In Conversation with Meghna Ghai Puri News

Meghna Ghai Puri reflects on female leadership, gender and age bias, emerging technologies in creative arts, and her school, Whistling Woods International

Date: 3 March 2026

On Wednesday 18 March, Meghna Ghai Puri, President of film, performance and creative arts school, Whistling Woods International, will lead a special panel event at London Met, exploring ‘The Business of Creative Leadership, Enterprise and Global Storytelling’, hosted by the Centre for Equity and Inclusion, in recognition of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month.

London Met sat down with Meghna, prior to the event, to discuss her global creative arts institute, becoming a female leader at 23 years old, the development and emergence of women, and advancing technologies in the film industry, and what it takes to be a good leader.

Growing up in a film family in India and working with her father, filmmaker Subhash Ghai, from a young age, Meghna knew she wanted to be part of the entertainment industry, but never thought of herself as a creative person – business and leadership however, was another story.

When her father founded Whistling Woods, an arts school, in 2006, he asked Meghna to take the helm and run it. She says: “My father put his life savings into building a school and he asked me to be President. I had done a business management degree at Kings, and worked for a start-up, which taught me the foundations of running a company – but this opportunity was one not every 23 year old gets, and I grabbed it with both hands. I wanted to make change and to make a difference.”

As a young woman and female leader in India, Meghna faced not only gender discrimination, but age bias too. Over 20 years, she’s seen the evolution and development of women in creative industries and business change for the better: “When I started as President, I wasn’t taken very seriously and I felt I had to prove myself. Thankfully, I had a very supportive family who made sure I didn’t lose confidence.

“One of the first things I did as President was to ensure there were policies to support and encourage a fair, diverse and inclusive institution. I employed heads of department that were women, and female teachers in subjects traditionally taught and studied by men, which has led to a more balanced cohort. I tried to break the mould and did things that were quite unheard of in India.”
With International Women’s Day coming up, Meghna believes women should be celebrated every day: “I look forward to the day when we don’t need a recognition day for women – as it would mean we are equal, but sadly we’re still not there yet. I love to celebrate women though and try to celebrate women in my life every day. As for issues women face, for example pay parity, rights and societal changes in women who want a career and to be a mother, women going for leadership positions, etc, I think men need to be better role models and speak out for us – and make those changes within their organisations and social groups.”

Meghna’s school Whistling Woods is a global hub for connecting education industry and merging technologies and has gone from strength to strength in 20 years. Meghna believes this is due to the uniqueness of it: “Our school was founded by the industry for the industry – and students have access to the best of Indian filmmakers and creatives, as well as being based inside Film City in Mumbai. We create direct routes for students to have a career outside of university. Not only this, but we have partnered with amazing companies like Apple and Sony who give us the latest in equipment, and an understanding of the complexities, challenges and advancements in technology.”

With the emergence of AI and the popularity of social media and streaming, Meghna is very aware of the changing landscape of the creative industries, and how audiences are consuming media in different ways, but she’s not deterred by it. “One of our partners, Sony, has a centre at Whistling Woods, so we have direct access to the research they do and the developments they make, which in turn informs how we run the school.

“We have an Emerging Media Lab where people are always researching, writing papers, presenting at conferences all over the world, and just last week, we had an AI Summit where our team presented on the latest technologies they had developed. Alongside that, we encourage open conversations with our students around technology and have ethical policies in place to ensure AI is used as a tool to make work easier and better, rather than to replace anyone or anything,” she says.

Running a business, especially one that is educating and producing the next generation of creatives, can be challenging, but its one that Meghna relishes: “Historically, a lot of students are steered into subjects and careers by their parents, especially in India, so when I see a new cohort of creative minds, it’s so amazing, because these students have collectively followed their passions, and convinced their parents ‘this is what I want to do’. I see people from all different backgrounds and societies, coming together, looking our for each other and being successful.

“My biggest lesson on my journey as President of Whistling Woods, and what I’d say to students who want to follow their dreams, is to go for it, do what you love, and don’t let age or gender, or whatever it is, get in the way. I tell my students to make one film, even if it’s only one, your story and creativity can reach so many – and impact even more. I believe that if you love the work you do, you won’t work a day in your life.”