Hari Kumar was born in Kolkata, India. He studied sound recording and sound engineering at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. He has been associated with a number of award-winning documentaries like Shipbreakers (NatGeo, CNBC), Four Seasons (CNBC), Third Sex and Mohua Memoirs, among others. Peepli Live is his first venture as an independent sound recordist and designer.