The stork didn't drop her screaming and wailing, into her mother's arms. Meghna Ghai's journey was different. More profound…. As Subhash Ghai declares rather dramatically, "Fortunately, my wife and I were not blessed with a son." In a full-blooded Punjabi household that's BIG. There's a huge sense of loss - and the pressure from the extended family was to go out there and bring home a son, the waaris, who would then seamlessly take the story forward.

But for Ghai, albeit brought up in a world where the sons were the sun and the moon, there had to be a better way. How about bringing home a baby girl? "It was not an impulsive decision," says Ghai. "My wife and I gave it a great deal of thought. Why not bring home a little girl, give her all the opportunities, fill her life with love and care and see where life would take her…. It was our bit towards the cause of women."

So, Meghna Ghai came home, quietly, drowning out the gale of protests from the family. Very soon, from being Daddy's 'Mission Statement for Women's Empowerment', she became their world. And filled up all the lonely corners of their life they never even knew existed.

Today, their little girl sits behind a door marked 'President' at the spanking new Whistling Woods International - a film, TV and media arts institute that's been creating quite a stir in town. "It wasn't a case of Daddy's girl taking over," says Ghai, eyes blazing with pride. "She was appointed to the position by the governing council that consists of luminaries like Anand Mahindra, Kiran Karnik and Aroon Purie..."

So, apart from the deep sense of pride as a father, what has Meghna brought to your life? I ask him. "Immense confidence," he says simply. "A couple of years ago, when I came out with my IPO for Mukta Arts, sceptics said mine was just a one-man show: 'Where's the future? After Subhash Ghai, who?' Today, I can say with all the emphasis at my command…. After Subhash Ghai, Meghna Ghai."

We're sitting talking in Subhash Ghai's new office at Whistling Woods. Like everything about Ghai, it's huge. With a spectacular 180-degree wraparound view of the lush green woods and mountainscapes that girdle Film City. Who knows what dazzling ideas he sold to the Maharashtra government, but he got them to part with 20 acres of pristine wooded area in the heart of Film City. It's caused a lot of heartburn in the film world. You could hear the sizzle and burn miles away!

But then, that's Subhash Ghai. He'll dream only the impossible dream…. And Whistling Woods takes that dream forward. He wants to be an educationist now. He wants to open a world-class film and media school. It's the Dreamchaser's way of saying thank you to life. Who better to take it forward than 27-year-old Meghna Ghai, his best dream come to fruition...