Perfecting sound Ashish Mitra
Aditya Modi, a professional sound engineer whos worked with the globally
acclaimed composer AR Rahman, has recently launched his own Premier Digital
Mastering Studio. A profile
Your studio was recently launched at the hands of music maestro A R Rahman. Do
you enjoy a good rapport with him?
I know Rahman since I was a child. I used to sit in my father Vijay Modi lap
who then had a few studious in Mumbai. I used to see Rahman compose music for
jingles and was fascinated by his work. The association grew with time and when
I was doing my sound engineering degree from Full Sail University (the best
institute in the world for acquiring a degree in sound engineering), he used to
frequently call up to inquire as to when I would return to my homeland. Did
you join Rahman after you came back?
No, I wanted to have some hands-on training in my profession and decided to
gain some experience. So in 2001, I joined Western Outdoors where I had the
privilege to work with Daman Sood and Avinash Oak. After having worked with the
studio till November 2002, I decided to jump on board Rahmans bandwagon. I
worked with him for a four and half years after which decided to set up my own
studio. Did you always aspire to have a studio of your own?
Yes. I always had an ambition to have my own studio. My dreams were realised
with the kind blessings of Daman Sood, Avinash Oak, H. Shridhar and Sivakumar
and last but not the least AR Rahman and my father. Do you have enough
contacts in the industry?Yes, during the six years of experience I came to
gather a lot of contacts. I have also been calling up my friends and gaining
clientele in the bargain. The first few have been names like Sukhwinder Singh
and Blaaze and of course Rahman has promised to let me handle his work in
Mumbai. How does the equipment in your studio stand out?
(Sighs) Sound is my passion and not my business. I aim at delivering the best
possible sound quality to the industry. My equipments are all cutting-edge,
which majority of other studios are yet to catch up with. I have a Pyramix
workstation, a control system Smart AV from Australia and of course the world's
standard in studio monitoring by Genelec.
Have you got enough offers?
So far we've bagged six assignments, but have already been booked for many
more. Jobs are bound to flow in once the word goes around that we at Premier
dish out quality sound. Do you handle the sound alone?
No, that would have been too hectic. I have employed two freelance sound
engineers namely Shadab Rayeen and Alok Ounjani. Dont you aspire to be
seated with the best sound engineers in the world?
In fact I like myself to be placed much beyond them. Let me rejoice by
revealing that I have been twice recognised by AES (International Audio
Engineering Society) for my work in Rang De Basanti and Guru. The honour was
for best tracking engineering. What do you feel about the overall sound
scenario in the country?
I strongly feel that not enough importance is being given to sound in the
Indian film industry. This is due to lack of time and ill-planning. We, in
India, have all resources, namely finance, equipments, technicians and artistes
but we just lack in planning for the entire film mill. Finally where do you
see yourself some years from now?
I am just starting out and have a long way to go. Everybody dreams of being big
but I aspire to deliver the best quality sound to the industry.
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