Subhash Ghai’s festival puts 4 icons before 2,000 students
Subhash Ghai's Whistling Woods festival unites Aamir Khan, Hema Malini, Rana Daggubati and Imtiaz Ali for three days of mentorship.
Subhash Ghai is bringing four of Indian cinema’s most distinctive voices to Whistling Woods International for the Celebrate Cinema Festival 2026. The three-day event runs from October 7 to 9 and places Aamir Khan, Hema Malini, Rana Daggubati and Imtiaz Ali before an audience of aspiring filmmakers.
The structure matters as much as the names. Each day is anchored by a different artist, with sessions tied to their work rather than a generic star appearance.
- October 7: Aamir Khan joins for a conversation around Sitaare Zameen Par.
- October 8: Hema Malini pays tribute to the late Dharmendra, and Rana Daggubati joins the campus.
- October 9: Imtiaz Ali closes the festival with a session around Main Wapas Aaunga.
Subhash Ghai will also interact with students during the celebrations, keeping the focus on direct dialogue with the next generation.
A festival built on access
The event is designed for participation, not just applause. Workshops, panel discussions, exhibits and interactive classes are spread across the three days, and around 2,000 students are expected to attend.
Announcing the festival on Instagram, Ghai stressed gratitude and excitement. “We all are excited,” he wrote, as he listed the guests and the sessions attached to each day. The phrasing is telling: he treated the line-up as an opportunity for students, not a promotional exercise.
Why this line-up works
Each guest represents a different route through Indian cinema. Aamir Khan’s appearance on October 7 links to Sitaare Zameen Par and his particular approach to performance and filmmaking. Hema Malini’s October 8 appearance carries an emotional layer: she will honour the late Dharmendra, with a scholarship on behalf of the institute. Rana Daggubati joins the same day, bringing a performer known for several iconic turns in Indian cinema. October 9 belongs to Imtiaz Ali, who is set to discuss Main Wapas Aaunga and the storytelling language he has built.
For attendees, that variety turns three days into a concentrated education in how different kinds of careers are built.
The Showman’s classroom continues
The festival may read as a celebration, but its shape is closer to a masterclass series with a legacy thread running through it. The Dharmendra tribute becomes something actionable: a scholarship creates a pathway, not only a memory. Ghai’s own interaction with students keeps the event tied to the institute’s core purpose.
For Bollywood Society readers, the appeal is twofold. The names are strong enough to follow the daily schedule, and the format is a reminder that film education now runs on live access to working professionals as much as on classroom theory.
The festival runs until October 9. For the 2,000 students in the room, the task is simple: listen closely to how four very different artists describe the same craft.
Source: bollywoodHungama.com
The room talks
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