Whistling Woods International (WWI) is a private institute located inside the Film City Complex, Aarey Milk Colony, Goregaon, Mumbai. Established in 2006, the institute is known as one of India’s leading film, media, and creative arts schools. It is affiliated with TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) and is approved by UGC and AICTE.
WWI is spread across a 5-acre campus equipped with advanced studios, film sets, sound stages, classrooms, and industry-standard training facilities. The institute offers a practical, career-focused learning environment for students aspiring to build careers in filmmaking, animation, design, acting, media, and communication.
The institute has strong international collaborations with global universities and creative schools, such as:
With its world-class infrastructure and strong global partnerships, Whistling Woods International continues to provide industry-oriented education to students across media and entertainment fields.
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Institute Name | Whistling Woods International |
| Short Name | WWI |
| Institute Type | Private |
| State | Maharashtra |
| City | Mumbai |
| Location / Address | Film City Complex, Aarey Milk Colony, Goregaon, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400065 |
| Website | www.whistlingwoods.net |
| admissions@whistlingwoods.net | |
| Establishment Year | 2006 |
| University Affiliation | Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) |
| Approvals | UGC, AICTE Recognised |
| Campus Area | 5 Acres |
| International Collaborations | CV Creative Schools & Community University (Paris), Toronto Metropolitan University (Canada), University of the Arts London, Korean University of Media Arts, University of Exeter (UK), Pace University (USA), Trebas Institute (Canada), Norwich University of the Arts (England), Queen Mary University of London, University of Denver (USA), London South Bank University, Arts University Bournemouth, Leeds Arts University, University for the Creative Arts, Vancouver Film School, Ubisoft, IED – Istituto Europeo di Design, Hult International Business School, SAE University College, ADE – AD Education |
| Course Name | Fees | Eligibility |
| M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration) | ₹6,50,000 | Bachelor's degree in any discipline, Minimum aggregate score of 50%, Valid score in national-level management entrance exams (CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT) |
| B.Des. (Bachelor of Design) | ₹5,12,500 - 5,37,500 | 10+2 education from a recognized board or its equivalent, minimum aggregate score of 50% |
| B.Sc. (Bachelor of Science) | ₹9,50,000 | 10+2 education from a recognized board, minimum aggregate score of 50%, studied Science subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics or Biology in 10+2 curriculum |
| B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) | ₹6,00,000 - 6,33,333 | 10+2 education from a recognized board or its equivalent, Minimum aggregate score of 50% in qualifying examination |
| B.B.A. (Bachelor of Business Administration) | ₹4,33,333 | 10+2 education from a recognized board or its equivalent, minimum aggregate score of 50%, studied English as a compulsory subject |
| Diploma | ₹5,50,000 | 10+2 education from a recognized board or its equivalent |
| M.A. (Master of Arts) | ₹5,50,000 - 13,75,000 | Undergraduate degree in any discipline from a recognized university, Minimum aggregate score of 50% in the undergraduate program. |
Whistling Woods International (WWI) offers a wide range of creative programs across filmmaking, acting, design, animation, media, and arts. The institute provides 8 undergraduate programs, 9 postgraduate programs, and 1 diploma course.
| Course Name | Duration | Total Fees |
|---|---|---|
| BFA in Filmmaking (Dual Elective) | 3 Years | Rs. 28,50,000 |
| BFA in Acting | 3 Years | Rs. 18,00,000 |
| BFA in Music Production & Composition | 3 Years | Rs. 19,00,000 |
| BBA in Media & Communication | 3 Years | Rs. 13,00,000 |
| BDes in Animation | 4 Years | Rs. 21,50,000 |
| BDes in Game Design | 4 Years | Rs. 21,50,000 |
| BDes in Visual Communication Design | 4 Years | Rs. 20,50,000 |
| BDes in Fashion Design | 4 Years | Rs. 20,50,000 |
| MFA in Filmmaking – Cinematography | 2 Years | Rs. 27,50,000 |
| MFA in Filmmaking – Direction | 2 Years | Rs. 27,50,000 |
| MFA in Filmmaking – Editing | 2 Years | Rs. 26,00,000 |
| MFA in Filmmaking – Producing | 2 Years | Rs. 26,50,000 |
| MFA in Filmmaking – Production Design | 2 Years | Rs. 26,50,000 |
| MFA in Filmmaking – Sound Recording & Design | 2 Years | Rs. 22,00,000 |
| MFA in Filmmaking – VFX & Virtual Production | 2 Years | Rs. 22,50,000 |
| MFA in Screenwriting | 2 Years | Rs. 11,00,000 |
| MBA in Media & Entertainment | 2 Years | Rs. 13,00,000 |
| Diploma in Screenwriting | 1 Year | Rs. 5,50,000 |
Whistling Woods International (WWI) offers a wide range of programs in media, entertainment, filmmaking, design, animation, and creative arts. For the 2026 academic year, the admission process has been made easier with both online and offline options. Here’s a quick guide to the admission process:
Whistling Woods International recorded an active placement season in 2025, with major media and entertainment companies hiring across filmmaking, animation, design, and communication roles. WWI placement cell organised 15 campus recruitment drives, helping students secure offers in areas like production, editing, cinematography, content creation, VFX, and digital media. This hands-on industry exposure continues to make WWI one of the leading institutes for media careers in India.
