Whistling Woods International (WWI) celebrated it’s cultural hub – 5th Veda’s 10th season’s finale by conducting an enlightening session with Mr. Madhur Bhandarkar. The award-winning, highly celebrated creative director, scriptwriter, and producer, shared his acumen on filmmaking with an engrossed audience of the acclaimed institute.
The insightful session began with a video on the preaching of Mahatma Gandhi followed by a performance depicting the importance of Khadi, as a fabric, by the students of School of Fashion.
In conversation with Mr. Subhash Ghai, narrating his journey in the Indian film industry, Mr. Madhur Bhandarkar shared, “I used to work in a video cassette library, delivering cassettes in and around the neighbouring areas as well as at Mr. Subhash Ghai’s place. That’s where my journey began. I did not hail from a film background and due to financial difficulties had to do odd jobs. However, films always intrigued me and I used to watch movies of different genres and my love and passion for it kept increasing. I started visiting sets to see the shoots and analyse them. My passion and love for filmmaking coupled with hard work got me an opportunity to assist Mr. Ram Gopal Verma and eventually, evolve in the industry.”
Addressing the audience, the stalwarts unanimously agreed that the biggest education is self-education. Elaborating on this thought, Mr. Subhash Ghai highlighted that Mr. Madhur Bhandarkar is the epitome of the phrase. The latter further elaborated to the students that one should take learning from failures and follow their passion to emerge as a winner. He summarised by adding, “Failures puts you on to success.”
Advising the budding filmmakers and media professionals, he mentioned that the time is apt to experiment in the ever-evolving world of cinema, owing to the availability of various platforms and mediums of communication. He went on to add, “Believe in yourself, as conviction is the most important factor. One should never let their morale down, no matter what.”
He appreciated the extensive efforts put by Mr. Subhash Ghai in establishing Whistling Woods International, and applauded his contribution to the Hindi film industry. Mr. Madhur Bhandarkar also expressed his gratitude for being a part of the eventful session.
As the day drew to a close, the students of the famed institute were left with a holistic understanding of the domain and a renewed appreciation for the creative field. The guest was presented with a token of appreciation amidst the applause of a packed auditorium.