Vishnu Govind

Vishnu Govind (born 15 January 1986) is an Indian re-recording mixer, sound designer and sound editor. He has worked in over 150 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu languages. Govind is also a recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Sound Design along with Sree Sankar, for the films Unda and Ishq (2019).

Early life A native of Thiruvalla, Govind attended St. Berchmans College, Changanassery, graduating in Physics. While at St. Berchmans, he met future sound designer/editor Sree Sankar with whom he has collaborated on a number of projects. Since they both shared keen interest in music and movies, they became friends and eventually set off to pursue a career in Audio Engineering. He first worked on Alphonse Puthren's short film Neram (2012) before quitting the job to focus entirely on films. His feature film debut came with Karthik Subbaraj's Tamil film, Pizza (2012). The film marked the start of his partnership with Sree Sankar and they went on to establish their studio, Sound Factor.

Govind and Sankar had created a sound script for Pizza(2012) and used the most advanced audio format for cinema available at the time and incidentally becoming the first South Indian film mixed in Dolby 7.1 surround sound. M.Suganth of The Times of India noted "While Resul Pookutty's Oscar win in 2009 created an awareness of this community, in Tamil cinema, it was Pizza in 2012, that made people sit up and take notice of sound design." and went on to collaborate with Karthik Subbaraj in his two future films - Jigarthanda (2014) and Iraivi (2016). The former set a landmark by becoming the first South Indian film to be mixed in Dolby Atmos.

Govind along with Sankar made his Malayalam film debut with Neram(2013) and went on to work with its director, Alphonse Puthren in Premam (2015) and Gold (2022). Starting in 2017, with Soubin Shahir's debut film Parava, Govind has also served as the re-recording mixer for a number of films. The duo won two consecutive Behindwoods Gold Medal for Best Sound for Iruthi Suttru(2016) and Aval(2017). Both these Tamil films were remade in Hindi as Saala Khadoos (2016) and House Next Door (2017) respectively. He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Sound Design for the films Unda (2018) and Ishq (2019), which he shared with Sankar. The film earned him his first National Film Award for Best Audiography (Re-recordist of the final mixed track). The jury appreciated him for "creating a life like ambience through a dextrous audio scope."

Govind worked with A.R Rahman for the film Malayankunju (2022), which marked Rahman's return to Malayalam cinema as a composer, after a hiatus of 28 years. In an interview with The Hindu, Sajimon Prabhakar, director of the film said, "It was not an easy project for the sound designers. We don't know what are the sounds that one can hear under the ground. They had no references as well." Govind used Dolby Atmos, an immersive sound format, to mix the sound in the film. Following its release, the reception was generally positive with the film receiving praises for its scope, ambition and technical aspects. Lalitha Suhasini, former editor of Rolling Stone India wrote "The movie's soundscape brings to mind Danny Boyle's 2010 film 127 Hours, both incidentally scored by A.R. Rahman. Govind makes us feel stuck with Anikuttan by creating a brilliantly lulling silence in the film."

Since 2020, he has worked on the sound and mixing of numerous films, notably Anjaam Pathiraa (2020), Soorarai Pottru (2020), Ayyappanum Koshiyum (2020), Operation Java (2021), Kaanekkaane (2021), Mahaveeryar (2022), and Thallumala (2022). Vijayalakshmi Narayanan of The Free Press Journal wrote "Akhil George's cinematography, coupled with Mohandas' production design and Vishnu Govind's sound, creates the sense of urgency and palpable tension, that will leave your heart pounding in instances, more than once."

In 2024, Govind handled the sound design and mixing for Aavesham, which emerged as one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time, and Rifle Club.

In 2025, Govind worked on Pravinkoodu Shappu. Vignesh Madhu of The New Indian Express wrote "Vishnu Govind's atmospheric sound design also plays a significant part in holding our interest in this world." The review further observed how ambient details such as “faint sounds of doves cooing, glasses clinking, or a boiling curry in the background” enriched the film's toddy shop setting. Among other works that year, Govind's audiography in Alappuzha Gymkhana was described as "top-notch" by Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express. Later that year, he also praised his work for Thudarum "as equally brilliant" alongside Jakes Bejoy's songs and background score. Thudarum emerged as one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all tiime and was regarded by critics as a return to form for Mohanlal. Govind also worked on the mystery crime thriller Eko, which received positive responses from critics and audiences. Jijo Alex of The Times of India described his contribution to the film as “world class sound design”, while Aswin Bharadwaj of Lensmen Reviews observed that Govind's "immersive sound design plays a key role" in transporting viewers into the film's world, particularly through the enhancement of environmental sound elements and animal growls. When the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for 2020 were announced in 2026, Govind won the Best Audiographer Award for Soorarai Pottru, which he shared with Sree Sankar. Golam Adios Amigo Sookshma Darshini Rifle Club

Alappuzha Gymkhana Painkili

Balti Eko

Awards 2019: Kerala State Film Awards for Best Sound Design along with Sree Sankar for Unda & Ishq 2020: National Film Awards for Best Audiography(Re-recordist of the final mixed track) for Malik 2020: Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Best Audiography along with Sree Sankar for Soorarai Portru 2022: Kerala Film Critics Association Awards for the Best Sound Recording for Malayankunju 2024: Indian Recording Arts Academy (IRAA) Award for Best Sound Mixing (Film or Web Release) - Regional for Neelavelicham