RECENTLY, SLUMDOG Millionaire Oscar winner Resul Pookutty and Mahesh Bhatt was in the town for their continued commitment to keep the focus on the plight of homeless children in the country. Along with children, Resul Pookutty is associated with a NGO, Butterflies India, at Store 99, located in Pacific Mall, in Vashali in Ghaziabad.

Talking about his Delhi visit, Pookutty says “Much more than anything else, it’s the theme of Slumdog Millionaire, particularly its focus on the plight of children that touched everyone, and this is what keeps him committed to do everything that he can do to improve their situation”. 

Considered as one of the best sound designers in the Indian film Industry, Pookutty has some outstanding films to his credit, which include Black, Musafir, Zinda, Traffic Signal,Gandhi, My Father, Saawariya, and Dus Kahaniyaan. However, the last one year has been one of remarkable successes for Pookutty – first he designed sound for the 2008 blockbuster Ghajini, starring Aamir Khan, which was followed by even bigger success when his first major international project Slumdog Millionaire won him an He was absolutely ecstatic when he received the award and charmed one and all when he delivered his famous speech saying, “This is not just a sound award, this is history being handed over to me”.

While Mahesh Bhatt enjoyed the company of kids, laughed and chatted with them. He said, “The innocence of these kids makes you fall in for them.” 

Also Javed Mohammad and Ajay Chanchan were to be seen there supporting the NGO and interacting with the kids.Delhi-based NGO Butterflieshas earned a worldwide recognition for its innovative,realistic and relevant programmes for street and working children and has been working to improve their situation since 1989. Its core belief is that every child has a right to have a full-fledged childhood, and rights of street and working children are no exception.

Store 99, one of the fastest growing retail chains in Delhi and NCR, has been constantly involved in charity works to help street children so that they can have a better tomorrow. The Group was one of the founding equity members of the India Expomart, pioneered in extensive network of retail stores, under the brand ‘Home Store’ and Sabka-Bazar for many years. Terming Pookutty’s visit as a manifestation of their corporate social responsibility, Javed Mohammad, CEO, Store 99, said “I am absolutely humbled by his gesture and his continued desire to work for improving the situation of children living in extremely difficult situation, which is our mission as well”.