9th Annual Convocation with Maestro Vinod Khanna

We celebrated the 9^th Annual Convocation of its 16^th & 17^th graduating batches on July 18, 2016. The event witnessed a vibrant afternoon with around 1000 people comprising industry professionals, parents of the students and students full of alluring hopes and energy, where their achievements were acknowledged and appreciated with awards and commendations.

This year, legendary singer, Lata Mangeshkar and acclaimed actor-producer, Vinod Khanna, were conferred with the ‘Whistling Woods Maestro Award’, for their invaluable contribution to Indian cinema. Visionary entrepreneur and multiplex baron, Ajay Bijli, Managing Director and Chairman, PVR Ltd, addressed the students with an inspiring speech as the keynote speaker, sharing his words of wisdom and key entrepreneurial skills.

The ceremony began with Subhash Ghai, Meghna Ghai Puri, Ravi Gupta, Manmohan Shetty, lighting the lamp, followed by a video demonstrating various milestones achieved by us in a span of 10 years. One of the key highlights of the event was the performance of Aishwarya Majmudar of Kaanchi & Prem Ratan Dhan Payo fame, who left the audience in awe as she rendered some songs of Lata Mangeshkar ji as a tribute to the legendary singer.

 Also seen at the event presenting commendations to students were film director, Amol Gupte, Chairman, Adlabs, Manmohan Shetty, film producer Rajkumar Barjatya, among others.  

“With this graduating batch, we, at Whistling Woods International have accomplished ten successful years. It gives me immense pleasure to share that we have delivered on what we committed when we set out to start the institute in 2006. The constant efforts by Meghna, Rahul, Ravi Gupta and the faculty have been instrumental in shaping the institute and I am honoured to be a part of the fulfilling first decade journey.  I wish that legendary personalities like Lata ji, Vinod Khanna and industry stalwarts like Ajay Bijli, continue to inspire us to create more well-honed industry ready professionals and thereby helping students make great careers in a holistic way”, said, Subhash Ghai, Founder & Chairman, Whistling Woods International.

Thanking everyone present at the annual Convocation ceremony, Meghna Ghai Puri, President, Whistling Woods International, said, “It’s a great day today for all of us as we celebrate the graduation day of the 16^th & 17^th batches of Whistling Woods International at the end of our 10th year of running the institute. Ten years back on the same date we brought in force my father’s long held dream of opening a world-class teaching school for film aspirants in Bombay and today we are recognised as one of the leading film, communication and media arts institute in the country, a sense of achievement for all of us as we gear up to take on the journey for many more decades to come. I congratulate the students and wish them all the very best for their future.”

Now, more than 1100 alumni are successfully working in the Media and Entertainment industry, having bagged prestigious projects in filmmaking, animation and acting. Recent and popular projects, include, Mohenjo Daro, Sultan, Udta Punjab, Kapoor & Sons, Masaan, The Jungle Book, Fan, Neerja, Bajirao Mastani, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, PK, Highway, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania to name a few, as filmmakers in various capacities and Shashank Arora - Titli; Rajshri Deshpande - Angry Indian Goddesses, among others, as actors in prominent roles in critically acclaimed and award winning films.

The 2nd edition of our Graduation Show - AIYANNA 2016

We hosted the 2nd edition of our fashion graduation show ‘AIYANNA' 2016, on July 10, 2016. The show saw models from the fashion industry walking the ramp in brilliant couture collections each with an innovative theme followed by the screening of fashion movies, designed and created by the graduating batch respectively. It’s the first time ever for a fashion design school to have offered an opportunity to the students to showcase their creativity via movies bringing out the competitive stylist in their own distinct way.


The collections and fashion movies at the graduation show were judged by a jury panel which included well-known personalities from the Indian fashion industry, namely, Meher Castelino – Fashion Journalist & Consultant, Sonal Jindal – Entrepreneur & Designer, Medusa and Shereen Sikka Bharwani  – Creative Director at Love And Other Bugs LLP. The students of the graduating batch were mentored by veterans and experts like Anjana Sharma and Aparna Badlani to name a few.


The glitzy evening witnessed prominent guests from the film fraternity and corporate world like, Subhash Ghai - Founder & Chairman, Whistling Woods International, Prahlad Kakkar - Indian Ad Film Director, amongst others. Other special guest from the fashion industry including Snower Sania - Fashion Designer and Stylist & Owner of label – Summer Snow, Vibha Keshwani - Costume Designer & Celebrity Fashion Stylist and Shalini Mehta - Fashion Stylist & Editor, shalinimehta.com also attended the event.

The themes of the collections and movies, proudly and beautifully presented by the students of the school, were inspired by varied categories of art, culture, travel and literature from across the globe. The first time ever students of a fashion design school showcased creativity via uniquely themed fashion movies and collections. While the garment collections were titled, IGENEOUS, LA DEGEL, PLAY, AMAARA, WABI-SABI, COSMIC NAVY, the titles of the fashion movies were REBIRTH, AEON, LUCID DREAM, NARA-NARI.

Neeta Lulla, Founder & Dean of Whistling Woods International School of Fashion, said, “It’s wonderful to see the brilliant outcome of the students’ immense hardwork put in through the years, today and not forgetting to mention the efforts and mentoring by the faculty and fashion industry veterans from time to time. I am extremely proud to see the graduating batch overpowering the threshold of being industry efficient. In this duration of the course, we have offered the best guidance to groom each student and make them efficient to take on the fashion world. I wish them all the best for their future endeavors.”

“I believe that institutions are not built by bricks and locations alone. I am extremely proud of the students, faculty and committed staff to make every successful step at WWI possible. For the stars of the event, I would just like to say: You stand at the end of one road, but are also standing at the beginning of another. Always remember to be courageous, diligent and humble! We wish you all the very best for your next steps in life.” said, Meghna Ghai Puri, President, Whistling Woods International.

Best Apparel Construction – Vaidehi Dharap for her collection ‘PLAY’

Best Collection & Designer – Tamana Kothari for her collection ‘IGNEOUS’

Best Movie & Best Styling – Amrita Banerjee for her fashion movie ‘NARA-NARI’

Best Commercially Viable Collection – Simran Oberoi for her collection ‘COSMIC-NAVY'