EULOGY
Nikhil Mehta
Founder, Sudeep Studio
1935-2021
Much-Respected and self-taught sound engineer, the founder of Sudeep Studio and SudeepAudio.com games, Nikhil Mehta, passed away on 2nd September 2021 in Ahmedabad, leading a career that successfully inspired many in the pro audio industry. Mehta was a reserved, camera- shy, and self-taught sound engineer who had topped in M.Sc. Inorganic Chemistry from Bombay University.
Mehta was born in Mumbai, and spent 62 years in a joint family, and was also an expert in electronics under the guidance of his intelligent and kind father, Jyotendra. Mehta started a corrugation plant at Charkop, Mumbai, that made boxes for Eagle and Milton flasks. Some financial theft by a partner made him switch to working with Parmanandas Patel. In this company, he repaired oscilloscopes and handled other technical jobs for some Hungarian manufacturers. After his marriage in 1970, he started an Electronics training institute and a music store at Andheri Station selling records and record players, radios, etc. He named it Sudeep Electronics, “Sudeep” stood for “pure light”, and was not a name of a person in his family. After a record label backed out of a promise, as a matter of prestige towards the promise made towards some musicians, Mehta Set up a recording studio at his home.
He did his first commercial recording on September 23, 1977, at Sudeep Studio. He has worked for two decades on several prestigious projects such as Kachi Dhoop, Chanakya, Aa Bail Mujhe Maar, and hundreds of private albums, radio spots, jingles, etc. He was also known as a master editor on spool tapes and worked for major films like Mr. India and many more. Mehta moved to Ahmedabad in the mid-90s, where his last official job as a sound recordist was for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film, Ram Leela (2013), where he recorded some folk instruments for some songs. In the same year, he also initiated a biography on his illustrious grandfather Sir Lallubhai Samaldas. which was done by National Book Trust, New Delhi (author: Aparna Basu). Mehta’s son, Aditya has fond memories of his supportive father as he reminisces several anecdotes, for instance, Mehta building a makeshift studio overnight in their basement, when Aditya got a job to handle RJ auditions for Radio Mirchi’s, Ahmedabad station in November 2001. He also supported and believed in his idea of selling studio gear and software online when the Net bubble had burst in 2000. September 23rd marks the company’s birthday for several initiatives. On this day in 1999, the company registered its domain name with Network Solution, USA. In 2003, SudeepAudio. com became India’s first full-fledged online store, and in 2017 released Pro Audio games portal for education in audio.
“In 2011, we started the converSAtions YouTube channel to honour sound engineers like him, who work tirelessly behind the scenes and ensure that the final quality audio output is the best. Papa refused to come on camera for the channel but took over the reins of editing and uploading the videos on YouTube. In the autumn of life at 86 years old, it was amazing to see him make Bluetooth preamps from waste materials like empty cheese boxes until 2021,” said Aditya.
He further adds, “He was someone who never worked for the money. Papa’s priority and focus was always to ensure that the job undertaken was done ethically, completed on time, and done perfectly. It would be better to try and incorporate his values and ethics into my own life than talk about it. Pops, you will always live in the hearts of all those you have ever met or recorded.”