About Us

Chairman of Mukta Arts Limited
Member of the Executive Committee of Producers Guild of India
Member of the United Producers Forum
Chairman of the Media & Entertainment Skills Council (MESC)

We endeavour to train the students in a way that makes them employable and industry-ready.

Subhash Ghai started his career in Hindi cinema as an actor in Taqdeer (1967) and Aradhana (1970) with lead roles during the 70s in Umang, Sherni, Bharat Ke Shaheed and Gumraah. He wrote his first film in 1973 and sold various stories and scripts to leading directors like Prakash Mehra and Dulal Guha in partnership with B Bhalla.

His directorial debut was with the film Kalicharan (1975), which was also written by him and starred Shatrughan Sinha and Reena Roy which became a blockbuster instantly. After directing three films, Vishwanath [1976], Gautam Govinda [1977], and Krodhi [1979], he ventured into production with Karz [1980] being his first film as a producer.

He formed his own company Mukta Arts Pvt Ltd. after directing Vidhata [1982], his first film with Dilip Kumar and Sanjay Dutt. Under the Mukta banner, he made the evergreen musical blockbuster ‘Hero’ introducing Jackie Shroff which was followed by many blockbusters in a row including Meri Jung, Karma, Ram Lakhan, Saudagar, Khalnayak, Pardes, Taal, Yaadein until 2001. Then came Kisna [2004], Black and White [2007] and Yuvraaj [2008]. He also produced many blockbusters including Aitraaz, 36 China Town, Apna Sapna Money Money, Joggers Park and Iqbal. He also produced regional films like ‘Nauka Dubi’ in Bengali, ‘Sanai Choughade’ and ‘Samhita’ in Marathi and ‘Double Di Trouble’ in Punjabi.

He is known to give brief cameos in his directorial ventures. During the 90s, the media honoured him with the title of ‘Showman’. This title was previously bestowed to Raj Kapoor known for his big musical movies and celebrations with magnum events.

Both Pardes and Taal were released internationally and featured in the top 20 movies in the US box office charts for several weeks.

As a producer, he introduced the concept of the film insurance policy for the first time in Bollywood, with his film Taal. He was also the first producer to get banks to finance movies. He was the first Indian film producer who converted his company into a corporate entity in 2000, as Mukta Arts Pvt Ltd., and expanded its business from education to exhibition in movies and multi-media.

Being a technology enthusiast himself, he promptly promoted new technology in both production and exhibition sectors.

As a director-producer, he launched and groomed many upcoming and new faces in the industry like Madhuri Dixit, Manisha Koirala, Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Dutt, Mahima Chowdhary, Aishwarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.

He has been known as one of the best directors in extracting great music from various composers, and acting performances from each and every actor he has worked with. His past films still yield huge revenue through television and remakes.

In 2001, he was the only filmmaker in India who set up an international film school ‘Whistling Woods International’ (WWI) in Mumbai. Operational since 2006, WWI has national and international students on campus and boasts of exporting education to many countries including the UK and Nigeria and has designed media studies curriculum for CBSE high schools. The Hollywood Reporter has named Whistling Woods International as one of the top ten film schools in the world, with 550 students on campus and world-class facilities. It is certified as a global film institute in India by the Skill Tree Knowledge Consortium at the House of Commons in 2014. His daughter Meghna Ghai Puri is the President of Whistling Woods International and has expanded it to various states of India and other countries.

Recipient of many national and international awards, Subhash Ghai has been honoured by the United States Senate. He was the former chairman of the entertainment committee of the trade body CII, and a member of FICCI, NASSCOM and TIE global & its alliances. He has been on the jury of the Emmy awards for three years, and on the international panel on film piracy at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008.

In the recent past, the United Kingdom and South Africa have sought his expertise to help set up institutions. Under his able mentorship, the WWI teams have also helped the Hong Kong government to promote tourism in their country. In December 2013, the international confederation of NGOs and the United Nations conferred the Karmaveer Chakra upon him for his contribution as an educationist to develop skill and innovative education in India in the field of cinema and entertainment.

The internationally acclaimed song ‘Jai Ho’ was to be a part of his film Yuvraaj [2008], but Mr. Ghai felt it was unsuitable for the character played by Zayed Khan to perform this song on-screen. Later, it was used in Slumdog Millionaire. After winning the Oscar, A. R. Rahman revealed in an interview that it was Mr. Ghai who had asked him to use the words ‘Jai Ho’ in the song.

He directed a short film on communal harmony in 1990 with Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Tiger Shroff titled ‘Pyar Ki Ganga Bahe’ – which was the title of a song composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal on the lyrics of Javed Akhtar.

He conceived and directed a magnum audio-visual stage show ‘Cinema Cinema’ in 1991, celebrating 100 years of world cinema with 42 Bollywood stars, 200 musicians, and 250 dancers on a 180 feet stage at NSCI, Mumbai.

His production house is named after his wife Mukta Rehana Ghai. They have two daughters, Meghna and Muskaan. Subhash Ghai is chairman of Mukta Arts Pvt. Ltd. and Whistling Woods International.

Today, his evergreen films ‘Hero’ and ‘Ram Lakhan’ are being remade by Salman Khan and Karan Johar with Rohit Shetty as director, in association with Mukta Arts Pvt. Ltd.

Whistling Woods International is a platform for self-expression and self-realisation. It’s a platform to realise your dream.

