Our faculty body comprises of leading industry professionals & instructors from renowned global film schools and is augmented by a body of highly successful guest faculty.
Subhash Ghai
Chief Mentor,
Actors’ Studio
Subhash Ghai
Founder & Chairman
Mr. Subhash Ghai is a globally renowned filmmaker having directed 18 films over a four decade career, with 14 of them being blockbusters. Recipient of many national and international awards, he has also been honoured by the United States Senate. He has been appointed as the Chairman of Media and Entertainment Skills Council (MESC). He was also the former Chairman of the Entertainment Committee of the trade body, CII and a member of FICCI, NASSCOM and TIE Global and its alliances. He has been invited to address various forums and seminars on corporate governance and the growth of the Media & Entertainment industry, globally and in India. He is presently serving as the Chairman of Media & Entertainment Skills Council (MESC).
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Ravi Gupta
Dean
Ravi Gupta
Dean
Mr. Ravi Gupta, as Managing Director, National Film Development Corporation, India, he has nurtured new talent but also worked with masters such as Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, Mira Nair, Aparna Sen, Ketan Mehta among many others. He represented India on the Governing Board of FIAPF and was on the Board of International Emmy. He was editor of ‘Cinema in India’ and continues to be on the Organizing Committee of the Pune International Film Festival. He was the founder CEO of B4U Television Network and has served on the Boards of companies in the UK, USA, Middle East, Africa. He was CEO of Mukta Arts and is now Dean of Whistling Woods International. His book ‘When God went to Hell’ was published recently.
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Rahul Puri
Head of Academics
Rahul Puri
Head Academics
Mr. Rahul Puri is the Managing Director of India’s leading entertainment company Mukta Arts Ltd. & Head of Academics of India’s finest creative education institute, Whistling Woods International. A business graduate from Kings College London, Rahul started his career as an investment banker at UBS Warburg. Rahul moved to Mumbai in 2002 and worked in the sector of Corporate Finance & Strategy before he joined Mukta Arts Ltd. to produce and distribute Indian films.
Rahul is now involved in all aspects of the company including financing, distribution, production, exhibition and marketing. He was keenly involved in the set-up of Whistling Woods International and now is setting up and building out a chain of Cinemas under the
brand name of Mukta A2 Cinemas.
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School of Filmmaking
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ashwini Kaul
Head of Department
Ashwini Kaul
Head of Department
Mr. Ashwini Kaul is a graduate from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. He began his career by working on various advertising TVC and corporate films before he began his journey in films. He has worked on various award-winning fiction, non-fiction feature films, short films and also shot films in 3D. He went on to conduct workshops at FTII and Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT) and has authored article on photography for photography magazines. His association with Whistling Woods International has been more than a decade old where he heads the department of cinematography.
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Chandrashekar Iyer
Faculty
Chandrashekar Iyer
Faculty
Mr. Chandrashekar Iyer has studied BSc from RUIA college, Mumbai. He is an active member of W.I.C.A (Western India Cinematographers Association) managing committee and Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal. For the past 18 years, he has been a member of the Indian film and television industry, working as a cameraman and assistant cameraman over feature films, documentaries, AD Films, and TV Series. Mr. Iyer has also done TV serials in Marathi, Gujrati Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada. He has won state award and zee award for the Marathi movie he worked. His remarkable portfolio includes films for Dubai Duty-free, AD films for Johnson’s baby brand, promotional films for Europe Tourism and much more. For many years now, he has been affiliated with Whistling Woods International and is a sought-after professor in the department of cinematography.
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Krishhnamurthy
Faculty
Krishhnamurthy
Faculty
Mr. Krishhnamurthy has spent over 39 years in the Indian film industry and has had a remarkable career throughout. He holds a Diploma in Cinematography from Pune Film Institute. He kick-started his career as a director of photography and worked with industry-stalwarts like Pramod Chakravorty, Hema Malini, Jeetendra (in the movie Dream Girl) at the beginning of his career. He has worked with numerous incredible Indian films as First Assistant and an Operative Cameraman and worked with some of the best actors of Indian film industry like Dharmendra, Dev Anand, Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Rekha, Sharmila Tagore and many more. His area of expertise extends to the Televisions series and Corporate films as well. Mr. Krishhnamurthy has worked on about 200 ad movies too.
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Manoj Peter
Faculty
Manoj Peter
Faculty
Mr. Manoj Peter holds a Postgraduate Degree (Science) and Postgraduate Diploma in Cinema from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, specialising in cinematography. Before joining FTII he was actively involved in theatre. His diploma film ‘A Brief Journey’ at FTII, directed by Kavita Joshi, was selected in the 6th International Student Film Festivities-Aviv, in France in 1997 & for Indian panorama screening (International Film Festival of India, 1997). Having experience of 26 years in the industry, he began his career as an associate cameraman with India’s leading award-winning cinematographers in various Indian and international productions including feature films, commercials, documentary films, multi-cam shoots for Disney, POGO, Sab TV, BBC, NGC, MTV, and other channels. He has worked in award-winning feature films and contributed to Karan Johar’s ‘KKHH’. Some of his notable work includes promotional Film on Polio Vaccination for WHO featuring actor Amitabh Bachchan for BBC, and ‘Pride of India’ series, for StarPlus.
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Venkatesh Pilla
Junior Faculty
Venkatesh Pilla
Junior Faculty
Mr. Venkatesh Pilla is a Whistling Woods International alumnus, and has worked on various short films, music videos, fashion online promos and AD films. He also possesses knowledge about film lights, key grips for motion picture camera and operating motion picture cameras.
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Visiting Faculty
Binitesh Baruri, Fareeda Mehta, Hiroo Keswani, Pankaj Rishi Kumar, Rafey Mehmood, Smriti Nevatia, Tripti Sahni
DIRECTION
Abhijit Mazumdar
Head of Department
Abhijit Mazumdar
Head of Department
Mr. Abhijit Mazumdar is a direction alumnus of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. His portfolio includes some the award winning regional short films and tele films. One of his directorial venture won a National Award for Sound Design. Couple of his films were showcased at some of the renowned film festivals across the world like Glasgow Short Film Festival, Karlovy Vary Short Film Festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, Torino Film Festival He has also been a jury member for Short and Non-Fiction films at the Indian panorama Film Festival in 2016. His association with Whistling Woods International started more than a decade ago as a faculty and now he heads the Department of Direction.
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Koel Sen
Faculty
Koel Sen
Faculty
Ms. Koel Sen is Filmmaker, Artist and an Academician who has graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) with a Postgraduate Diploma in Film Direction. Ms. Sen won a scholarship from the Université d’été (Summer Program) at La Fémis, Paris, specialising in French Documentary Cinema. During her tenure as a filmmaker, she has scripted and directed several short films that have been received at various Asian and International film festivals of repute. Ms.Sen has also directed and produced ad-films, PSA’s and short documentaries in the past and worked at various production houses in Mumbai.
She is often a presenter and moderator at different film panels to discuss cinema. Ms. Sen has also been working in the field of video art with live performances at various Art and Music events. Ms. Sen is currently working on her first feature-length script.
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Paresh Kamdar
Faculty
Paresh Kamdar
Faculty
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Sharad Raj
Faculty
Sharad Raj
Faculty
Mr. Sharad Raj has more than 20 years of experience in the identification and development of TV assets of high quality. From conception to telecast, he has successfully powered several projects. Mr.Sharad Raj has been an integral member of the core team of Zee TV and one of the two Indian consultants to Channel 9, the Australian television giant. He holds a Film Direction degree from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune and a New York Screenwriting diploma. He started his career as a director and worked on many short films and feature films, and as a senior creative director, he has successfully conceptualised and released 24 shows. Mr. Raj has just completed his debut feature film, ‘Ek Betuke Aadmi Ki Afrah Raatein’ starring Adil Hussain and the film is currently doing rounds of film festivals. It premiered at Toulouse Indian Film Festival and will be released in France early next year.
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Sudipto Acharyya
Faculty | Head of Affiliations & Academics, Short Course Unit
Sudipto Acharyya
Faculty
Mr. Sudipto Acharyya is and alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, in direction and screenplay. He further pursued his master’sdegree in Film Studies from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. His independent work portfolio includes a wide range of movies for both Hindi and Bengali Cinema, including Film, TV, and Corporate Films. Mentoring students on their dialogue and diploma film scripts, Sudipto Acharyya has been at the forefront of conducting numerous workshops across the country for his students. He was an active participant in recent CILECT conferences in Lithuania, North America, and Johannesburg. He is part of an Artistic Research project involving BRICS nation that looks at social interstices with the help of cinematic practices.
