Interview with Mr. Subhash Ghai, film producer and founder of Whistling Woods International
by Evelyn Garski
12th June 2008

Mr. Subhash Ghai was so kindly to answer some questions about his famous film academy Whistling Woods International, located at Film City Mumbai

EG:
Mr. Ghai, how did you come up with the idea/ vision to build a project like this?

S.Ghai:
I graduated from the Film & Television Institute of India in Pune in 1970 – my two years there helped me tremendously in my career. I however realised that in the city of Mumbai which is the heart of Indian cinema there was no such Institution for young filmmakers to go to. I’ve been a part of the Indian Film industry as a writer, director and producer for over 30 years now. Over the years, I’ve launched several new faces and careers. However, over the past 20 years, I’ve been faced with newcomers who come to visit me in search of film-making careers. They are keen, talented, hardworking but did not have a place where they can learn the craft of film-making. So almost 15 years ago, I decided that I can contribute back to this Industry with whatever knowledge and financial strength I have gained over the past years, I will create a truly world-class film institute in Mumbai – the heart of Indian cinema…

EG:
Manmohan Shetty, Pradeep Guha, A.R. Rahman, Shabana Azmi, Mahesh Bhatt, Karan Johar, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Naseeruddin Shah are amongst those who are supporting the concept of WWI. Was it difficult to convince them to take part in this project and are they continuely involved in teaching and/or workshops?

S.Ghai:
Ever since I announced Whistling Woods International in 2001, I have had tremendous support from both the Indian and International Film, TV & Animation industries. It was not really too difficult to convince the people you mention to come on board. It was, however, quite difficult to create the educational infrastructure and curriculum within which students could make full use of the knowledge and experience of great film-makers and industry professionals like these…
Manmohanji is on the board of WWI, A.R. Rahman, Shabana Azmi, Mahesh Bhatt, Karan Johar, Ashutosh Gowarikar are all on the Academic Advisory board and regular guest faculty at the school.
Naseeruddin Shah has gone a step further and come on-board as full-time faculty and Head of Department of the Acting Department

EG:
Is there someone special you want to have as an advisor too for WWI? And what is in your mind for WWI for the upcoming years?

S.Ghai:
Ever since the idea of Whistling Woods originated, I have wanted to make it a truly world-class international film-school and a key component of this vision is having faculty from across the world side-by-side with the best faculty from India teaching students the nuances of film-making… So while we truly have the best from India teaching students, I would like to widen the faculty base to include several international faculty as well.

Over the next few years, I envision Whistling Woods becoming the institute of choice for every film-making student across the world. Our curriculum, teaching methodology and facilities are as good as, if not better than any film-school in the world and once the world is made aware of the same, I foresee huge interest from international students.

EG:
Now there are a lot of other acting schools like Anupam Kher´s actor prepares, the acting school from Barry John and a number of dancing schools, schools for training in action, school for training in singing, gyms, spas and other institutes. What makes WWI special compared to all the others?

S.Ghai:
WWI offers a truly comprehensive course to all students and grooms them to be filmmakers. We have a foundation course for the first 6 months where students work in teams and learn about all aspects of filmmaking. For example an Actor learns Editing, Sound etc as well. We also have co-curricular courses like Music, International Art Literature & Culture which makes our students well-rounded individuals over the 2 years spent here at WWI. Finally, the facilities, infrastructure, faculty & guest faculty, teaching methodology, the technology and international institutional partners that WWI has makes it a truly unique Institution.

EG:
How do you find the time to manage your various business dealings as chairman of WWI and owner of Mukta Arts Limited besides working as actor and doing special appearances like as in OSO, working as a dialogue and script writer, singer, director, editor, lyricist and attending various events?

S.Ghai:
I believe that if you are passionate about your work then it all quickly converts into pleasure and everything falls into place. I ensure that I spend equal amount of time concentrating on each aspect of my work with the same passion and vigour. While the special appearances as an actor are few and far between, my 3 main roles as writer-director, chairman of Mukta Arts Ltd and Chairman of Whistling Woods International Limited take up most of my time.

EG:
Does WWI have international standards like acting and film schools for, example in Hollywood or Great Britain? Where are the differences and where are the commons?

S.Ghai:
We recently had the Dean of UCLA visit us who very graciously said “Whistling Woods is not ‘one’ of the best film-schools in the world, I believe it IS the best film-school in the world”. To receive this comment from the Dean of one of the top 5 film-schools in the world is assurance that our intent to create WWI into an international grade film-institution seems to have born fruit…

On the curriculum front, we have existing credit transfers with several international schools so that would make us have more things in common than different.

