Bhubaneswar: Unknown to many, an Odisha-born talent is a part of the blockbuster ‘Gadar2’ that has taken the box office by storm. You may not see him but you can certainly hear him because he’s part of the total package that makes up ‘Gadar2’. We are talking about foley artist Barun Bisoyi, whose roots are in Odisha’s tribal-dominated Kandhamal district. A small-town boy, he dreamt big and chased his dream – all the way to Mumbai.
From working as a tailor in his village to a canteen boy in Mumbai, Barun has worked his way up to running his own studio in the city of dreams and is now a part of Bollywood.
The going was not easy for Varun, whose mother used to do odd jobs to provide for the family after his father died. As a teenager, Barun would help his mother and also do jobs on his own to fund his ticket to Mumbai. He finally saved that much in 2002. “I was initially reluctant to let him move to Mumbai,” his mother told the media.
So far, he has worked in more than 150 films collaborating with acclaimed directors and stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sunny Deol, Nana Patekar, and Ranveer Singh among others. He has worked in Baji Rao Mastani, PK, 3 Idiots, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Don-2, Uri, Robot, Andhadhun, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Rustom and Padmavat.
What is a foley artist?
A foley artist is a person who re-creates sounds for film, video, and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality. They replace sounds that cannot properly be recorded on set. Foley studios have viewing screens, and props, as well as recording equipment to record sounds as they watch the film. These sounds include anything from the swishing of clothing, the breaking of glass, footsteps, or squeaking doors.
They use a variety of props to create specific sounds. Footsteps are created by the artist putting on a certain kind of shoe and walking on the appropriate surface (e.g., wood floors, asphalt, grass). Foley artists also re-record poor-quality sounds from the initial set recording, which ends up being most of the sounds you hear in a film.
The term ‘Foley’ comes from Jack Foley (1891-1967), a sound effects pioneer. He worked with Stanley Kubrick but never received much credit besides the term itself.