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Vedanti Chandrakant Dani
Faculty
Vedanti Chandrakant Dani
Faculty
Ms. Vedanti Chandrakant Dani holds a diploma in Film Directionfrom Whistling Woods International. She started her career as a writer, director, and editor working on Marathi feature films and continued to assist with various short films, web shows, and ads. She has written and directed 32 short films and two movies; at various film festivals, many of which have been awarded forbest screenplay, best director and best film. Vedanti Dani has been a panelist at the Jaipur International Film Festival and a member of the jury. She also takes workshops throughout in theater and screenwriting on an ongoing basis.
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Visiting Faculty
Abhimanyu Kanodia, Anik Ghosh, Arya Mehta, Haridas, Indranil Kashyap, Karandeep Chhabra, Madhu Apsara, Puspender Singh, Samagat
EDITING
Prashant Naik
Head of Department
Prashant Naik
Head of Department
Mr. Prashant Naik, a reputed National Award-winning Film Editor, is a working professional as well as Head of Department, Editing, School of Filmmaking at Whistling Woods International. Prashant, specialised in Editing at the FTII, Pune, after completing a Graduate degree in Law and a Post-graduate degree in Commerce. His FTII Diploma film Punaravritti received the National Award in the Best Short Fiction category.
Prashant won the National Award for Best Editing for the film Harvest of Hunger in the Non-Feature Film category from President Dr. Abdul Kalam. He has done live editing for Cricket World Cup match between India and Australia in Wankhede Stadium in the year 1996.
Over the years he has edited several corporate films, ad films, promotional films and documentaries and feature films. He has been one of the curators for MAMI, an International Film Festival in Mumbai attracting films from all over the world. He was a former Board Member – Syllabus Committee for Editing at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad and KIIT, Bhubaneswar.
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Ashif Ahmed
Faculty
Ashif Ahmed
Faculty
Mr. Ashif Ahmed has worked as a Supervising Editor for StarGold, Utsav Movies, Movies OK and StarGold Select. He has also done Projects for Barclays Premier League, Serie A, LA Liga, Ashes, Formula 1, Wimbledon etc. His past associations include Star Sports, Star TV Network and Doordarshan.
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Rajesh Parmar
Faculty
Rajesh Parmar
Faculty
Mr. Rajesh Parmar is a two-times winner of the National Awards in Non-Feature Film Editing as Best Editor for Sanchari (1991) and Colors of Absence (1993), both films directed by Arun Khopkar. He then worked as an editor on several award-winning feature films and non-feature films. One of such film ‘Art in Exile’, was an opening film at IFFLA, Los Angeles. An FTII alumnus with an editing degree, Rajesh Parmar has previously been a member of the jury, Non-Feature Films for the 46th National Film Awards, IDPA (Indian Documentary Producers Association), and curator of a few MAMI Film Festivals. In addition, Mr. Parmar created AD films for Visa, FIFA World Cup, Taj Hotels, Mercedes and edited 150 odd ads. He recently has also written the script for an Odiya feature film, ‘Spandan’.
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Vivian Pimenta
Faculty
Vivian Pimenta
Faculty
Mr. Vivian Pimenta has been associated with Whistling Woods International, since 2006. He has extensive experience in instruction on Avid Media Composer Editing Workflow, and DaVinci Resolve Colour Correction.Mr. Pimenta is an official Avid Certified Trainer- Media Composer Editing 101/110, and also a DaVinci Resolve Certified Trainer.
He was previously employed with Film and Television Institute, Pune, in the Editing Department over a period of 4 years.He is presently involved in training film school students on Avid and Resolve workflow, coupled with project support. His industry experience includes working with Sony Broadcast and Professional Group, in the area of Television studio business.
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Visiting Faculty
Akkshay Mehta, Anik Ghosh, Arjun Mogre, Maanavi Bedi, Manik Dawar, Neil Sadwelkar, Niraj Voralia, Niranjan Thade, Nitin Baid, Rahul Gupta, Rahul Srivastav, Raj Zutsi, Ramchandra PN, Ranjan Das, Sanjay Kumar Patel, Sankalp Meshram, Shan Mohammed, Shweta Venkat, Suvir Nath
PRODUCING
Rabiya Nazki
Head of Department
Rabiya Nazki
Head of Department
Ms. Rabiya Nazki is a versatile and seasoned professional with rich experience in creative producing, script writing, direction, film production, account management and strategic planning. Working with well-known organisations across arts and entertainment, she has produced ad films, corporate AVs, fiction and non-fiction shows. Before joining Whistling Woods International, she launched the HS18 Channel of Network18 and headed the programming department. Her association with Whistling Woods International began more than a decade ago where she began as a senior professor – Producing Department and now heads the department. She mentors students’ projects from ideation till the final execution.
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Abhishek Tripaathi
Faculty
Abhishek Tripaathi
Faculty
Mr. Abhishek Tripaathi is an Economics Graduate and a Film Diploma holder from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. He has worked in the Film & Media Industry for close to 20 years as a Creative Producer and Director. He has also worked in the Television industry on several fictional/ nonfictional shows along with a few feature films. He has directed many AD films for advertising agencies and has a notable teaching experience in the field of Media & Entertainment.
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Anjali Panjabi
Faculty
Anjali Panjabi
Faculty
Ms. Anjali Panjabi is a filmmaker and an independent producer. She has several years of experience working on Indian, as well as on international projects.
Some of the filmmakers she has worked with include Mira Nair, Sooni Taraporevala and Farhan Akhtar. Among several projects she has been associated with, quite a few have been screened at International Film Festivals in Berlin, Tribeca, Venice as well as IFFI, MAMI and IFFK. The versatile filmmaker has also won several National & International awards for her craft.
Alongside active filmmaking, Anjali is also passionate about teaching. She is associated with Whistling Woods International as a faculty for the past 10 years.
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Visiting Faculty
Anjali Panjabi, Anupama Bose, Awanish Singh, Nilakshi Sengupta
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Sabyasachi Bose
Head of Department
Mr. Sabyasachi Bose
Head of Department
Mr. Sabyasachi Bose graduated from the Government College of Art and Craft, Calcutta (now, Kolkata) in 1992. In 1994, he began working in the field of Production Design first with Bijon Das Gupta, then Sanjay Dhabade and finally with late Samir Chanda.
He has been involved in film projects that include ‘Raja’ (1995), ‘Barsaat’ (1995), ‘Gupt- The Hidden Secret’ (1997), ‘Judaai’ (1997), ‘Chocolate – Deep Dark Secrets’ (2005) and ‘Krrish’ (2006), besides TV serials such as ‘Chandrakanta’, the theatre production ‘Legend of Rama’, along with shows such as ‘Manikchand Filmfare Awards’, ‘Hum Ek Hai’, and ad shows for companies like Samsung, Onida, BPL, Tata, Britannia, MRF Tyres, Apollo Tyres, Times of India, Anandalok, etc.
Simultaneously, he has participated in art exhibitions such as, ‘Exhibition’ organised by ‘Indian International Art Centre’ at Kolkata in 1992, ‘Annual Art Exhibition- 1996-97’ organised by ‘The Art Society of India’ (Mumbai), ‘9th Harmony Show’ organised by the ‘Art Trust’, co-organised by the ‘Textile Division, Reliance Industries’ at Mumbai (2004) and ‘Art Watch’ organised by ‘Galerie 88’ at Kolkata (2004) etc.
He has been associated with Whistling Woods International for more than a decade and currently working as the HOD in the Production Design Department, WWI. At WWI, he also teaches History of Art courses.
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Rohit Kumar
Faculty
Rohit Kumar
Faculty
Mr. Rohit Kumar a graduate from the Asian Academy of Film and Television, Noida with 17 years of extensive experience in the industry in almost all aspects of the business. His knows 360° approach to Media & Communications and has experience in taking a project right from conceptualisation down to its final execution. His portfolio ranges from TV channels, production houses, to filmmaking and all working with the stalwarts of the industry. He works in multiple format of filmmaking both technically and creatively.
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Santosh Raut
Faculty
Santosh Raut
Faculty
Mr. Santosh Raut who passed out from “Model Art Institute” Mumbai in 1992, soon started working in the field of Production Design first with Nitin Chandrakant Desai and then with Sanjay Dhabade. He has been involved in film projects and TV serials that includes “Chanakya”(1990), “Mriganayani” (1993), “1942: A Love Story” (1994), “Akele Hum Akele Tum” (1995), “Baazi” (1995), “Katha Doan Ganapatravanchi” (1996), “Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), “The Hero: Love Story of a Spy” (2003), “Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo” (2004), “Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets” (2005), “Vivah” (2006), “Ek Vivaah… Aisa Bhi” (2008), “Khulay Asmaan Kay Neechay” (2008), “Veer” (2010), and an international project named “The Other Side of the Door” (2016). Simultaneously he was also involved in shows like “Manikchand Filmfare Awards”, “Sansui Film Awards”, “Zee Film Awards”, “Hum Ek Hain”, “Zee Music Awards”, “Lata Mangeshkar Sangeet Rajani”, “Aasha Bhosle Show”, “A. R. Rahman Show” at Dubai besides promotion shows for companies like “BPL, Samsung, LG, and Britannia”. He is currently working as the “Set Construction” faculty in the Production Design department, WWI.
