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9XM enters social gaming arena with Bade and Chote
MUMBAI: 9XM, the Bollywood music channel, is entering into the social networking gaming arena with its popular animated duo ‘Bade & Chote’.
The channel has partnered with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan to launch an interactive game Be a Star Paparazzi. The game on Facebook platform will feature Bade – Chote and Khan.
The channel has also launched a daily comic strip of Bakwaas Bandh Kar, created for the Facebook users where members can end the joke with their own version of Bakwaas.
“Our presence on the social media platform has given the viewers a common ground to interact with the channel and its characters. The current initiatives Be a Star Paprazzi and Chote Bade interactive comic strips are created to further engage the fans and keep them entertained even on the internet,” 9XM programming head Amar Tidke said.
Developed by the channel inhouse, Be a Star Paparazzi gives the players a chance to be paparazzi and shoot Khan on the red carpet. However, the players will have to dodge Bade and Chote to get a clear shot of the animated avatar of Khan. Players of the game will score points only when they shoot the Bollywood Badshah sans Bade Chote.
Tidke added, “9XM is equally popular on the internet with its characters being adopted by numerous user-generated online communities. Our two unique initiatives on Facebook will offer a great interactive experience to all the 9XM fans and provide them an opportunity to connect with their favourite animated characters – Bade and Chote.”
Going further, the channel is planning similar initiatives with other characters and there will be innovations and interactions around each of them rolling out periodically, Tidke said.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
