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Showman's daughter

Meet Meghna Ghai, daughter of Subhash Ghai

IN FOCUS Meghna Ghai

Meghna Ghai-Puri was all of 16 when she returned from the United Kingdom and decided to get into the thick of things in Bollywood. She assisted her famous father, filmmaker and producer Subhash Ghai, for two schedules of Pardes. By the end of it, she realised she wasn't cut out for filmmaking. Strong business acumen is what she had and she went on to hone it.

Cherished dream

Today, Meghna is part of the film industry, but on her own terms. She is spearheading her dad's pet project, Whistling Woods International, the film institute. "My father graduated from the film institute at Pune but when he came to Mumbai, he found that the city didn't even have a good library on cinema. More than a decade ago, he decided to set up an institute; it's taken this long for it to materialise. We've been working on this project for the last five years. This is a dream come true," she says about the institute that will open in July. Meghna is on a mission to draw the best of talents from all over the country. She grew up in a film family, but was never inclined to take up acting. She says, "In India, to be an actress, you should be a good dancer.

But I have two left feet. Jokes apart, when you see the glamour world from close quarters, you are not overwhelmed by it. Many actors are in the business of acting because they know they are good at it. Some others join the fray thinking they have the potential."

While in the U.K., Meghna met Rahul Puri, whom she married three years ago. "He had no connection with the film industry. But today, he looks after the finance for Mukta Arts for films like Iqbal." Speaking of Iqbal, she says, "We want to make more Iqbals and for that, we'll be tapping into talent from our film school." The film school, she says, has roped in actors, filmmakers and technicians to be part of the faculty.

On a concluding note, Meghna says, "If I had begun as a film-maker, I would have followed in the footsteps of people with 30-40 years of experience. But with this project, I got to do things from scratch."

SANGEETHA DEVI. K

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