‘Whistling Woods caught in political crossfire’

The Bombay high court has directed filmmaker Subhash Ghai to shut down his film school, Whistling Woods International in Goregaon because of irregularities in the allotment of its 20 acre property. HT speaks to Ghai about what he plans to do.

The Bombay high court has directed filmmaker Subhash Ghai to shut down his film school, Whistling Woods International in Goregaon because of irregularities in the allotment of its 20 acre property.

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HT speaks to Ghai about what he plans to do.

What is the status of the Whistling Woods International film school in Mumbai?
The Bombay high court has asked us to return the land on which the institute stands to the government and close the institute within two years based on a certain perception. We have appealed against the order in the Supreme Court.

Do you think you might open the school elsewhere?
Whistling Woods has to survive. We will take it elsewhere. It is already one of the top ten schools in the world. We will wait and watch. Education is more important than land. We plan to open two schools in Haryana and Hyderabad. These should be ready in two or three years.

It is unfortunate that there might not be the film school in the heart of Bollywood…
It will be unfortunate. Thousands of aspirants come to Mumbai. This is the first time a filmmaker set up such a school. It is very unfortunate but I guess that land issue has got caught in political crossfire. But there is always the apex court to give you justice if our intentions are honest.

What is the mission behind setting up the film school?
Whistling Woods is not a business proposition but a vision with a mission. A mission by a filmmaker with 30 years of experience wanting to train the next generation of India to excel in content creation. But I know many people, including many politicians, who perceive it as a money-making plan. They suspect it all the times. We lose Rs5 crore to Rs7 crore every year.