New Delhi, Sept. 4 -- Jagat might not be able to get filmmakers to give up filmmaking, but perhaps he could persuade them to teach part time. Then there was the option of 'guest lecturers', where the time commitment was even less, as little as one lecture. Jagat had experienced that at the summer programme he had attended at the People's Educational Center, where top Hollywood insiders and notables came by for one lecture each.

That was it. Jagat declared Fridays as the day off and opened up the Institute on Sundays instead because that was when the professionals had their day off. He then invited the best and the brightest of Indian filmmakers to give guest lectures on Sundays. His persuasive powers must have been exceptional. For the a...