Meghna Ghai Puri is president of the Mumbai-based Whistling Woods International (WWI, estb. 2006), a film, communication and media arts education institution. Sited within Mumbai’s state-promoted Dada Saheb Phalke Chitranagari (aka Film City), the sprawling 150,000 sq. ft Whistling Woods campus offers study programmes in film production and direction, animation, music, acting, fashion, media communication and design. Puri, one of the youngest and only Asian to receive the Bradford College Honorary Fellowship (2013), leads a team of 150 experienced faculty which mentors 1,000 students.

Newspeg. In July this year, the institute introduced its first three-year bachelor of arts degree programme in visual communication and design in collaboration with the Paris-based design school, Ecole de Communication Visuelle (ECV, estb. 1984), a top-ranked design school of Europe. 

History. Daughter of one of India’s most well-known commercial Hindi filmmakers, Subhash Ghai, Puri opted for a career in film production rather than in acting. Equipped with a commerce degree in business management from King’s College, London, and an advanced diploma in communication, advertising and marketing, she interned at several film marketing companies during the dotcom boom of the nineties. Later, she spearheaded the marketing and international distribution of her father’s films production company Mukta Arts Ltd before returning to India in 2001. 

“On my return, my father who always envisioned setting up a world-class film and media institute in India, offered me the opportunity to become involved with Whistling Woods International. We visited about 70 institutions worldwide before starting work on this institute which is the first of its type in India, Asia or even the world,” says Puri.

The going was tough initially because the worldwide norm for film schools is government funding, training and equipment costs being very high. “The journey was a struggle because even eight years into the business, we hadn’t broken even. But we’ve soldiered on because we have a passion for good cinema and believe in the social change it can achieve,” says Meghana Ghai Puri.

The effort has proved worthwhile. The Hollywood Reporter, a multi-platform American digital and print magazine, has rated WWI as one of the ten best film schools of the world (in 2010, 2013 and 2014). WWI is also a member of CILECT (Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinema et de Television), an exclusive global association of film schools.

Direct talk. “I believe we need to take our Indian entertainment and media industry seriously because television and cinema have great reach and can change public mindsets. Almost every establishment scouting for talent in the media and entertainment space turns to Whistling Woods for solutions. WWI has deep ties with the film industry and we provide our students the platform to meet and interact with industry veterans. Today 1,500 of our alumni are working in films,” says Meghana Ghai Puri. 

Future plans. With over 20 collaboration agreements signed with technology giants such as Sony, Apple and YouTube, WWI has expanded its reach to new geographies with campuses in India (Pune) and abroad (the UK and Nigeria). And while Meghana Ghai Puri is exploring the possibilities of expansion in Hyderabad and Kolkata, which boast active television and cinema industries, she prefers to avoid the franchise model. “In WWI, we are committed to global standards of education and training. Therefore, we need full control to maintain these standards,” she says.

Dipta Joshi (Mumbai)