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Visiting Faculty
Abhay Mehta, Anik Ghosh, Harshda Nirgun, Gagandeep Singh, Mohammad Khalikh, Shripad Hirlekar
SCREENWRITING
Anjum Rajabali
Head of Department
Anjum Rajabali
Head of Department
Mr. Anjum Rajabali is a veteran screenwriter, with films like Drohkaal, Ghulam, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Raajneeti, and Toofaan (under production) to his name. He has also been a script consultant and advisor to numerous films, most recently Mulk, Article 15, Thappad.
In 2004, he designed and created India’s first full-fledged Screenplay Writing department at the Film and Television Institute of India at Pune and was its Honorary Head for 12 years. Since 2006, he has been the Founder-Head of Screenwriting at Whistling Woods International, Mumbai.
He regularly conducts screenwriting workshops and masterclasses in India and abroad, and has convened several national screenwriting conferences, seminars, fellowships, script contests for Indian screenwriters.
He was chosen for the ‘Leading International Teacher’ 2019 award by CILECT, the association of more than 180 major film schools across the world.
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Ashwini Malik
Faculty | Head of Curriculum Planning
Ashwini Malik
Faculty
Mr. Ashwini Malik went to India’s premier film school, Film & Television Institute of India (FTII), to study Film Direction. His graduation film, The Waiter in Slow Motion, was in official competition at the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 1995. Ashwini began his career in television, and wrote, directed and produced many fiction and non-fiction shows, including several hour-long thrillers in the popular Saturday Suspense series. In 2002, he directed his first feature film, Clever & Lonely, which was shown at many international film festivals. Since 2004, Ashwini has been involved in teaching Screenwriting and regularly conducts masterclasses and workshops in India and abroad. He has been a mentor at several script labs, including New Voices Fellowship for Screenwriters (by Asia Society), Mumbai Mantra Cinerise Screenwriting Programme, the MAISHA film labs in East Africa, NFDC’s script development workshop and the Indo-German Screenwriting programme. Most recently, he presented a paper at the CILECT Congress 2019, in Moscow. His screenwriting credits include I Am, Road, Movie and Sorry Bhai.
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Ipek Ghashghaie
Faculty
Ipek Ghashghaie
Faculty
Ms. Ipek Ghashghaie has undertaken her bachelor’s degree in Direction from Sooreh Art University, Tehran, Iran and diploma in Screenwriting from Whistling Woods International.
She started her career directing documentary films in Iran and acting in theatre.She wrote a couple of short screenplays that have been made by her along with other directors. The same were screened at international short film festivals,of which the latest wereZinebi Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Films 2019.
Ipek has proven expertise in writing short and feature scripts and developing original ideas.Currently, she is writing series for Iranian TV and working on featuresand short scripts as a freelance writer.She has taken part in various international filmmaking workshops and has the experience of seeing and being a part of the filmmaking process in different cultures.
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Juhi Shekhar
Faculty
Juhi Shekhar
Faculty
Ms. Juhi Shekhar has had an outstanding career in the film and television industries. She has written scripts for major banners such as Anil Kapoor Productions, Planman Motion pictures, Ram Gopal Verma, and Yellow Pictures by Anand Rai. In television, Juhi has written screenplays for Gumrah, the show was awarded the best crime show at ITA and Favorita crime Drama at Peoples’ choice. Her contribution to Star Plus’s Arjun got nominated for ITA in the best screenplay category. Ms. Shekar also developed scripts and creatives for a Marathi show Tanishka for Saam TV. She worked as 2nd assistant director on a serial produced by UTV called ‘Bombay talking’ directed by Anand L Rai and telecasted on Z café, and even directed 26 episodes of a talk show called, “Yaadein” for Door Darshan. Her directorial experience includes working as an assistant director on Manish Jha’s feature film Anwar and on Anand L Rai’s “Thodi life thoda magic”. Her rich portfolio includes writing, co-production and acting in a 15-minute short film on female child abuse named “MOAM” shown on NDTV Profit- The Indie Film Club. Juhi also collaborated with Mr. Shahrukh Khan on an Ad film for Nokia.
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Vikas Sharma
Faculty
Mr. Vikas Sharma
Faculty
Mr. Vikas Sharma is a professional screenwriter of the Hindi film industry, a freelance script consultant, and a full-time senior faculty of Screenwriting at Whistling Woods International since January 2016. Before Whistling Woods, he taught scriptwriting at the Film and TV Institute of India, Pune, from April 2011 to December 2015. He conducts screenplay writing workshops in India and abroad for Film Schools, Media Colleges, Universities, Film Festivals, Skill India Programme, etc.
Vikas has also been a mentor and an advisor for various script labs and fellowships such as Asia Society’s New Voices Fellowship for Screenwriters, 100 Storyteller Programme, Cinerise Screenwriting Programme, Cinestaan India’s Script Contest, to name a few.
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Visiting Faculty
Aarambhh Mohan Singh, Pooja Varma, Smita Sahay
SOUND RECORDING & DESIGN
Sudipta Basu
Head of Department
Sudipta Basu
Head of Department
Mr. Sudipta Basu is a Sound Recording and Engineering Diploma graduate from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. He is the first Indian engineer to successfully design and fabricate the first Indian made Forward-Reverse projector to run in Interlock with Westrex Rock & Roll recording system in standard speed reverse. He singlehandedly installed the first such system at the studios in India. He has worked as a sound recordist for some renowned directors. Twice he was a member of the Technical Committee of IFFI (International Film festival Of India; held in Kolkata). He was also a member of the Technical Committee and Academic council of The Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata. He has been associated with Whistling Woods International for more than a decade and now heads the department of Sound Recording & Design.
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Bhaskar Roy
Faculty
Bhaskar Roy
Faculty
Mr. Bhaskar Roy, a graduate from FTII, Pune, is a professional sound editor, location sound mixer, film sound mixer, and system integrator. He has worked with renowned professionals of the Indian Film Industry like Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Konkana Sen Sharma, Rituparno Ghosh, Sudhir Mishra to name a few. His notable projects include films like Black, Bluffmaster!, Kaanchi, Rang Desh among others.
Bhaskar Roy is an Avid Certified Trainer and has also worked as a part-time instructor with Fairlight Inc.
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Rakesh Ranjan
Faculty
Rakesh Ranjan
Faculty
Mr. Rakesh Ranjan has over 43 years of working experience in Hindi Cinema and has worked with leading Producers & Directors in over 170 Features. Some of the stalwarts that he has worked with include names like Sunil Dutt, Subash Ghai, Ramesh Sippy, Saawan Kumar, Mahesh Bhatt, Prakash Jha, Raj Santoshi, Sunny Deol, David Dhawan, Dharmendra, Abbas Mustan, Ajay Devgan, Vikram Bhatt, Mani Ratnam, Aziz Mirza, N Chandra, Anees Bazmee, Simmi Garewal, Rohit Shetty, Prabhudeva and many more. He has worked in projects like Souten, Naam, Sadak, Ghaayal, Andaaz Apna Apna, Ghatak, Mrityudand, Damini, Barsat, Paredes, Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, Taal, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Yaadein, Ashoka, The Legend Of Bhagat Singh, Aitraaz, Main Hoorn Na, Guru, Race, A Wednesday, Dillagi, Aks, Black & White, Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani, Paan Singh Tomar, Raavan, Golmaal, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster, Singham, Chennai Express, Satyagrah, Phata Poster Nikla Hero, Singham Returns, Action Jackson, Jai Gangajal, Golmaal Again, Simmba, etc. He has received a number of accolades and recognition for his work which include 4 Filmfare, 2 Screen, 1 Zee, and 1 IIFA. AUDEUS, a recording division of Mukta Arts was designed by him, bringing digital audio post-production into the Hindi Motion Picture Industry. He also designed DHWANI, a recording division of Prakash Jha Production.
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Tanmoy Basu
Faculty
Tanmoy Basu
Faculty
Mr. Tanmoy Basu has an academic background of B.S.C in Economics, Masters in Sociology and PG Diploma in Audiography from FTII Pune.As a sound student in FTII he learned to love sound and since then he has been working as an independent sound designer for films, many of which have got numerous awards in national and international film competitions. He has also learned Indian classical Music from pandit Rajendra Kulkarni and has been working as a music composer as well for various Ads, short films, Animated films and TV shows.He is also a founder member of a Mumbai based musical band named GANGOTRI. His research work ‘Violin Making and challenges’ is a published matter in LENSIGHT magazine and opens out the a scientific understanding of how global warming can affect the acoustical musical instruments.MrBasu is currently member of Governing Council of Media and Entertainment Skill Council.
