Whistling Woods International
 | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (October 2011) |
| Whistling Woods International Institute for Films, Media, Animation and Media Arts | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
India , India | |
| Information | |
| Type | Film Institute |
| Established | 2006 |
| Founder | Subhash Ghai |
| President | Meghna Ghai Puri[1] |
| Website | www |
Whistling Woods International Institute is a film, television and media arts institute located in Mumbai, India. The institute is promoted by Indian filmmaker Subhash Ghai, Mukta Arts Limited and Film City Mumbai.
The Institute also has affiliations with global film schools. These include international student co-productions and credits transfer. Some of the affiliations are with Deakin and Griffith Universities in Australia, Bradford College in the UK, Syracuse University in the United States and New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Asia. In 2010, The Hollywood Reporter named Whistling Woods on its list of "The best film schools in the world".[1]
The school has recently even tied up with DY Patil to create a DY Patil Whistling Woods International School of Media & Communication, taking its first step towards nation wide expansion as well as giving students a chance to spend 18 months in the Pune Campus & the rest of the time in Mumbai.[citation needed]
History
Whistling Woods International was founded by director Subhash Ghai in 2005. He formed a partnership with Film City which allowed him to use their property. In return, Film City received a 15% share in the school.[2]
In 2012, Bombay High Court ordered Ghai to hand over the land to Film City as (then) Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had illegally signed the deal without receiving permission from the Government of Maharashtra which owned the land. The High Court ruled that the land had also been significantly undervalued in the sale.[3] The verdict is being appealed in the Supreme Court of India.[2]
Supreme Court Order
Supreme Court orders Subhash Ghai to return land, slams Vilasrao Deshmukh
New Delhi,April 4, 2012 12:06 IST: Bollywood producer Subhash Ghai has been told by the Supreme Court that he will have return the 21 acres allotted to his film academy, Whistling Woods, in Film City, Goregaon on the outskirts of Mumbai. The land was given to Mr Ghai in 2000 by then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. The Supreme Court today described the deal as "The largesse of a state doled out at the behest of the Chief Minister at a paltry sum to a blue-eyed boy." Mr Deshmukh is currently a Union minister. The Supreme Court has agreed with the Bombay High Court's decision in February that said Mr Ghai would have to return 14.5 acres that are currently vacant at his academy immediately to the government. Another 5.5 acres that are in use are to be given back in 2014 so that students currently enrolled can complete their courses without any disruptions. The High Court had ordered Mr Ghai to pay 5 crores in rent per year since 2000. The producer-director had appealed to the Supreme Court against the High Court's ruling. The High Court had also been severely critical of Mr Deshmukh, describing the deal between the government and Mr Ghai as "illegal, arbitrary and without authority of law." They stressed: "It is not acceptable that a Chief Minister will personally sign such an agreement, which is illegal. It is clear that Vilasrao has extended undue favours to Ghai's Whistling Woods." The judges had referred to a report by the government's auditor that said the land bought to have been valued at Rs. 31.20 crores as opposed to the three-crore price tag used by the government. Mr Deshmukh has appealed to the Supreme Court to have those remarks against him expunged. In a hearing last month, his lawyer argued that he had "signed in the agreement between Ghai and the Film corporation as a token of blessing and has no hand in transaction." The court was unimpressed. "Blessings are given by hand not by signature..." the judges had said. [4] Now supreme court ordered to handover land to Government of Maharashtra totally.
Campus
The Mumbai campus of 20 acres (81,000 m2) is located inside Mumbai’s film and television production centre Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari (better known as Filmcity), and offers courses that vary in duration from 6-months to 2&½ years, both full-time and part-time. The Mumbai campus has been operational since July 2006 and the student body has grown from 90 to 350. Expansion has included an e-learning platform with online courses, broadcasting and VFX verticals, additional courses in a Co-curricular Activities Program and the Short Courses Unit.
Courses
Courses include Acting, Animation, Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Screenwriting and Sound for the Film & TV Industries. The institute offers, in association with Manipal University, India’s first MBA in Media & Entertainment. In 2010, Whistling Woods launched a School of Media & Communication offering undergraduate and post graduate courses in PR, Journalism, Advertising & Audio Visual production. Students also study co-curricular subjects like Film Appreciation, International Art Literature Culture, Production Design and Music.
Faculty
The full-time faculty of Whistling Woods International is a body of academics and industry professionals like Subhash Ghai, Rajen Kothari, Anjum Rajabali, Rakesh Ranjan, Umesh Gupta, Prashant Naik, Ashmaki Acharya, Rob Reece, D. Wood, Jameel Khan, Somnath Sen and Dhananjay Khore. There are regular guest lectures by Indian and international filmmakers, actors and technicians like Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Vishal Bhardwaj, Ashutosh Gowariker, Farhan Akhtar, Pubali Chaudhary, Ashok Amritraj, Faizan Khawaja, Shyam Benegal, Farah Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor, Ratna Pathak, Danny Boyle, Rajkumar Hirani, Tisca Chopra[5] and Imtiaz Ali.
Demographics
Around 20 percent of the students are international[1] from countries like the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, Italy and France.
References
- ^ a b c "The best film schools in the world". The Hollywood Reporter. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ a b Ansari, Shabana (20 February 2012). "Whistling Woods not business, but my life's mission: Subhash Ghai". DNA. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ "Vilasrao Deshmukh indicted over land allotment to Whistling Woods". The Hindu. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ "Supreme Court orders Subhash Ghai to return land, slams Vilasrao Deshmukh". NDTV. 4 April 2012.
- ^ "Tisca Chopra impresses Naseer". DNA. IANS. 24 December 2007. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
External links