Sachin Sudhakaran and Hariharan Muralidharan

Sachin Sudhakaran was born in India and raised in Muscat, Oman, where he attended Indian School Muscat (ISM).^[6][7] In an interview, Sudhakaran stated that his time at the school helped nurture his creative interests.^[7] After returning to India, he earned a Bachelor of Technology degree from Model Engineering College, Kochi, and later pursued a Diploma in Sound Engineering at School of Audio Engineering (SAE) Institute, Chennai, to begin a career in sound design.^[6][7]

Hariharan Muralidharan, who grew up in Bengaluru, Karnataka, developed a passion for audio technology, rock music and live performances during his formative years.^[6] He went on to study sound engineering at the SAE Institute, Chennai, where he met Sudhakaran and began a long-term professional collaboration.^[1]

After completing their studies, Sudhakaran and Muralidharan began working together in Tamil and Malayalam cinema. They made their debut as sound effects editors on Pizza (2012), followed by Ee Adutha Kalath (2012) and Left Right Left (2013), handling foley and sound effects.^[5] They later worked on Dhag (2014), a Marathi film that won multiple National Film Awards, and Chaar Sahibzaade (2014), a Punjabi Animated film honoured at PTC Punjabi Film Awards that year.^[8][9] During this period, Sudhakaran also worked independently as the sound effects editor for the Italian film The Invisible Boy (2014).^[10]

Muralidharan trained under sound engineer M.R Rajakrishnan at Four Frames Sound Company before transitioning fully into sound design.^[6][1]

The duo's early sound design credits include Sutta Kadhai (2013), Yennai Arindhal (2015), 10 Endrathukulla (2015) and Maya (2015), which earned critical praise for its immersive soundscape.^[11]

In 2016, they founded Sync Cinema, a post-production sound studio in Chennai.^[1]

That year, they worked on the Kannada film U Turn (2016), which received critical acclaim for its innovative use of sound in narrative storytelling.^[12] It was followed by Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru (2016). a Tamil neo-noir thriller, that was both a critical and commercial success. M Suganth of The Times of India noted that "with help from his cinematographer Sujith Sarang and his sound team (sound designers Sachin Sudhakaran and Hari Haran of Sync Cinema and audiographer Raja Krishnan), Karthick turns this investigative thriller into an immersive experience for the viewer".^[13] Their early success coincided with a broader trend among emerging filmmakers who increasingly emphasized the narrative potential of sound in cinema.^[1]

Their work on Maanagaram (2017), Vikram Vedha (2017), and Arjun Reddy (2017) established them as leading sound designers in the South Indian film industry.^[1] Ratsasan (2018), was particularly praised for its sound design, which contributed significantly in building the film's psychological tension. Critics highlighted the atmospheric detail of the audio work, describing it as one of the film's most impressive technical aspects.^[14][15]

In Game Over (2019), critics commended the duo's atmospheric sound design, with the reviews describing it as "terrific", "pulsating" and "unsettling".^[16][17] That year, they also worked on Kaithi and Nerkonda Paarvai, both of which were commercially and critically successful, and along with Game Over, were included in The News Minute's list of best Tamil films of 2019.^[18] Their work in 2019 also included large-scale productions like Kabir Singh, Saaho and Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, on which they served as sound designers.^[19][20] Composer Sam CS acknowledged the duo’s contribution in creating ambient sound layers and effects for films such as Kaithi, crediting Sync Cinema, for its role in shaping a cohesive sound mix that complement the score.^[21]

In 2021, their sound design for Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea was noted for its technical excellence,^[22] while Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana was acclaimed for its seamless integration of score and sound design.^[23] Their work on Rocky, a neo-noir action received widespread critical acclaim for its intense and visceral soundscape.^[24] Ashameera Aiyappan of Firstpost observed that "music and sound blend in and out to create a chilling sensory experience."^[25]

The following year, they designed the sound for the action-thriller Valimai, noted for its detailed soundscape despite mixed critical reception. Speaking to Cinema Express, Muralidharan explained that the team had recorded the sounds of numerous bikes, superbikes and dirtbikes to create an authentic auditory experience for the film's racing sequences.^[24] That year, Sudhakaran also worked individually on the Telugu short film Manasanamaha, which received international recognition for its narrative structure and technical execution. The short went on to win multiple awards at international film festivals, earning Sudhakaran recognition for his contribution in sound design.^[26][27] The film holds the Guinness World Record for winning the most awards for a short film.^[28] They also worked on the Tamil web series Suzhal: The Vortex (2022), which used sync sound recording.^[1]

Sudhakaran and Muralidharan subsequently designed sound for a series of commercially successful and technically acclaimed films, including Vikram (2022), Hit:The Second Case (2022), Love Today (2022), Leo (2023), RDX (2023) and Animal (2023). Their work on Animal brought them wider recognition, earning the duo the Filmfare Award, IIFA Award, and National Film Award for Best Sound Design. The film also received honours for the Best Background Score and a Special Mention for Re-recording, making it one of the few productions to win across all major sound categories at the National Film Awards.^[29]

Since then they have continued to work on several high-profile productions across languages including Parking (2023), Captain Miller (2024), ARM (2024), Devara: Part 1 (2024), Vettaiyan (2024), Bazooka (2025), Kingdom (2025), Coolie (2025), and They Call Him OG (2025).^[30][19]

Since 2012, Sudhakaran and Muralidharan have worked on over 200 feature films and several television series across Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi cinema.^[1] The following is a selected list of their notable works:

• 71st National Film Awards (2025): Best Sound Design, win for Animal
• 69th Filmfare Awards (2024): Best Sound Design, win (as Sync Cinema) for Animal
• 24th IIFA Awards (2024): Best Sound Design, win for Animal
• Guinness World Records (2022): Record for most awards won by a short film for Manasanamaha (Sachin Sudhakaran credited as Sound Designer)