Ms. Madhuri Dixit-Nene rocked it with students of Whistling Woods International at the 5th Veda Cultural Workshop. Shared her journey with aspiring creative professionals

by Suman Gupta

Mumbai, 2020: As a new day dawned, Whistling Woods International’s (WWI) campus was filled with excitement and cheer. The day witnessed the inaugural session of the 11th season of WWI’s acclaimed 5th Veda cultural hub. Inaugurating the occasion was the Queen of Indian Cinema, Ms. Madhuri Dixit-Nene. Following her introduction to the audience, the honoured guest joined Mr. Subhash Ghai, Founder & Chairman, WWI, Ms. Meghna Ghai Puri, President, WWI, and Mr. Ravi Gupta, Dean, for the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony.

The event began with an insightful AV that depicted the evolution of the 5th Veda cultural hub, followed by an AV highlighting Ms. Madhuri Dixit-Nene’s legendary career. Post the AV presentation, the guest for the evening took to the stage to share her journey and impart words of wisdom to more than 500 eager students seated in the audience. Ms. Madhuri Dixit-Nene described about her love for music and dance, since childhood and the inspiration she drew from performing. Highlighting the importance of passion in one’s work, she said, “I look at acting not as something that’s going to give me fame or money, but as my passion! And when you do something with passion, everything else follows you. Everything else happens. Be consistent, follow your dreams and don’t get disheartened if something doesn’t work, because there was learning through it too.”

As the interaction continued, Mr. Subhash Ghai took the opportunity to praise Ms. Madhuri Dixit-Nene for her immense talent, and stated, “Madhuri is one of the best actors that I have met. She has the eagerness to excel, work tirelessly towards her domain. She is also very humble and passionate about her work. Madhuri is not only a legend but a great human being.” Ms. Madhuri Dixit-Nene subsequently complimented Mr. Subhash Ghai on his achievements with regards to WWI, and said, “Thank you for having me, because I have seen the amazing work you’re doing here. The students are given the opportunity to learn different aspects of filmmaking, from designing and VR to scripting and acting – everything under one roof. These are the opportunities we didn’t have and it’s wonderful to see such excited youngsters here. I hope we create world-class filmmakers from WWI.”

When questioned on how she managed her personal and professional lives, Ms. Madhuri Dixit-Nene shared, “I compartmentalise.” She further shared with the students valuable learnings on maintaining a perfect work-life balance. Besides, she mentioned how yoga and meditation help in maintaining a balance between body and mind. As the evening progressed, she shared several interesting anecdotes from her movies. The highlight of the evening was her dance performance with the students, which left everyone in the auditorium exuberant.

With the session drawing to a close, Ms. Madhuri Dixit-Nene shared her final words of advice with the enthusiastic students, advising them to always respect their and others’ time, remain passionate towards their work, and always stay energetic and enthusiastic.

With this, Ms. Meghna Ghai Puri thanked and felicitated Ms. Madhuri Dixit-Nene for spending time and sharing invaluable knowledge with the students, as the assembled audience rose to their feet and the auditorium resonated with waves of thunderous applause.