St Andrews auditorium in Bandra, Mumbai was vibrant with energy and alluring with hope as over 200 students started their journey towards doing what they love, as they graduated. It was the 8^th Annual Convocation of Whistling Woods International (WWI). The batch of 2015 graduated in Filmmaking, Animation, Acting, MBA, BBA & Fashion courses.

The country’s IT scion and global personality Padma Shri N.R. Narayana Murthy visited the campus in Filmcity and was amazed to see the high tech custom-made infrastructure and facilities. He also took a masterclass on entrepreneurship with 300 students on campus.

Expressing his excitement, Founder & Chairman, Subhash Ghai said, “Today is a golden moment in the history of Whistling Woods International because the vision and mission of setting up this institute is inspired from the vision of Shri. Narayana Murthy to set up Infosys in its early days. He is an institution beyond any institute. We feel obliged to have him today with us at the 8^th Convocation to bless the students”.

Since its inception, Whistling Woods International has offered over 1200 media and entertainment professionals to the industry. This includes Filmmakers, Actors, MBA graduates, Fashion professionals& Animation experts. In the recent past, the alumni of the institute have been associated with a list of several prestigious projects and organizations. Whistling Woods alumni are today seen in enviable positions at Fox Films, Adlabs Media, Viacom, Dharma Productions, Phantom Films, Zee Entertainment Ltd, Mukta Arts, BIG Animation, Paprikaas, Optimystix, Red Chillies, Endemol, Balaji, Rajkamal Films (Kamal Hasan), BR Films and Network 18 amongst several others.

The event started with the lamp lighting ceremony by the esteemed guests along with Subhash Ghai and Meghna Ghai Puri, which was followed by an AV demonstrating various milestones achieved by WWI. Anandji’s student and well known singer Palak Muchchal charmed the audience with her outstanding performance. N.R. Narayana Murthy enlightened the audience with his inspiring keynote address.

Congratulating WWI Batch 2015 graduates, he said, “Bollywood unites India, and institutes like Whistling Woods International contribute to create such oneness. It’s a pleasant experience to be here today and witness so many students graduating. My confidence after being here has increased manifolds. Whistling Woods is one among the top 10 quality institutions in India and has the potential to be Top 3. There are very few education institutes catering to this industry and you are very lucky to graduate from such a wonderful institute.”

There was a standing ovation as N.R. Narayana Murthy, Zeenat Aman and Subhash Ghai presented the prestigious ‘WWI Maestro Award’ to Anandji Virji Shah and Hema Malini, instituted by the faculty and management of WWI for their outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. Esha Deol, received the award on behalf of Hema Malini since she is still recovering from her injuries. Hema Malini sent a note to congratulate the students and said, “I must say Whistling Woods is a mission towards our Prime Minister’s dream of Skill India, Digital India and Make in India and it has been working towards it for the past 9 years. Congratulations.”

Thanking everyone present at the 8^th Convocation ceremony of WWI, Meghna Ghai Puri, President, said, “At every Convocation we feel equally emotional and nostalgic to see the students graduate from the institute and begin their journey in the industry. We are proud to be one of the Asia’s largest institute, which is deeply ingrained with the industry and provide skill-based training keeping the professional scenario in mind. I wish all the students good luck as they begin the new phase of their lives.”