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Racchit Malhotra
Faculty
Racchit Malhotra
Faculty
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Visiting Faculty
Rohan Saxena
CULTURE STUDIES
Salim Arif
Head of Department
Salim Arif
Head of Department
Mr. Salim Arif is an illustrious alumnus of National School of Drama, New Delhi. A well-known name in the field of Indian Theatre and Films, Salim Arif is currently the Head of Culture Studies at Whistling Woods International, Mumbai. He is also associated with Ladakh International Film Festival and Navi Mumbai Film Festival as Director, Cultural Affairs.
Shyam Benegal’s Bharat Ek Khoj, Gulzar’s Mirza Ghalib, Dr. Chandraprakash Dwedi’s Chanakya got him International recognition as a Period Film Designer of substance. Nirja Guleri’s Chandrakanta, Ketan Mehta’s Sardar Patel, Gulzar’s Maachis & Hu-Tu-Tu, Govind Nihalani’s Takshak and Anil Sharma’s Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo are his other films as a Designer. He has been a consultant for period details in Anil Sharma’s Gadar and Mani Ratnam’s Guru.
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Dee Wood
Faculty
Dee Wood
Faculty
Mr. Dee Woods is an American musician, a composer, instrumentalist and educator based in India from the past 35 years. He has been teaching music at Whistling Woods International since its inception and has guided and mentored hundreds of aspiring film makers and musicians. Wood began his career in music performing in blues and rock bands in the Chicago area and went on to earn a BA in Music at Berklee College of Music. After graduation, Wood performed in Jazz and Latin groups and conducted workshops in varied institutions including Boston Ballet, MIT, Harvard, Whitney Museum of American Art and Berklee College of Music. He went on to earn a MA from Beacon College studying West African drum ensemble music in Togo West Africa, and Hindustani music in Bombay India. He went on to do extensive musical research in Mumbai on a Fulbright research scholarship. Wood has collaborated internationally with various musicians. His film credits include composing original music for films with Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Kabir Mohanty, Nilita Vachani, Anand Patwardhan, Victor Banerjee, Dev Benegal and Ruchir Joshi. Currently D. Wood performs as a bassist / composer and takes masterclasses in India and abroad.
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Sabyasachi Bose
Faculty
Sabyasachi Bose
Faculty
Mr. Sabyasachi Bose graduated from the Government College of Art and Craft, Calcutta (now, Kolkata) in 1992. In 1994, he began working in the field of Production Design first with Bijon Das Gupta, then Sanjay Dhabade and finally with late Samir Chanda.
He has been involved in film projects that include ‘Raja’ (1995), ‘Barsaat’ (1995), ‘Gupt- The Hidden Secret’ (1997), ‘Judaai’ (1997), ‘Chocolate – Deep Dark Secrets’ (2005) and ‘Krrish’ (2006), besides TV serials such as ‘Chandrakanta’, the theatre production ‘Legend of Rama’, along with shows such as ‘Manikchand Filmfare Awards’, ‘Hum Ek Hai’, and ad shows for companies like Samsung, Onida, BPL, Tata, Britannia, MRF Tyres, Apollo Tyres, Times of India, Anandalok, etc.
Simultaneously, he has participated in art exhibitions such as, ‘Exhibition’ organised by ‘Indian International Art Centre’ at Kolkata in 1992, ‘Annual Art Exhibition- 1996-97’ organised by ‘The Art Society of India’ (Mumbai), ‘9th Harmony Show’ organised by the ‘Art Trust’, co-organised by the ‘Textile Division, Reliance Industries’ at Mumbai (2004) and ‘Art Watch’ organised by ‘Galerie 88’ at Kolkata (2004) etc.
He has been associated with Whistling Woods International for more than a decade and currently working as the HOD in the Production Design Department, WWI. At WWI, he also teaches History of Art courses.
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School of Media & Communication
Laili Dutta
Head of Department
Laili Dutta
Head of Department
Ms. Laili Dutta, the head of WWI School of Media and Communication, is an independent documentary filmmaker, musician, and a media trainer with over two decades of experience. An alumna of Lady Shri Ram College & MCRC Jamia, she started her career with NDTV. She has taught & held media workshops in some of the most prestigious institutions like IP College for Women, Delhi University, Times School of Journalism, Lady Shri Ram College and NDTV Indiacan. As a consultant, she has also trained senior level television producers in international channels like Astro Awani, Malaysia and ITV Bangladesh.
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Meenakshi C V
Faculty
Meenakshi C V
Faculty
Ms. Meenakshi C V is a seasoned brand professional with over 15 years of experience in advertising with leading agencies like JWT and Ogilvy and qualitative research with UnLtd. She is a postgraduate from Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship (SIMSREE) with a specialisation in marketing. She is also a social entrepreneur and works in the space of financial literacy for women; her venture is called iwoomoney.com.
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Oindrilla Purohit
Faculty
Oindrila Purohit
Faculty
Ms. Oindrila Purohit is an entrepreneur, children’s author, and a communication coach. An alumna of the Xavier Institute for Communications, Mumbai, she has over 20 years of experience in entertainment PR, corporate communication, internal communication, international marketing, and content creation. She began her career with PR agencies where she successfully led campaigns for television channels, telecom companies, and consumer brands. She also spent 7 years with HDFC Ltd. in her role of Corporate Communication. As an entrepreneur, she creates live content and experiential events for children. She has been teaching for over 12 years in various media colleges.
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Utkarsha Kotian
Faculty
Utkarsha Kotian
Faculty
Ms. Utkarsha Kotian has worked as a reporter and a consulting editor for leading national dailies and has been an interpreter and translator on multiple international projects. She has a varied academic background that spans the fields of journalism, literature, English language teaching and comparative mythology. Her research interests and publications lay in the field of gender, public policy, and narratives surrounding welfare and politics.
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Kapil K Tandon
Faculty
Kapil K Tandon
Faculty
Mr. Kapil K Tandon is a postgraduate in chemical engineering and an MBA with over four decades of multi-faceted experience in business/corporate planning, strategy, entrepreneurial ventures, project development, project finance and marketing areas. He has worked in multiple positions, right from middle management to profit centre-head in both public and private sector, financial institutions and multi-national corporations. He has also handled a wide range of consultancy assignments and special studies in industrial and social sectors.
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Milind Dedhia
Faculty
Milind Dedhia
Faculty
Mr. Milind Dedhia is an accounts and finance professional. He has worked for 15 years with a chartered accountancy firm and teaches at various educational institutions in Mumbai. Apart from his two decades of work, his interests also lie in the areas of audit, business planning, budgeting, economics and taxation.
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Manisha Rajadhyaksha
Faculty
Ms. Manisha Rajadhyaksha
Faculty
Ms. Manisha Rajadhyaksha has more than 30 years of experience in the corporate sector, management consulting & research, academic teaching in Business Schools in India and international markets. Her educational qualifications include postgraduate degrees in mathematics and statistics, business management, and international relations and strategy from Indian and American Universities. Her teaching and research interests include business research, strategy, international relations, culture, economics, entrepreneurship, organisational behaviour, marketing and consumer behaviour, and management.
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Dr. Ruchika Gurung
Faculty
Dr. Ruchika Gurung
Faculty
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Visiting Faculty
Nikhil Rao, Sudarshan Srinivasan, Sandeep Liladhar Chopde, Satish Desa, Anagha Mayekar, Naziya Rashid Khan, Tuba Ansari, Chitra Mulani, Amrita Haldipur, Sheena Ahluwalia, Suparna Sengupta, Rahesh Panickar, Samar Khan, Madhumita Ghosh, Sweksha Bhagat, Anita Naidu, Indranil Kashyap, Annu CM, Anisha Yanger, Abhinav Srivastava, Tarunjeet Rattan, Abhilasha Jain, Namrata Singh
School of Event Management
Deepak Choudhary
Chief Mentor
Deepak Choudhary
Chief Mentor
Mr. Deepak Choudhary, an entrepreneur, has seen the changing face of the events industry and has been an intrinsic part of the overhaul in the span of 16 years. After pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in management from IIPS Indore and a Master’s in Management from IES Management College Mumbai, he started carving a niche for himself in the events industry. With his educational institute venture, publications and event IPs he has successfully diversified business opportunities for flourishing start-ups and created bankable LIVE event IPs across genres.
He co-founded one of India’s first Event Management school in the year 2002 and then went on to collaborate with Roshan Abbas for India’s first-ever Radio Management School. He also joined hands with cricketer Nilesh Kulkarni for India’s first Sports Management School. Divesting his stakes in the education business, he decided to pursue a higher ground and involve himself in a bigger way in the event management business.
