Subhash Ghai's Mukta Arts and Film City have launched the Whistling Woods Intl. film school on the Film City campus in Mumbai, reports VARIETY. The school will begin classes in July and has a teaching staff that includes Bollywood actors Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, helmers Ghai, Shyam Benegal and Aruna Raje.
Kurt Inderbitzin is dean of the school, which is affiliated with Canada's Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology. The board of governors includes producers David Puttnam, Sandy Climan, Simon Relph, former BBC chairman Christopher Bland, lifestyle guru Dr. Deepak Chopra, Silicon Valley venture capitalist Kanwal Rekhi and Bhikhu Parekh, a member of the British House of Lords.
The Indian advisory board includes Bollywood thesps Dilip Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan and Om Puri; helmers Ashutosh Gowarikar, Karan Johar, Rakesh Mehra and Satish Kaushik. Business leaders like UTV's Ronnie Screwvala, Nimbus Communications' Akash Khurana also are on the committee.
The institute will offer courses in acting, filmmaking, cinematography, editing and animation among others. The cost to attend is between $15,000 and $22,000 for a two-year program.
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