Visual Media Studies. I then worked on a Hindu Devotional Music album in the home studio after completing the diploma, before getting a job in the Kerala Film Development Corporation’s Chitranjali Studio as a sound recordist.

Tell us a bit about your experience in the South Indian film industry. What were your responsibilities?

I started off doing ADR for some Indian movies. When 5.1 dts mixing started in Chitranjali Studio I was given the responsibility of premixing background music. After doing that for a few films, I started getting more chances to mix songs. All this was done under the supervision of the award-winning sound engineer N. Harikumar. Alongside the background music and Song mixing, I used to help Vipin V Nair – my dialogue premix and sound effects premix colleague. I’ve worked on 22 feature films and done background music mixing for many famous music directors in India.

Other than your Sound Engineering and Production course, what are you working on at the moment?

Occasional live sound mixing for Sruthilaya Music and Dance in Croydon, Surrey, as well as a bit of music production.

What is your favourite ever piece of audio equipment?

I like to mix with Event TR 8 studio monitors and I mostly do DAW-based mixing on Pro Tools HD and Logic. I’m also a fan of the Waves CLA-3A compressor, Manley Passive EQ, Waves EQ, Valhalla reverb, as well as Neumann and Rode microphones.

Are you looking to get back into the film industry, or do you have other plans?

I’m looking forward to hopefully getting back into the Bollywood film industry, as I recently got in touch with a senior sound engineer in Mumbai.

To get involved in our Rising Stars column, whether you are an engineer who is new to the industry and would like to be featured, or an experienced engineer who would like to nominate a particular student/apprentice, please contact Audio Pro International editor Adam Savage on adam.savage@intentmedia.co.uk or +44 (0)1992 535646.

Keep up to date with the latest developments from the world of pro audio by registering for our free daily newsletter.