In 2007, he co-founded EVENTFAQS, India’s first B2B business portal/publication for the events industry. Over time, EVENTFAQS has branched out in various IPs and publications in the event space, WOW Awards being the biggest of them. In 2013, he went on to establish Event Capital, India’s leading Live Event Intellectual Property rights company with Laqshya Media Group which is India’s leading OOH media company. Over the years, Event Capital has partnered or createdproperties like Bollywood Music Project (Largest Bollywood Music Festival in India), WindMill Festival (India’s only International Kids Festival), Bike Festival of India with MS Dhoni, India Kids Fashion Week (largest kids fashion event), Edutainment Show (festival of design & media education), Big Boys Toys (Men’s lifestyle exhibition), Times Travel show (India’s largest travel B2C Festival with the Times of India), India Bridal Fashion Week (ultimate in bridal) and Indian Festival League. Event Capital now runs the branded IP & content division as well.
In 2016, Deepak also co-authored ‘Staged’ – the first-ever book on the Indian live event Industry.
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Jateen Rajput
Head of Department
Jateen Rajput
Head of Department
Mr. Jateen Rajput comes with a vast experience in event education and management. He started working in advertising and direct marketing field at an early age of 18 and moved multiple agencies to eventually create ‘Consumer Links’, which is a 24 years old Experiential and Event Management Company. His 29 years of experience involves managing events across the globe and as an academician, he was involved in teaching and curating the Event Management Course at EMDI. As a core faculty member, he also curated the event management module at MICA, FLAME and Empire School of Learning.
He is experienced in understanding trends and his vision of what the industry expects for the future makes him a formidable member of the core team that would build ‘Future Leaders of the Experiential and Event Management Industry’.
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Jimmy Choudhary
Business Head
Jimmy Choudhary
Business Head
Ms. Jimmy Choudhary’s passion for education and teaching made her choose this path as her chosen vocation, she started her career as Junior Faculty and Head of Cultural Events at IES Management College. And soon, she along with two other colleagues, founded Asia’s largest school of Event Management, with branches in India and Dubai. After several years in the industry and witnessing success, she moved on to her next love for “food” and started Fat Cat Café, a premium fine dining restaurant.
The draw of being associated with events and being a facilitator for the industry soon drew her to join EVENTFAQS, where she handled the Artist Division and Overall Finance Planning for the business. She believes she has a lot more to give back to event education and hence her years of experience of running and managing the event school makes her a formidable team member of Whistling Woods International School of Event Management.
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Meghaa Ghosh
Faculty
Meghaa Ghosh
Faculty
Ms. Meghaa Ghosh, a storyteller, who also has 16 years of experience in management and operations, has successfully achieved revenue, profit and business growth objectives and turnaround as an intrapreneur in the Experiential Marketing & Events industry in India. She has worked with some of the biggest names such as Fountainhead MKTG – a Dentsu Aegis Network Company, Geometry Encompass, 70EMG, E18 – A Network18 Company and started the BTL division for Radio City. In what has been the fastest change management story in the experiential industry in India, Meghaa along with her partners co-founded Laqshya Live Experiences (LLE) – the experiential division for the Laqshya Media Group in 2014 and made it the youngest and highest award-winning agency within 3 years. She then moved to set up the Branded Content & IP Division for Event Capital at the Laqshya Media Group while heading Marketing, Digital& PR for their IPs. She has worked as an Event Producer and Show Director globally across South Asia, Europe, New Zealand and the Middle East and has worked closely with brands such as Google, Facebook, Autodesk, ICICI Bank, Godrej, Asian Paints among others bridging the experiential, tech and digital gaps to create new brand experiences.
A strong advocate for women and the girl child, she is currently co-authoring her first book and has been a guest faculty for experiential marketing across various educational institutions.
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Nikita Chokshi
Faculty
Nikita Chokshi
Faculty
Ms. Nikita Chokshi, is currently working as Vice President – Corporate Marketing & Public Relations. She leads the design and implementation of Digital Marketing, Website, and Public Relations and optimises the internal / external communications.
She manages the Event Agencies, Creative agencies, Travel Agencies and Digital Agency and works closely with Sales team to understand the end-to-end customer-experience and design.
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Payal Shah Karwa
Faculty
Payal Shah Karwa
Faculty
Ms. Payal Shah Karwa, recipient of ‘One of the top 50 Content Marketing Influencers’ by the World Marketing Congress, is also a published author, creative professional and a content maven. As a creative professional, she is evolved in experiential marketing and events conceptualisation, creative content for events and other media, presentation skills, etc. In 2009, she ventured to establish an award-winning agency – The Word Jockey Content Studio and is currently the Content Director there. The agency specialises in 360-degree content solutions.
Payal Shah Karwa has been featured in media platforms like DNA, iDiva, Mid-Day, and the likes. Besides being a specialist in brand communication and content, she is also a communication trainer/ speaker and has trained communication professionals at ICICI Pru, Chamber of Tax Consultants, World Marketing Congress, Times Lit Fest, Kala Ghoda Fest, etc. She has also been a visiting faculty in top institutes like NMIMS, Symbiosis, EMDI, IES, XIC as well as the Founder of The Content Campus.
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R Venkatesh
Faculty
R Venkatesh
Faculty
Mr. R Venkatesh conducts a lot of training programs related to Sales, Personality Development, International Marketing and International Business. He teaches introduction to Marketing, International Marketing and International Business to MMS, PGDBA and MMM students of Mumbai University.
He has also written a book on International Marketing and Sales Management.
He is currently the Director of Trident Marketing. The Company is involved in International Trade, International Marketing Research and Exports.
R Venkatesh is also a Consultant to the Central Marketing Cell of the Unitech Group of Companies.
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Sai Nagesh
Faculty
Sai Nagesh
Faculty
Mr. Sai Nagesh has been a specialist in Media Investment and has worked with many of the top Global Advertising networks. He has been a part of the team that formed GroupM (World’s largest Media Investment Firm) in India. He has also handled advertising investments worth more than a billion dollars and mentored numerous Internet start-ups along with heading Marketing for an e-commerce company. Sai Nagesh launched three television channels and is currently the CEO at Tempus and the CSO at Laqshya Media Pvt. Ltd.
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Sampath Prabhakar
Faculty
Sampath Prabhakar
Faculty
Mr. Sampath Prabhakar is a Specialist, Creative Director and Communication Strategist with over 25 years’ of experience in addressing the cross section of target audience for brands across sectors, he is adept at crafting experiential marketing solutions in all formats, from events to brand activation, expositions, direct marketing, etc. Over the years, he has led copy and art teams for leading and mid-sized event managers and production houses. Sampath Prabhakar is working as a Senior Consultant with SP Consulting. His current interest includes empowering the development and delivery of sunrise areas in Experiential Marketing, including interactive technologies and branded video content in effecting consumer engagement.
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Sapna Gupta
Faculty
Sapna Gupta
Faculty
Ms. Sapna Gupta, born in Mumbai in 1980, has spent her formative years in Kolkata before moving back to Mumbai. Her alma mater is La Martiniere, Kolkata, after which she did her graduation at Presidency College, Kolkata. She started working in Mumbai after finishing her post-graduation studies from ISBM (International School of Business and Media) in Pune.
Published author of ‘Staged’, a book on the live entertainment industry of India, and content enthusiast who believes there is a story behind everything. With over a decade of domain expertise in live experiences and creating medium-agnostic communication, Sapna believes in journeying with brands and consumers. Currently running a successful and award-winning content start-up, The Word Jockey Content Studio, she has worked on content strategy and execution for some of the biggest brands in India and overseas including Godrej, Nielsen, Essar, LinkedIn, Bajaj Finserv and more, thereby carving out a distinct space for herself in the sunrise industry of content creation and marketing.
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Tabassum Modi
Faculty
Tabassum Modi
Faculty
Ms. Tabassum Modi is an alumni of SP Jain Institute of Management, and has spent the last 20+ years working across varied sectors like Media & Entertainment, Education, Brand Activation, Content Production and is also into entrepreneurship training. She is a National Award winner for the short films, that she has produced.
She is a serial entrepreneur and a specialist in creating meaningful brand engagements in the kids segment. Her company, Victor Tango, is the market leader in the kids events & activations business, format owner and content production house specialising in scripted and non-scripted content for OTT platforms, broadcast networks & brands.
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Tanaz Basrur
Faculty
Tanaz Basrur
Faculty
Ms. Tanaz Basrur, with years of work experience in the Media, Service, Sports, MICE and Entertainment industry, is currently a Business and Project Management Consultant apart from being a wedding designer and planner. She has been an integral part of planning Isha Ambani’s wedding in coordination with E-Factor and the planning of Priyanka Chopra’s wedding with MEW.
