He quit 'wasting time' as engineer, bagged an Oscar

After Resul Pookutty, the first Malayali to win an Oscar award, Monday witnessed another person from Kerala, Saajan Skaria, having a brush with Hollywood fame as part of the team behind 'Inside Out', named the Best Animated Feature Film at the 88th Academy Awards.

Skaria, who works for Pixar Animation Studios, was the character supervisor in the American 3D computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film. Pookutty had got the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for Slumdog Millionaire.

Cartoons were Skaria's childhood obsession. After graduating from Regional Engineering College, Calicut, he joined Siemens.

When his German boss saw he could draw, he had only one thing to say: "Good work, you shouldn't waste your time as an engineer." Skaria took it to heart and never looked back.

"We never forced him to try any other profession. His boss's word of praise encouraged him to pursue his dream," said his father, K Skaria. Sajan lives in the US with his wife and kids.