Meghna Ghai Puri is the President of Whistling Woods International (WWI) and has been involved in setting it up since its inception in 2001. A Business Management graduate from Kings College London, University of London, she also spearheaded Marketing & International Distribution activities for India’s leading production & entertainment company, Mukta Arts Ltd. At WWI, she has spearheaded the launch of 9 schools in the field of Film, Communication & Creative Arts. These schools offer degree, post-graduate & diploma programmes in Film, Animation & Game Design, Acting, Media & Communication, Fashion & Costume Design, Visual Communication Design, Music, Event Management and Sports & Esports Management. In 2013, she was awarded with the prestigious Honorary Fellowship by UK’s Bradford College for her contribution to Media Education. She was also awarded with the ET Best Education Brands of India 2019 for her contribution to the field of education in cinema. She was felicitated with the Times Leading Icon 2021, presented by the Times Group, appreciating, and acknowledging her role as a contributor towards ‘Excellence in Media & Creative Arts Education’.

Director, Mukta Arts Ltd, Whistling Woods International and Mukta A2 Cinemas Ltd

Strategic Advisor to CMD/CEO/Board members of large-listed company – Perception image management, media, marketing, brand communications
Independent Director, Vasundhara Hospitality Pvt.Ltd.

With over 35 years of media, marketing and brand communications experience, Paulomi Dhawan has played an integral role in shaping the brand equity of many leading Indian lifestyle brands like Samsonite, Parle, Raymond, Park Avenue, Eenadu, Star TV among others.

She has been recognised for her deep understanding of the efficiency and efficacy of various media platforms and her strategic vision in the area of management of media investments. Her experience has helped her deliver positive impact and relevant messaging towards building the image of various corporate entities and its “C” suite among stakeholders. Her strong bond with media owners, editors, and senior journalists has not only been her passion but her powerful asset. She has been much sought after at industry and social platforms. She was on the University of Bombay advisory group for the formulation of the BMM degree. She continues to be on the Executive Council of the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), serving as Treasurer of the organisation. Paulomi believes in giving – she is an active advisor to NGOs and on Rotary’s Inner Wheel Board.

Managing Director, Crest Ventures Ltd.

A Chartered Accountant and Bachelor in General Law by qualification, Vijay Choraria has over 25 years of experience and has been actively involved in the real estate and financial markets.

He is the Managing Director of Sharyans Resources Limited since September 1, 2007 and the Promoter & MD of Prebon Yamane (India) Ltd. He served as the Chairman of the Board of JMC Projects (India) Ltd., until December 11, 2008. He has been a Non-Executive Director of Mukta Arts Ltd since March 24, 2000.

He serves as a Director at B. E. Billimoria & Company Ltd., SAI Consulting Engineers Pvt. Ltd., Collins Stewart Inga Pvt. Ltd., Intime Spectrum Securities Limited, Prebon Yamane (India) Limited, Sidhant Cinevision Limited, Red Carpet Films Ltd., Tamarind Tours Pvt. Ltd., Sharyans Wealth Management Pvt. Ltd. and Whistling Woods International Ltd.

President and CEO (Films Business), IN10 Media Network

One of the youngest leaders in the film industry, Vivek Krishnani is the President and CEO (Films Business) of IN10 Media Network (which is a company co-promoted by Mr. Anand Mahindra and Mr. Aditya Pittie). His current mandate is to build a film studio focused on the local films production (in Hindi and other languages) and overseeing revenue maximization while looking at initiatives that support revenue growth in India.

In his last assignment Vivek was the Managing Director of Sony Pictures Entertainment India and under his leadership he and his team delivered back to back hits in 2018 with Akshay Kumar starrer Pad Man and Amitabh Bachchan-Rishi Kapoor starrer 102 Not Out and the recent successful outings viz. Major (Telugu and Hindi bi lingual film based on the life martyr Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan), Shakuntala Devi starring Vidya Balan, Loop Lapeta starring Taapsee Pannu and Tahir Raj Bhasin, Dial 100 starring Manoj Bajpayee, Neena Gupta and Sakshi Tanwar amongst others.

Some of the key highlights of Vivek’s career include, his stint as Senior Vice President at MSM Motion Pictures (part of Sony Pictures Networks, India) where he led the marketing and distribution of one of the biggest break out hits of 2015- Shoojit Sircar’s Piku that top lined Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan.

Vivek was also part of the original leadership team of Fox Star Studios where he headed Distribution, Marketing and Syndication. He along with his team, successfully released films like Avatar, Ice Age series, X-MEN Series, Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire, My Name is Khan, Bol Bachchan, Jolly LLB amongst others.

Prior to his stint in movies, Vivek served with Turner Entertainment Networks Asia as Executive Director, Marketing for Asia Pacific region and was based in Hongkong. He was responsible for Marketing and Interactive strategy for the entertainment channels for Turner Entertainment (Cartoon Network, POGO, Boomerang and TCM) with a strong focus on ROI. He was a member of the team that was responsible for the launch of POGO channel in India.

Other highlights of Vivek’s career have been his time at Radio City, where he was in charge of marketing & strategic planning and was part of the start-up team that set up the radio station in 4 cities.

Prior to Radio City, Vivek was a member of the strategic planning and marketing team at Star Plus and was involved in the transition of Star Plus from an English to a Hindi language channel. He was part of the team that was responsible for the launch of the popular game show “Kaun Banega Crorepati”, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu thi and many others. This was preceded by a stint in Lintas Advertising (now called Lowe) working on the biggest mass market detergent franchise brand – Wheel of Unilever India (erstwhile HLL).

He holds a management degree from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute and in addition to two decades of strategy, marketing, distribution, syndication and leadership experience, across films, television and radio industry Vivek is a foodie, a TEDx speaker, an avid traveller with a keen interest in spiritualit and a doting father.