Nakul Kamte, sound engineer for Leonardo DiCaprio's documentary, on why the Hollywood hottie is a true-blue eco-warrior
Leonardo DiCaprio; (inset) Nakul Kamte
Leonardo DiCaprio; (inset) Nakul Kamte
At first, I was told 'Don't look at Leo, don't talk to him, but once they realised I was okay, we spoke," sound engineer Nakul Kamte recalls as a faint smile plays on his lips. He's the man behind the on-location sound and audio mixing for Before the Flood, a documentary on climate change that's directed by Fisher Stevens, and produced and hosted by Hollywood star, Leonardo Di Caprio.
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Kamte, 57, who has worked on movies like Lagaan (2001) and Rang De Basanti (2006) earlier, says the strict instructions to keep away from Leo had as much to do with the hype around him as security concerns. "But, I was like Fisher has an Oscar, and Leo doesn't [the actor won an Academy Award for 'The Revenant' soon after]. Then it was all okay," he laughs.
Kamte was a musician in the '80s, jamming with the likes of music director Ehsaan Noorani. He says he became a sound engineer after walking into a studio to record a song, and wasn't happy with the outcome. "I decided I should know how to do this myself," he says. He started off by working on Bhopal Express in 1999, and then went on to do on-location sound for Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai (2001), which catapulted him into the big league.
For Before the Flood, he did location sound for all interviews conducted by DiCaprio, with activists, farmers and ministry officials. "Leo has worked hard on this, and is well aware of the facts and figures. He actually told a lady, an expert on the matter, 'I think you have some figures wrong'. She insisted she was right, but he pointed out that he had recently spoken to many people and knew she was wrong."
He did get to talk to DiCaprio eventually, and when that happened, it was about the environment, of course. "He asked me pointed questions and I gave pointed answers, although my views differed from his. But, I can't tell you everything. My NDA (non-disclosure agreement) was 10 pages long! But, trust me, he's a cool guy," he says.
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