The Whistling Woods film institute started by filmmaker Subhash Ghai is celebrating its 12th anniversary today. To commemorate the occasion, the institute has invited achievers among its alumni to deliver guest lectures to students and also to get together with faculty and determine how to update the institute’s curricula. The institute now has over 1,600 alumni and has expanded over the years from one school to seven schools, several of them in association with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). Says Meghna Ghai Puri, the institute’s president: “When my father (Subhash Ghai) was a struggling entrant into the film industry in the early Seventies, he didn’t have anywhere to turn. He had no network and no connections. He vowed at that time that, one day if he had enough money, he would create a platform for talented youngsters to achieve their goals. That was how the idea of Whistling Woods was born. Today, we’re thrilled that youngsters from different backgrounds and different parts of the country can come to our institute and find careers in the media and entertainment industry as a result.” Meghna recalls that for two years from 2012 to 2014, the institute battled a tough court case regarding possession of its land that almost shut it down – until it was finally resolved, the institute survived, and is now thriving again. Adds the president: “If there is one decision we have taken at the management level, then it is to never compromise on the quality of instruction we deliver to the students or the technology that is available to them. Our students and alumni are at the helm of digital activity in the entertainment industry of this country. We aim to prepare them for the future.”