The WWI Maestro Award is constituted by Whistling Woods International and conferred on an artist for their work and contribution to Indian film industry. The first WWI Maestro award was conferred to Pyarelal for providing his music composition to over 500 Hindi films like Bobby, Amar Akbar Anthony, Karz, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Tezaab, Ram Lakhan. The second WWI Maestro Award was conferred to Dev Anand, who in his career has received over 25 National and International awards for films like Guide, Jewel Thief, Heera Panna, Munimji, Kala Pani.
The day also marked the third anniversary of WWI and the convocation ceremony for its second batch of students was also held.
A total of 99 students graduated from the institute this year. The Valedictorians (student graduating with highest marks) declared during this convocation were C Senthil Kumar from the January 2009 batch and Arjun Mogre from the July 2009 batch.
WWI founder and chairman Subhash Ghai said, "I am extremely happy to see the wide spread popularity WWI has achieved in just three years. The industry has welcomed our students with open arms and has appreciated their work. The tremendous support from the industry encourages me to create many more Whistling Woods throughout the country and the globe."
Ghai advised the students to change the face of the Indian cinema. "There are thousands of Indian stories waiting to be told. It’s your job to understand these and make to universally relevant. You have just passed your first test. The real test begins now. Be prepared to work hard and struggle to achieve your vision," he said.
Dev Anand added, "It feels great to be amongst the younger generation of filmmakers who are so enthusiastic. You all must remember that no one is perfect. Perfectionists exist only up on the skies. I want you all to work with passion and excitement as ‘Excitement is the mother of creation.’"