| Highlight | Statistic |
|---|---|
| Students Placed | 85 |
| Companies Visited | 35 |
| Offers Made | 120 |
| Highest Package | Rs. 12 lakhs |
| Average Package | Rs. 6.5 lakhs |
| Median Package | Rs. 6 lakhs |
WWI has been rated as one of the ten best film schools in the world, in the July 2014, August 2013 and July 2010 issues of ‘The Hollywood Reporter’.
WWI has partnered with The Tata Institute of Social Sciences - one of India’s most reputed universities - to ratify all its 3-year undergraduate & 1-year Postgraduate courses with BSc, BA, BBA & PGD degrees.
Oscar-award winning alumni – 3 WWI alumni were part of the Oscar Award-winning cinematography & VFX teams for the ‘Life of Pi’. WWI alumni have been involved in some of the most successful Indian films over the past 5 years. WWI has graduated 1100+ media professionals since 2008.
WWI alumni are revitalising regional film industries. Several regional (Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Malayalam & Kannada) industries have been greatly benefited by WWI alumni choosing to go back to their native markets and making films in those languages. This has provided much-needed quality filmmaking skills boost for regional cinema.
WWI is exporting education. WWI has set up a campus in the UK, in partnership with Bradford College, called the Bradford – Whistling Woods Film School. WWI is also setting up a campus in Nigeria, in partnership with TrendCorp Africa, called ‘The African Film & TV Academy’.
WWI has entered into a partnership with Google under which WWI hosts Asia’s second & India's first ‘YouTube Space’. Further, WWI runs Asia’s only ‘YouTube Educator Lab’ for teaching courses in content creation for digital platforms.
WWI has graduated approx. 1100+ students till date with over 90% gainfully employed at several leading Film & Media organisations in India & overseas.
Over 15% of the WWI’s film students are/have been international students – from the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Italy, France, China, UAE, Holland, Bermuda, Nigeria and several other countries who choose to study at WWI over the other film-studies options available in their own countries.CSR – Whistling Woods has provided scholarships & free education to less-privileged students of over 5cr over the past 9 years. WWI has provided both full-time career education and undertaken workshops for children of several NGOs at no charge.
WWI has consistently provided NGOs & associations engaging in Public Service Advertisements complimentary filmmaking services through its faculty & students.
WWI is a key contributor & advisor in all the government-launched vocational education programmes – the NSDC (under the PMO), the TISS-SVE (under the MHRD).
WWI management is regularly called upon to consult with both the Central government and several state governments on what strategy they should adopt for Film, Media & Entertainment education.
WWI has, on request from the Ministry of HumaThe Sony Media Technology Center – set up jointly by Sony & WWI, is located at the WWI campus in Filmcity, Mumbai. Sony, the world’s largest M&E corporation, has recognised WWI as a leader in the Media & Entertainment sector globally and chose to partner with WWI for focusing on new and emerging technology in the fields of Digital Cinematography and 3D Stereoscopic Filmmaking. There are only 3 such centres in the world, the other 2 being in London & LA. The Mumbai SMTC is the only centre that is in partnership, while the other two are stand-alone centres.
In 2010, WWI was accepted as a full member of CILECT (Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision) – a global association of film schools, which lays very high standards on admitting members (of the 3000+ film schools in the world, CILECT has accepted only 160 schools as members).
In late 2013, President of WWI - Meghna Ghai-Puri was awarded an honorary fellowship from Bradford College, the UK for her contribution to global Film & Media education through Whistling Woods International.
In early 2014, Subhash Ghai was honoured as the ‘Education Evangelist of India’ by Skilltree Foundation for setting up Whistling Woods International.
