Subhash Ghai - Founder, Chairman Whistling Woods International

Chairman of Mukta Arts Limited, Subhash Ghai is an internationally renowned filmmaker who has written and directed 17 feature films, 14 of which have been blockbusters, in the span of 30 years. He has been presented with national and international awards and was honoured by the United States Senate for his achievements as a prominent producer and director. Under his leadership, Mukta Arts Limited "one of the leading production houses in India" has been a revolutionizing pioneer in the Indian film industry. Subhash Ghai has been the Chairman of the National Entertainment Committee of the CII, Member of FICCI, NASSCOM (e-alliance) and the IDBI Bank Film Financing Advisory. He is a Director in United Producers Forum, and a member of the Executive Committee of Producers Guild of India

Born in Nagpur, India, Subhash Ghai a graduate in Cinema from the Film & Television Institute of India, Pune, started his career as a screen actor, then shifted to writing screenplay and got his first directorial break in film KALICHARAN which proved a big hit of its time and thereafter Subhash Ghai did not have to look back and went on making blockbusters with lot of acclaim from public and critics. He has been awarded with various laurels and titles including "showman" and "dream merchant" by various media establishments. The then President of India honored him with a national award for making "KARMA" an ant-terrorism motion picture in 1986. His later films like PARDES and TAAL opened a wider audience's world wide for Indian movies and featured in Hollywood top twenty at box-office for various weeks.

SUBHASH GHAI is one of the most renowned names among Indians and south Asians for his excellent record as an Indian film maker in mainstream cinema for the last 26 years.
Subhash Ghai has written and directed 16 motion pictures out of which 13 have been declared as the biggest blockbusters of its time. He started his production company in 1978 as a partnership concern to begin with, then formed a Private Limited company known as Mukta Arts Pvt. Ltd. in 1982 and produced many block busters under the company which is, till date, one of the leading production houses in film making in India. In the year 2000, Mukta Arts went for public investment and achieved an overwhelming response from the public and the capital market of India.

Now, SUBHASH GHAI is the chairman and managing director of MUKTA ARTS LTD. the first corporate film company in Mumbai film industry. Under this company, Subhash Ghai has set up many plans to institutionalize the Indian entertainment industry and take it to the global scenario by developing worldwide distribution, productions, technology, studios and institutes of international standard in the field of arts and sciences in films and television and other media arts.

He introduced many new talents and groomed them into stars such as Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Jaaved Jaffrey, Saroj Khan, Manisha Koirala, Mahima Chaudhary, Isha Shravani, Antonia Bernath, Shreyas Talpade and more. He has also introduced many technicians and contributed to the development of Cinema. Currently in the process of introducing Anurag Sinha in a leading role in his film 'Black and White'.

Widely traveled internationally, Subhash Ghai has been on the board, committees, associations with various activities and missions in the field of social, economic or human welfare. He is a member of executive committee of Producers Guild of India and a member of United Producers forum. He has also been appointed as the Chairman of the Entertainment Committee of Trade body CII and also the member of FICCI and NASCOM and TIE worldwide and its alliances and has been invited to address at various forums and seminars including on corporate governance and other subjects relating to the growth of media and entertainment industry in India and worldwide.

As Chairman & Founder of Whistling Woods International  Institute for Film, Television, Animation & Media Arts, he has been overseeing the setup, academic staffing, smooth functioning of the first-ever privately setup world-class media institute in India and ensuring imparting of quality education to the next generation of film-makers. It is his vision that India will be able to hold their own against the rest of the world in the field of entertainment.

In 2007, he has been conferred a National Award as producer of the film "Iqbal" which won the Best Film on Social Issues. He has further been selected as final round jury member for the International EMMY Awards 2007.


Meghna Ghai Puri - President, Whistling Woods International

Holding an advanced diploma in Communications, Advertising and Marketing and a BSc Honours degree in Business Management from Kings College, London, Ms. Ghai Puri has been instrumental in shaping the foundation of Whistling Woods International from its inception. She now heads the operational aspects of the world class institute, managing a team of well over 150 professionals & faculty. Earlier in her career she managed marketing for Mukta Arts Ltd and was associated with films like 'Pardes', 'Taal', and 'Yaadein'. She has been associated with key businesses in the Indian entertainment industry through prominent projects including the ambitious stage celebration of 100 years of Indian cinema - Cinema 100.


Pradeep Guha - Managing Director of Street Culture

Mr. Pradeep Guha, has recently floated an outdoor entertainment division called Street Culture through The Culture Co., of which, he is the owner and promoter.

After spending 29 years in the media business, Guha is the former CEO of Zee Telefilms Limited, India's largest satellite television network. Previously, he was the President of Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd. (Times of India Group) He was the publisher of Femina (India's leading women's magazine) and Filmfare (India's premier film magazine) and responsible for the two major events connected with them, the Femina Miss India Contest and the annual Filmfare Awards. Most recently he helmed the conceptualization, organization and execution of Asia's largest biennial advertising congress, AdAsia, held in Jaipur.


Manmohan Shetty - Founder, Walk Water Films Founder Chairman of Walkwater Films, which is in the business of production of motion pictures and animation feature content.

Prior to the same, he founded and successfully ran Adlabs for several decades, which even today enjoys 80% of all processing and printing business in the Hindi film industry.

A FTII graduate, in Shetty's early career, he produced many films, including Chakra, Ardh Satya, Hip Hip Hurray, Holi and Aagahat. He opened the first IMAX theatre in India, with the largest dome screen in the world and the first multiplex cinema in Mumbai.


Vijay Choraria - Director, Prebone Yamane

A Chartered Accountant and Bachelor in General Law, Choraria has been actively involved in real estate and financial markets for the past 16 years. He is now a Director of Sharyans Resources Ltd., Prebon Yamane Ltd., Oracle Stocks & Shares Ltd. and V.J. Finsecurities Pvt. Ltd. In the media filed, Choraria is a Director of Mukta Arts Ltd. & of Siddant Cinevision Ltd.


Managing Director, Filmcity -

Nominee of Maharashtra Film, Stage & Cultural Development Corporation Limited (Filmcity)