iWorld
Arré launches marathi originals in collaboration with Reverb Productions
MUMBAI: After the launch of its studio business, Arré is now making its foray into the Marathi regional market with a strong slate of originals, in collaboration with Reverb productions.
The last few years have been a renaissance for Marathi films, television and music where creators have experimented with differentiated content and have seen exponential growth in the Marathi audience base. With consumption moving to digital platforms, there is a large viewership and monetisation opportunity to offer Marathi digital viewers premium original content.
Reverb productions (Reverb) has been creating high quality Marathi entertainment content across web series, short films, music videos etc. including content for their rapidly growing YouTube channel Reverb Katta. Reverb brings with it a strong understanding of the Marathi idiom and viewer along with an established studio plus music production set up.
With this collaboration, Reverb’s regional content expertise and Arré’s unique creative sensibility, wide distribution, and monetisation capabilities come together to lead the next wave of Marathi content.
The first series from this collaboration is Season 2 of Moving Out, Reverb’s successful hit series. Season 2 is set to launch on the Arré platforms and Reverb Katta’s Youtube channel on 12th February.
This will be followed by a slate of 4 original shows that will be exclusively produced by Reverb for Arré Marathi including Season 3 of Moving Out. Besides, Arré is actively looking at taking its successful franchises – Official Chukyagiri/CEOgiri, A.I.SHA My Virtual Girlfriend, The Real High among others, into this market.
Commenting on the association, Ajay Chacko, Co-Founder and CEO, Arré said “Marathi cinema and theatre have been at the vanguard of creativity and the talent in this market is exceptional. Besides, the Marathi regional audience is emerging as a large viewer base for original content on digital and I believe this is the right time for Arré Marathi to bring in cutting edge original stories that resonate with a new generation of Marathi speaking audiences. In Reverb Productions we see a great fit to create premium original content at scale and I’m excited about partnering with Abhijit, Shilpa and their talented team at Reverb.”
Abhijit Kolhatkar, Founder and CEO, Reverb Productions said “The Marathi speaking audience is very discerning but also willing to experiment with bold new subjects and genres. Reverb has always focused on creating and presenting culturally rich content in a very crisp and relatable manner. We ensure that the content appeals equally to the smartphone generation as well as traditional viewers and their sensibilities. With our collaboration with Arré we are looking forward to greatly expanding the viewer base. While speaking to Sai, Ajay and the rest of the Arré team we realised that our vision was so aligned that Arré seemed like our own alter ego, time warped a few years ahead.”
Jaideep Singh, Director, Arré said “Exponential consumption of regional content has opened up a large consumer market for national and regional advertisers. Our content proposition for Arré Marathi is going to further enhance our offering of original content to our brand partners.”
iWorld
Meta warns 200 users after fake Whatsapp spyware attack
Italy-targeted campaign used unofficial app to deploy surveillance spyware.
MUMBAI: It looked like a message, but it behaved like a mole. Meta has warned around 200 users most of them in Italy after uncovering a targeted spyware campaign that weaponised a fake version of WhatsApp to infiltrate devices. The attack, first reported by Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, relied on classic social engineering with a modern twist: persuading users to download an unofficial WhatsApp clone embedded with surveillance software. The malicious application, believed to be developed by Italian firm SIO through its subsidiary ASIGINT, was designed to mimic the real app closely enough to bypass suspicion.
Meta’s security teams identified roughly 200 individuals who may have installed the compromised version, triggering immediate countermeasures. Affected users were logged out of their accounts and issued alerts warning of potential privacy breaches, with the company describing the incident as a “targeted social engineering attempt” aimed at gaining device-level access.
The malicious app was not distributed via official app stores but circulated through third-party channels, where it was presented as a legitimate WhatsApp alternative. Once installed, it reportedly allowed external operators to access sensitive data stored on the device turning a simple download into a potential surveillance gateway.
According to Techcrunch, Meta is now preparing legal action against the spyware developers to curb further misuse. The company, however, has not disclosed details about the specific individuals targeted or the extent of data compromised.
A Whatsapp spokesperson reiterated that user safety remains the top priority, particularly for those misled into installing the fake iOS application. Meanwhile, reports from La Repubblica suggest the spyware may be linked to “Spyrtacus”, a strain previously associated with Android-based attacks that could intercept calls, activate microphones and even access cameras.
The episode underscores a growing reality in the digital age, the threat is no longer just what you download, but where you download it from. As unofficial apps become increasingly convincing, the line between communication tool and covert surveillance is getting harder to spot and far easier to exploit.