In early 2014, Subhash Ghai was awarded the Karamveer Chakra by the International Confederation of NGOs (ICONGO), a United Nations body for setting up Whistling Woods International. In June 2014.
WWI was recognised as a ‘Great Place to Study’ by Skilltree Knowledge Consortium and was awarded by the UK House of Commons.
Guest Lectures - Over 300 Indian & global film professionals have guest-lectured at WWI like Ashutosh Gowarikar (Director of Oscar-nominated ‘Lagaan’), Karan Johar, Rakeysh Mehra, Anurag Kashyap, Farhan Akhtar, Shyam Benegal, Shabana Azmi, Jaya Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah, Danny Boyle (Academy Award winner for Slumdog Millionaire), Rajkumar Hirani, Vishal Bhardwaj, Imtiaz Ali, Shelley Page (Head International Outreach, Dreamworks), Lord David Puttnam (Oscar Award-winning Producer of ‘Chariots of Fire’), Senator Dodd (Chairman of the MPAA, USA), Tom Schulman (writer of ‘Dead Poet’s Society’) and several more.
Leading Taiwanese firm ‘Foxconn’ has sponsored a state-of-the-art media lab at Whistling Woods.
WWI has launched a weekly cultural Masterclass to imbibe music, art & dance in the young generations under the banner of ‘5th Veda’. Legendary artists such as Shankar Mahadevan, Dr. L. Subramniam, Kavita Krishnamurthi, Hariharan, Taufiq Qureshi & Louiz Banks have conducted workshops so far.
WWI aspires to achieve high international standards of education and is a member of CILECT, a federation of the World’s top film and media schools. WWI is acknowledged by industry peers and industry Trade bodies as a leading education brand in media and entertainment. WWI works closely with the Ministry of HRD, Govt of India to initiate media education in CBSE schools while developing curriculum, setting standards, teaching teachers and standardizing evaluation processes for the same.
Whistling Woods International is a group of educational institutions headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Whistling Woods has been ranked amongst the top 10 film schools globally by Film Division and is referred to as one of the most established film schools in Asia. The campus is equipped with classrooms, conference halls, audio-video labs, and media production facilities. The campuses have a total built-up area of about 1 million square feet. The college receives funding from the Government of Maharashtra.
Whistling Woods International students who have completed their courses are working at top companies in India and abroad. Below listed are some of the Whistling Woods International alumni who are noteworthy.
| Name of Alumni | Course Pursued | Job Role | Current Company Name |
| ATHREYA KOUSGI | BBA | Associate Creative Producer | Social Panga |
| GAURAV SHAILESH GOPANPALLIKAR | BBA | Brand Solutions | Schbang |
| KHUSHI SUNIL NAIR | BBA | Creative Trainee | FCB Group |
| PRACHI VIBHAS TIWARI | BBA | Brand Solutions | Social Panga |
| Abhishek Dutta | MBA | Trainee Account Executive-PR | Adfactors PR |
| Isha Amol Kadam | MBA | Executive Content Syndication | Carnival Motion Pictures |
| Radhika Vivek Londhe | MBA | Client Servicing | FCB Kinnect |
| Shivani Nilesh Damle | MBA | Executive- Audacity | Radio City |
| ANUSHKA SHIRISH BORKAR | Fashion | Jr Production merchandiser | Falguni Shane Peacock |
| VIVECK VIKAS KADAM | Fashion | Senior Associate Production Executive | Reliance Abu Sandeep Pvt Ltd |
| VRINDA DHAWAN | Fashion | Merchandising team | Manish Malhotra World |
| SOUMYA SANKAR | Fashion | Fashion Production and Admin Assistant | House of Deepthi |
| RAJIT VENKATESH | VCD | Graphic Designer | Greyspace Studios Design LLP |
| VISHA AGRAWAL | VCD | Graphic Designer | Performics India (Convonix Systems Pvt. Ltd.)-Publicis |
| AAHAANA PANKAAJ TANEJAA | VCD | Assistant Manager - Design | Godrej Consumer Products Limited Design Lab |
| AANANDI BASU | VCD | Creative Designer | Flyte Base |
| Charu Singh | MBA Events | sr executive client servicing | laqshya live |
| Kashish Seetlani | MBA Events | client servicing | Eva live |
| Nikhil Deepak Makhija | MBA Events | executive operations | laqshya live |
| MANITAVYA KAKKAR | Music | Artist Support Specialist | Believe Music |
| VARIN PANDE | Music | Junior Editorial and marketing partnership manager | Believe Music |
| HEMABH GARG | Music | Faculty | Whislting Woods |