Tanaz began her career in 1981 with the Welcome Group of Hotels, as a Management trainee and took on a higher position at The President, a Taj Group of Hotels. She joined The Times of India Group during its sesquicentennial year, 1988-89. She was an integral part of the organizing team of some major in-house events like the Times Cricket Shield, Jnanpith Awards, Economic Times Awards, Filmfare Awards and Femina Miss India. Her work tenure further includes serving conglomerates such as UTV group of companies, Zee Network, Rapport Global events, Growel Group of Companies, Cineyug Entertainment and Sport 18, a Network 18 group company. Having worked with the best of organizations in diverse fields, she has a strong network within the Service, Media and Entertainment industry.
Tanaz has also authored a book named–The Art of Successful Event Management.
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School of Animation & Game Design
Yusuf Mehta
Head of Department
Yusuf Mehta
Head of Department
Animation, Game Design & VFX
Mr. Yusuf Mehta is an alumnus of the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi; & the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune and a National Award Winner, he holds an experience of over four decade of working with the stalwarts of the film and television industry. He has directed and produced films, documentaries and animations for several national and international organisations. His animation & VFX Studio has handled projects for noted TV channels in India like Sony, Zee and STAR. He has been associated with Whistling Woods International for over a decade; initially heading the Department of Producing he is currently heading the School of Animation and VFX., WWI.
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Alakesh Dhibar
Faculty
Alakesh Dhibar
Faculty – Game Design
Mr. Alakesh Dhibar is a Game Designer by profession but Play Interaction Researcher by heart. Having keen interest and experience in various fields like art and crafts, education and entertainment, play and games, children and learning, culture and technology, he decided to share his lifelong learnings by becoming an educator. The diverse knowledge of art, computer science, and toy & game designing are the key aspects behind his thought process and the quality research in each of his projects.
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Avik Chakraborty
Faculty
Avik Chakraborty
Faculty
Mr. Avik Chakraborty is a CG Compositor expert with 7 years of industry experience with specialisation in Lighting. His expertise also includes Stereo Conversion, Matchmoving& Keying to create & execute projects of various capacities.
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Gaurav Trivedi
Faculty
Gaurav Trivedi
Faculty
Mr. Gaurav Trivedi is a CG Generalist with more than 10 years of experience, supporting key aspects of CG, production pipeline, cinematography & films along with education & training. Adept in various 3D Software, Compositing Software, Rendering Engines & Design Programmes. A professional experienced in working with several award-winning production houses on national & international projects.
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Jasbinder Singh
Faculty
Jasbinder Singh
Faculty
Mr. Jasbinder Singh, an Animation Filmmaker, Production Designer (Animation) and Artist with a bachelor’s in fine arts& Diploma in Animation Filmmaking, he has worked with some of the best organisations on several prestigious projects in the industry. His expertise includes 2D Animation Filmmaking & Stopmotion Animation, Pre-production & Production Design.
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Jaydev Dhakan
Faculty
Jaydev Dhakan
Faculty
Mr. Jaydev Dhakan has over 12 years of experience in game development and has worked in various roles with some the most prominent game development studios in India. He started his career as a game tester, worked in several roles, ranging from Game Designer to Producer. Recently, he has become an independent game developer, and teaches game development at Whistling Woods International.
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Kshitiz Sharma
Faculty
Kshitiz Sharma
Faculty
Mr. Kshitiz Sharma, a CG artist and an academician in the field of Visual Effects and Animation, his career spans over a period of over 16 years. A CGI expert, he has donned several roles including that of a technical supervisor, modelling supervisor, 3D supervisor and have worked with various animation production houses across the globe on national & international projects.
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Manish Kaushal
Faculty
Manish Kaushal
Faculty
Mr. Manish Kaushal, a 2D Animation artiste with an industry experience of 14 years, he started his professional career with 2D Cell Animation then moved on to Flash and Toon Boom Harmony software. He has worked on many professional projects, some of which were from reputed companies like Disney, Warner Bros. and Nickelodeon channel.
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Shipra Khatter
Faculty
Shipra Khatter
Faculty
Ms. Shipra Khatter is a graduate of Animation and Multimedia discipline from Birla Institute of Technology and holds a Master’s in Design with specialisation in Animation Film Design from National Institute of Design (NID). She has worked as a visualiser, art director, creative director and visual development artist for various projects. Some of her notable projects of the past are ‘Selfie with Bajrangi’, ‘Inspector Chingum’, ‘7D show – Sher-e-Punjab’, ‘Gobindgarh Fort’.
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Vivek Nag
Faculty
Vivek Nag
Faculty
Mr. Vivek Nag, a professional working in the industry for the past 7 years, his expertise consists of Pre-production, Comic Book Design, Conceptual Art, Digital Art, Character Design & Illustrations. He also specialises in environment modifications and is adept at working with references.
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Yogesh Gaikwad
Faculty
Yogesh Gaikwad
Faculty – Game Design
Mr. Yogesh Gaikwad, during 7+ years of his career, most of the time he has worked as a character animator. Being a CG Generalist, he has worked in the field of Modelling, Pre-visualisation, Logo Reveals, Image Editing, Video Editing, Product Teasers and Trailers and much more.
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Visiting Faculty
Abhijit Kini, Arvind Chudasama, Chinmay Bhandari, Mohammad Khalikh, Ninad Chaya, Rohina Devan, Sangram Borse, Tanay Vaibhav
School of Fashion
Jewellyn Alvares
Head of Department
Jewellyn Alvares
Head of Department
From being a renowned Fashion Designer to an expert in designing Couture, customised bridalwear and more, Jewellyn Alvares, is a man who dons many hats. For more than 2 decades, his speciality in bridalwear, under the brand name ‘Jule Bridal’, has made him an expert in finer nuances. In 2018, at the Lakme Fashion Week, he launched his menswear line under the eponymous label, Jewellyn Alvares. He is also a trained footwear designer and his creative repertoire has been seen in international brands like Catwalk and Pavers England, to name a few.
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Deepan Sharma
Faculty
Deepan Sharma
Faculty
As a Fashion Illustrator for over 6 years, with trained skills in design and applications used to aide digital design, Deepen Sharma brings industry experience to the classroom. His has worked with national and international designers and brands, such as Anita Dongre, Payal Singhal, French Consulate and many more. He has also worked as a Head Designer for a famous jewellery brand and had his works featured in international magazines such as Vogue and Verve. Owing to his strong personal style and being the finalist of Myntra’s Fashion Superstar, a reality show that shot him to fame, he has created a name for himself in the world of Fashion as an Influencer.
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Indrila Varma
Faculty
Indrila Varma
Faculty
Indrila Varma holds a Masters in Fashion Technology and is currently pursuing her PhD in the area of green manufacturing environmental sustainability in the textile and apparel sector. With combined corporate and academic experience of more than 15 years, she has worked in the corporate sector as an Export Merchandiser and Retail Buyer. She has also worked with premier retailers like Pyramid Retail and Shopper’s Stop. Her expertise lies in the fields of Retail Buying and Merchandising, Marketing, and Textiles. She has also published several research papers in various journals and participated in international conferences in India and abroad.
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Rugmani Venkat
Faculty
Rugmani Venkat
Faculty
Rugmani Venkat has over 21 years of experience in academics, and holds a Masters in History and Ancient Indian Culture from the University of Mumbai. With a mastery in handcrafted jewelry, and research, her area of expertise lies in History of Art, Costume and Fashion, Cultural Anthropology, and Jewelry/Accessory crafting techniques. As an avid backpacker, she takes interest in ethnic cultures and their manifestations, besides being a voracious reader.
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Lancy D’silva
Faculty
Lancy D’silva
Faculty
With over 25 years of work experience in the industry, Lancy D’silva has been crafting structured apparel for select clientele for over a decade. His experience with the Italian brand, ‘Brioni’ as the Made-to-Measure Manager and later as a Bespoke Consultant with ‘Camessi’, has honed his skills in pattern making and garment construction with immaculate detailing to cut, fit and finish, which influences technical know-how in the institute’s design laboratory.
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Shilpa Soneji
Faculty
Shilpa Soneji
Faculty
An international design school alumni trained in illustration, Shilpa Soneji Davda has to her credit years of experience in guiding design aspirants in developing acute hand illustration and rendering skills using multimedia tools. As an academician, having worked in leading institutes of the country, she has developed a unique mode of delivering her lectures that are effective and produce commendable outcomes. Besides academics, she has illustrated children’s storybooks, works as an illustrator for designers and brands and is a portfolio curation expert.
