iWorld
OTT releases this week feature Shahid Kapoor romance and Rani Mukerji cop return
From thrilling sequels and mystery dramas to a BTS reunion documentary, fresh releases offer something for every screen mood.
MUMBAI: This week’s OTT slate is serving up a perfect popcorn mix because when Shahid Kapoor romances and Rani Mukerji returns with her badge, even couch potatoes start feeling the adrenaline. Prime Video is bringing Shahid Kapoor in the action-drama O Romeo, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. The film, which also stars Tripti Dimri, Avinash Tiwary, Disha Patani, Farida Jalal, Tamannaah Bhatia and Nana Patekar, will be available for rent from 27 March before moving to subscription in the second week of April 2026.
JioHotstar is set to premiere the mystery thriller Muthu Alias Kaattaan on 27 March, headlined by Vijay Sethupathi. The series, also featuring Milind Soman, Sudev Nair and Muthukumar, will stream in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi and Bengali.
Netflix has a double treat on 27 March. First is the documentary BTS: The Return, directed by Bao Nguyen, which follows the global K-pop group – RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook – as they reunite in Los Angeles to create their fifth album Arirang. The same day sees Rani Mukerji back as ACP Shivani Shivaji Roy in Mardaani 3, directed by Abhiraj Minawala. The film explores a high-level child-trafficking syndicate and introduces Mallika Prasad as antagonist Amma and Janki Bodiwala as constable Fatima Anwar, with Indraneel Bhattacharya, Mikhail Yawalkar and Jisshu Sengupta in supporting roles.
Zee5 is releasing Projapati 2 on 27 March, reuniting Mithun Chakraborty and Dev. Directed by Avijit Sen, the story unfolds in a Bengali family’s restaurant and home during a festive period, focusing on Gour Chakrabarty’s wish to see his widowed son Joy remarry while balancing family and career. The film also stars Jyotirmoyee Kundu, Aparajita Auddy, Anumegha Kahali and Kharaj Mukherjee.
Finally, Netflix drops the psychological horror series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen on 26 March. Created by Haley Z Boston, it stars Camila Morrone, Adam DiMarco, Sawyer Fraser and Mason McDonald, following a bride who senses something terrible will happen at her wedding.
Whether you are in the mood for romance, thrills, music or goosebumps, this week’s releases prove that sometimes the best entertainment is just a click away and the remote never had it so good.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