EG:
Where do you see the future of Hindi Cinema in your own country and global? Do you expect many changes and if yes in which way?

S.Ghai:
Hindi Cinema has grown in leaps and bounds over the past decade. Growing from average budgets of US$ 200,000 to average budgets of US$ 1,000,000. More and more films are being produced, and more importantly almost all the new entrants are corporates. Corporates bring with them a structured approach to filmmaking, which will make the Indian film industry more efficient and enable it to compete Internationally.

I believe we are gearing towards a scenario where global filmmaking will prevail. Films will be made for global audiences and stories will cross-over. I believe India has thousands of stories to tell and with professionals learning about global standard practices at WWI we will see Indian filmmakers make a mark globally.

EG:
How different is the education of actors compared to years ago? Do they have to learn more than maybe actors from the time you were starting your career?

S.Ghai:
Whereas the basic foundation of Acting remains the same it has now become imperative for our Actors to learn about presenting themselves to the Media. Media has become an important component in determining the career graph of Actors. Actors are now becoming more media-savvy which is helping them sustain their careers better.

It has also now become imperative for Actors to learn about contracts and the legal side of the business. In the 70s and 80s we had a sheet of paper signed between actors & producers (if at all) but now there are legal contracts that have evolved. All these things are only for the better and our new actors must be trained for that.

EG:
How many of your students have found a job in the movie business after finishing your acting school and who is the most known person (actor, producer..) in Hindi Cinema, who has learned in your academy ?

S.Ghai:
We opened in July 2006 and we offer a 2-year program so we have yet to graduate a batch. The students from the first intake are in their final term and will graduate in June 2008. The interest from the Industry has been phenomenal and given that many of our students have already made their mark at Student Film Festivals I am confident they will all be placed as soon as they graduate.

EG:
Are you working together with other film companies besides your own Mukta Arts Limited for castings and jobs for your students? And are they only located in India or worldwide?

S.Ghai:
We at Whistling Woods are very committed to ensuring that our students undertake a long, successful career in the film & media industry. To this end, each student is supported in 4main ways:Internships – between their 1st and 2nd year, each student who wishes too get to undergo an internship has the option of doing so at some of the leading media houses / production companies in India. While students have to interview for these internships, the interviews are secured for them by WWI.On-campus placement – During the final term of each batch, WWI organises an on-campus placement career / job fair. With leading media organisations / production houses / technicians invited for the same.The WWI Alumni – Every student alumnus of WWI continues to be provided with career guidance by way of industry-interaction networking events & and job fairs.Studio Point1 – Mukta Arts Limited has announced a separate banner dedicated to films that WWI students want to make. This banner will produce 1st films directed by students of Whistling Woods International.

Some of the companies who have had our students as Interns and are interested in hiring them are Adlabs, Percept, Channel V, Anirights, Disney, Sony Pictures, UTV, Viacom, Rajshri Films, William Morris to name a few.

EG:
Are your students only Indians? Or is WWI open for foreigners maybe for Germans who are interested to take lessons in Hindi acting, Bollywood dancing, film production, animation, technique and anything related to Hindi cinema ?

S.Ghai: WWI is a global film-school. So we are open to students from ALL over the world. Our current student strength includes approx 10% students from overseas (including 1 german student – Karl Philip Lohmann)

EG:
What is the pre-condition for foreigners to take part on your workshops or courses?

S.Ghai:
There is no special procedure for foreigners – they have to undergo the same admission procedure as Indian students. More details about the same are available on www.whistlingwoods.net

EG:
What is your own life motto which has guided you through all the years and which motto do you want to give to newcomer in the movie business?

S.Ghai:
Make your work your first love, your one and only passion...that has been my Motto. It is extremely difficult to sustain this long-term career for those who are not willing to put the hard work in and who are in here just for the glamour. It is crucial for students and parents to realize that just having talent is not enough. It is important that if you are aiming for a stable and long term career that you must go through formal education. Having said that if you have the right education and platform this Industry can provide for immense job opportunities and great job satisfaction! Which is rare to find….
It is important to have the passion and vigor to make it in this Industry. Once you are committed to make it in this Industry you will be able to overcome any hurdles that come your way and take them in your stride.

EG:
At least, what are your future plans for yourself as actor, producer, chairman? Do you have new visions?

S.Ghai:
I would like to continue making meaningful films under my banner Mukta Searchlight and of course work with Whistling Woods students who I am confident will make a mark on the Indian Film Industry for years to come.

EG:
Mr. Ghai, thank you very much for your detailed answer. We from bollywood-worldwide.com wish you all the best for your upcoming projects with your own film company Mukta Arts and your film academy Whistling Woods International.