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Visiting Faculty
Anamika Banerjee, Aparna Garg, Bhamini Subramaniam, Indrila Varma, Jaishika Ratanpal, Pearl Babra, Roma Narsinghani, Rugmani V, Saloni Shukla, Snower Sanya Vasudev, Vandana Chhatre, Vimal Gudka, Zenish Mehta
School of Design
Milindo Taid
Head of Department
Milindo Taid
Head of Department
Mr. Milindo Taid is a former faculty in Communication Design at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad and former head of New Media, NID. He is also one of the founding faculty members of the Communication Design programme at the MIT Institute of Design, Pune. He has taught in various design, communication, and media education organisations across India and abroad, and several student projects that he has guided, have had national as well as international recognition. He is the recipient of the prestigious Erasmus Mundus European Union scholarship in conducting his doctoral research in the ethics of communication practices at the Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain. He has also been variously associated with the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad; School of Communication, Manipal University, Manipal; DAIICT, Gandhinagar; Annapurna International School of Film and Media, Hyderabad; and the North Eastern Hill University, Shillong. His students have gone on to establish independent design studios, consultancies, production houses, as well as take up design intervention and communication related roles in reputed companies and organisations, both national and global.
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Dnyaneshwar Jagadale
Faculty
Dnyaneshwar Jagadale
Faculty
Mr. Dnyaneshwar Jagadale, an expert in Fine Arts & Animation, holds more than 14 years of teaching experience. He has also been part of animation production for 11 years. He holds the view that sharing knowledge is about growing together with the community.
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Shubha Shrivastava
Faculty
Shubha Shrivastava
Faculty
Ms. Shubha Shrivastava has a background in Computer Science and Engineering and a Master’s degree in Game Design from the National Institute of Design (NID). She worked on educational board games and experiential learning spaces in NID projects where she explored their various elements. She has worked as a User Experience Designer for Domino’s Pizza Group, UK; Cognizant Mobility, India where she worked for clients like PepsiCo, Abbott, PatientPoint, US Bank.
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Visiting Faculty
Achyut Palav, Anirban Dutta Gupta, Chaitanya Modak, Devyani Arya, Himanshu Agrawal, Hiren Shah, Neha Ramaiya, Noopur Datye, Nupur Bhargava, Poulomi Das, Priyankar Gupta, Ravi Ranjan, Rohit Goyal, Rohit Keluskar, Sheroy Katila, Sulekha Rajkumar, Tamal Mitra, Tripti Sahni, Vandana Dedhwal
Actors’ Studio
Arvind Pandey
Head of Department
Arvind Pandey
Head of Department
Mr. Arvind Pandey is an alumnus of NSD, New Delhi. Post his PG from NSD, he had done a research on ‘Method Acting’ under the aegis of NSD and subsequently studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute,USA. His association with Whistling Woods International began in 2006 as faculty in the acting department while it was headed by Mr. Naseeruddin Shah. His experience of acting in films, television and theatre spans across two decades. Mr. Pandey has taught acting at almost all top-ranking film and drama schools in the country. Besides acting and teaching he has also written, adapted screenplays and directed them. At present he heads the department of Acting.
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Atul Bali
Faculty
Atul Bali
Faculty
Mr. Atul Bali started working in plays for INT (Indian National Theater) and has also worked with Marathi theater artists. He was a full-length play co-writer that was performed in the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA). Atul Bali has completed Advance Actors training under Mr. Barry John and has worked in experimental plays under the guidance of Pandit Satyadev Dubey. Through his years of journey, he gained experience in various fields like writing, acting, filmmaking, etc. Thereafter, he explored working in the industry behind the camera in various ad films, films with the likes of Rajkumar Hirani films, Vinod Chopra Films. His love for the art pulled him back towards acting after which he got trained to become a professional acting mentor and chose the path of spreading his knowledge. When not teaching he is busy writing and directing his own short films and his current experimental film is in the post-production stage. Atul has a strong knowledge of various acting methods and has been teaching for 9 years now. He believes that we all are students of life.
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Nivedita Bhargava
Faculty
Nivedita Bhargava
Faculty
Ms. Nivedita Bhargava has over 19 years of vast experience in the field of imparting Theatre Training and as a Media Professional. She is a graduate from the National School of Drama, New Delhi and has directed many plays throughout her remarkable career. Her accolades include fellowships and production grant from the Ministry of the Culture, Government of India in the field of Theatre. She is also trained in Indian Classical Vocal Music and has performed in Radio Concerts. She additionally spends her time taking workshops across the country in Theatre and Personality Advancement. As an actor, she has featured in the Popular Series “Sacred Games” on Netflix. Her well known commercial theatre plays include Ladies Sangeet, Bandish and Zoon for Aadyam Theatre, an Aditya Birla Initiative.
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Oorvazi Irani
Faculty
Oorvazi Irani
Faculty
Ms. Oorvazi Irani has a multifaceted career and wears many hats like that of an acting coach, an actor, a filmmaker, a film educationalist, an entrepreneur, and a film critic. She runs her own home production company SBI Impresario Pvt. Ltd and has been involved in research, production, direction for various international film projects with her film company that has been in the industry for more than three decades. Oorvazi Irani is a Graduate in Arts from Jai Hind College, Mumbai and further trained at the Film and Television Institute of India(FTII) & National Film Archives of India (NFAI) for teacher’s training. In 2015, Ms. Irani successfully produced and directed her debut independent feature film “The Path of Zarathustra” in which she acted as well. The film was successfully released in PVR theatres in 5 cities in India and was one of the 15 select films that were screened in more than 15 cities all over India organised by the Federation of Film Societies of India. She has been a pioneer in introducing The Michael Chekhov Acting Technique in India, atechnique practiced internationally by Anthony Hopkins, Jack Nicholson, Ingrid Bergman, Clint Eastwood, Johnny Depp, to name a few. Oorvazi has been in the teaching field for the past 10 years and her experience includes teaching at the Film and Television Institute of India, an International Baccalaureate school and is an International Baccalaureate Examiner.
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Sonali Bhardwaj
Faculty
Sonali Bhardwaj
Faculty
Ms. Sonali Bhardwaj is an alumnus from the National School of Drama and trained in dramatic arts. She is trained in various art forms like Koodiyattam (a traditional performing art form of Kerala), Kalaripayattu (a famous martial art form of India), Silambam (a log fighting art of south India), Devarattam (a folk-dance form of Tamilnadu) and Clowning among many others. As an artist, she has performed in various theatre festivals across the country. One of her acclaimed work incorporates working with R. Balakrishnan in Ki& Ka. Besides acting and teaching, she has also directed plays and conducted so many workshops including kids acting workshop. Sonali Bhardwaj has been awarded a Research Fellowship by the Ministry of Culture on Folk Games and Performances.
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Visiting Faculty
Aditya Kothari, Amod Bhatt, Ankit Varshneya, Anil Mange, Arpit Singh, Aru Krishnash Verma, Ashok Kumar, Karan Hariharan, Karan Razdan, Kashish Bharti, Kenneth Desai, Mohommed Ali Shah, Mitesh Mahadevan, Nayani Dixit, Rupesh Tillu, Rama Vaidyanathan, Sahil Vaidya, Sanjeev Mehta, Tamara Nedungadi, Vandana Trivedi
School of Music
Dr. Sangeeta Shankar
Head of Department
Dr. Sangeeta Shankar
Head of Department
Dr. Sangeeta Shankar is a World-renowned violinist, Grammy award nominee, and daughter of the violin virtuoso Padmabhushan Dr. Smt. N. Rajam. She first started performing on television when she was 8 years old, and her career has been forging ahead ever since. She has performed across the globe and follows the style of ‘ Gayaki ‘-the technique of reproducing the human voice on the violin. Dr. Sangeeta Shankar is also the founder and director of a record label ‘Legendary Legacy Promotions Pvt. Ltd’. She also produced a ‘Swar-Sadhana’ TV serial in 1991.
Dr. Shankar is a visionary educator who created a project for young children called ‘Milap’. Since 2009, she has been educating students to become composers, music directors, and producers at Whistling Woods International.
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Ajeet Pathak
Faculty
Ajeet Pathak
Faculty
Mr. Ajeet Pathak is an eminent Tabla player, who began his training at the tender age of six under the guidance of his father Shri Deochandra Pathak. Thereafter, he had the privilege of learning under the guidance of Tabla Maestros Padma Vibhushan Pt. Kishan Maharaj and Ustad Sabir Khan.
Ajeet Pathak has performed at various national and state-level musical events and is a recognized artist by All India Radio and Doordarshan. He has performed extensively in India, Europe, the Middle East, and the USA and has accompanied many world-renowned artists such as Pt. Siyaram Tiwari, Pt. V.G. Jog, Dr. N. Rajam, Pt. Ramnarayan and Ghazal singer Ghulam Ali. He has been awarded Taal Mani from Sur Singar Samsad Mumbai, HMV Golden Talent award, and Taal Ratan from Los Angeles, USA.
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Christus Stephen
Faculty
Christus Stephen
Faculty
Mr. Christus Stephen, a hard-working music professional with over 35 years’ experience in performance, education, and training, he started his musical career as a violinist, at the age of 6. During his initial years he performed at All India Radio and Doordarshan and later went on to become a part of the Malayalam film industry as a recording artist. In 1995, he joined the Indian Navy as a violinist in the Naval Symphony Band and performed in over 24 countries, during his 15 years of service. He is a gifted musician who has mastered not only the string family instruments but also the French horn, piano, guitar, and percussions. He later worked independently as a sound engineer at Joshua studio. He has also produced several ads, jingles, and background scores for reputed companies. He is currently working on the upcoming Malayalam movie (John) and Marathi movie (Mubaicha Vadapav) as a Music Director. He is also the partner owner of Vizmaya studio.
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Dee Wood
Faculty
Dee Wood
Faculty
Mr. Dee Wood is an American musician, a composer, instrumentalist and educator based in India from the past 35 years. He has been teaching music at Whistling Woods International since its inception and has guided and mentored hundreds of aspiring film makers and musicians.
Wood began his career in music performing in blues and rock bands in the Chicago area and went on to earn a BA in Music at Berklee College of Music. After graduation, Wood performed in Jazz and Latin groups and conducted workshops in varied institutions including Boston Ballet, MIT, Harvard, Whitney Museum of American Art and Berklee College of Music. He went on to earn a MA from Beacon College studying West African drum ensemble music in Togo West Africa, and Hindustani music in Bombay India. He went on to do extensive musical research in Mumbai on a Fulbright research scholarship.
Wood has collaborated internationally with various musicians. His film credits include composing original music for films with Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Kabir Mohanty, Nilita Vachani, Anand Patwardhan, Victor Banerjee, Dev Benegal and Ruchir Joshi. Currently D. Wood performs as a bassist / composer and takes masterclasses in India and abroad.
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Mayank Singh Rawat
Faculty
Mayank Singh Rawat
Faculty
Mr. Mayank Singh Rawat, a drummer and percussionist kick-started his rhythm journey in 2005. Trained under a renowned drummer, Ashwini Verma from band Euphoria, Mayank Singh Rawat is known for his aggressive and power sound over the drums. Later, he became a part of the renowned metal band called ‘Night Wings III’, whose work was globally recognised and published on various digital platform. Being a part of the heavy drum act, he also dedicated a song to ‘Anonymous- The Legion Anthem’, hacktivist society that got an overwhelming global response. In 2007 he started imparting his knowledge by holding drum workshops at various schools, colleges, and official organisations. As a music composer and stage artist, he has also collaborated with various Hindi film industry singers including Richa Sharma, Shruti Pathak and Bhoomi Trivedi.
Currently he is a part of Indie Rock pop/funk act ‘SaaR’ and came up with Debut Album ‘Rang’. He has collaborated and produced music for various organisations such as Netflix, TVF, Dice Media, etc. Recently he was also a part of the One Plus Music festival.
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Mithilesh Patankar
Faculty
Mitilesh Patankar
Faculty
Mr. Mitilesh Patankar, a music director and arranger by profession, took Vocal Indian Classical training from Pt. Gajananrao Joshi. He pursued his career as a music director under the guidance of his father Vishwas Patankar, a well-known music director.
As a music composer & arranger, he has worked on several projects in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He has conceptualised and composed music for a fusion band called Mithaavin and actively participated in ‘Sangeetkar Sammelan’ since 2008 for eight years.
Mithilesh Patankar has also conceptualised a musical series of 26 episodes called Sugam Riyaz for All India Radio, which was based on the elements of light music. He has worked as a music arranger and a judge for Zee Marathi’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.
He was awarded MICTA Award for the Best Background Music for Marathi play, ‘Aamhi Sau Kumud Prabhakar Aapte’ in the year 2014. The following year he also received Chitrapadarpan Award as the Best Music Director for the Marathi album, ‘Ghanachimba’ in the non-film category.
He was also an on-screen mentor for a musical reality show on ETV Marathi. He has performed old Hindi songs as a singer at Kresge Theatre Boston, Berklee College Auditorium and Southern Theatre Columbus in the U.S.A for three consecutive years from 2015-2017 with a band of 22 musicians.
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Nandini Shankar
Faculty
Nandini Shankar
Faculty
Ms. Nandini Shankar started learning hindustani classical violin from grandmother Padma Bhushan Dr. N. Rajam and mother Dr. Sangeeta Shankar at the age of 3. Since then, she has performed in various prestigious locations/ festivals/TV programs across like Carnegie Hall, New York, Temple of Fine Arts, Singapore & Malaysia, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in various countries in Europe & in Canada, MTV Indies (Indi Pop Collaboration), Zee TV (Idea Jalsa), Doordarshan, and Pogo TV. Nandini Shankar was lead violinist in the first ever all-girl Indian classical musical band (Sakhi) conceptualised by Kaushiki Chakraborty. In the year 2012, she was presented with Jaya Smriti award by Hema Malini. She has also been the recipient of cultural scholarship awarded by Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Ms. Shankar is learned in Opera Singing technique from highly acclaimed Soprano Singer Celia Lobo. An alumnus from SNDT university with a master’s in music, Nandini Shankar has undertaken a workshop on Indian Music at University of Chicago, USA (2015) and been a Tutor at Music India 2016, Milapfest (An International Summer School at Liverpool Hope University, UK).
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Ragini Shankar
Faculty
Ragini Shankar
Faculty
Ms. Ragini Shankar is a professional Indian classical violinist & Composer and has been a stage performing artist since the age of 11, performing concerts all over India, US, Canada, Europe & South-east Asia. She has performed in leading prestigious music festivals in India such as Sawai Gandharv, Saptak, Doverlane Music festival and more. She has collaborated on musical projects with acclaimed artists in diverse genres like renowned lyricist Irshad Kamil’s ‘Ink Band’, noted French composer Thierry Pecou’s ‘Sangata’ and Sangeeta Shankar’s innovative fusion ‘inStrings’. She is a recipient of the Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Kiran award and the Jashn-e-Youngistan award presented by the Vice President of India. She has appeared on the platform of TEDx. She has done her master’s in music from SNDT university. Ms. Shankar has composed music for a few short films of WWI and has taught music at The Bandra Base of Whistling Woods International.
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Sabapathi Rajan Pillai
(Chitti Pallai Ji)
Faculty
Sabapathi Rajan Pillai
Faculty
Mr. Sabapathi Rajan Pillai has been a part of the Indian Music Industry for the past 35 years. He is also a member of the Cine Musicians Association. He has played with Legendary Music composers like Kalyanji Anandji, R.D. Burman, Laxmikant Pyarelal to name a few.
He has worked with some legendary playback singers of the industry like Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosale, Lata Mangeshkar, Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu, Kavita Krishnamurthy and also accompanied them for their LIVE shows both in Indian as well as overseas.
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Shankar Lakshmanan
Faculty
Mr. Shankar Lakshmanan
Faculty
Mr. Shankar Lakshmanan, in his career of over three decades has had the fortune and rich experience of sharing the stage with the legends of both Carnatic & Hindustani music. He has also been deeply involved with percussion ensembles in India & abroad. Currently, as a faculty at leading music institutes in Mumbai, he teaches both music and music appreciation. He is a devoted listener of diverse forms of music and this eclectic approach finds expression in his teaching and performance. Apart from his musical career, he also has a long-standing advertising career that pans over 20-years, including his stints in top-of-the-line global agencies. He is also currently an independent consultant.
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Vijay Thomas Kurien
Faculty
Vijay Thomas Kurien
Faculty
Mr. Vijay Thomas Kurien is a pro audio professional with over 14 years’ experience in education, training, sales, installation & technical support. He graduated from Chetana Sound Studios and Directions, Thrissur, in Recording Arts (Audiography). Mr. Kurien began his career as an assistant sound recordist and has worked with some of the best clients in the industry like Yash Raj Films, NDTV, Star Network, Sahara India TV Network, Sony Entertainment Television, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Film and Television Institute of India, Pune and Films Division, Mumbai, Govt. of India and so on. An AVID certified Pro Tools Music operator, Mr Kurien was the part of jury & committee member for the Indian Recording Arts Awards 2012 and 2014 held at the Palm Exhibition, Mumbai. He pioneered in integrating the Digital Audio Denmark AX 24 192 PTHD I/O Box with an Avid Pro Tools HD 3 Accel PCIe, at ‘In the Mix Studios’ – A Hariharan Enterprise. This studio was certified to Dolby E specifications. He is one of the first persons in India to execute multi-track recording of live shows on non-linear media on Avid Pro Tools LE Digi 001. Recently, he has been awarded with the Dronacharya Award for teachers in audio education.
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