Brands
A perfect fit New Balance laces up Janhvi Kapoor as India ambassador
MUMBAI: New Balance has found its stride in India. The global sportswear brand New Balance has officially welcomed Janhvi Kapoor as its first-ever Indian brand ambassador, marking a significant step in its expansion across one of the world’s fastest-growing style and sportswear markets.
Known for balancing mainstream appeal with a distinctly personal sense of style, Kapoor’s journey in cinema and fashion mirrors the brand’s long-standing emphasis on individuality and self-belief. Her growing influence among young consumers, combined with her advocacy for authenticity and confidence, positions her as a natural fit for New Balance’s philosophy of empowering people to own their path, on and off the field.
Speaking about the association, Kapoor said she has long admired the brand’s commitment to innovation and celebrating individuality, adding that fashion and fitness, for her, are rooted in staying true to oneself. She noted that New Balance allows her to express that confidence authentically, making the partnership feel instinctive rather than ornamental.
From the brand’s perspective, the collaboration is designed as a shared creative journey rather than a conventional endorsement. Radeshwer Davar, country manager, India at New Balance, said Kapoor brings not just reach but genuine inspiration, aligning with the brand’s ethos of evolution, passion and personal expression. He added that the partnership opens new possibilities at the intersection of sport, culture and style for Indian audiences.
India continues to be a key growth market for New Balance across the Middle East, Africa and India (MEAI) region. Stuart Henwood, senior director for MEAI at New Balance, highlighted Kapoor’s individuality and entrepreneurial spirit as qualities that resonate strongly with the brand’s vision for the country, positioning her as a catalyst for deeper consumer connection.
Together, New Balance and Janhvi Kapoor are set to shape a more confident, inclusive and creative conversation around sport and fashion, one that reflects the energy and ambition of modern India rather than simply following global templates.
Brands
IICT partners with Gativedhi to bring studio production tools to students
New MoU lets students explore AI-driven production pipelines for AVGC-XR
MUMBAI: The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) has teamed up with Gativedhi Technologies to give students a front-row seat to modern studio production. The collaboration will integrate Gativedhi’s AI-powered production intelligence platform, Shotrack, into academic programmes, letting students experience the workflow systems used by animation, VFX and gaming studios.
Under the MoU, faculty, students and researchers will get hands-on access to Shotrack through beta programmes, pilot deployments and academic evaluations. This will allow them to explore simulated production pipelines, understand asset management, track tasks and monitor schedules, essentially seeing how complex projects come together behind the scenes.
Shotrack is designed to tackle a key industry challenge: when multiple studios work on the same project, differing internal systems often create bottlenecks, slow approvals and complicate version control. The platform provides a unified production environment, enabling smoother collaboration across distributed teams while generating operational insights and predictive analytics to optimise crew allocation, forecast schedule risks and manage costs.
The collaboration also opens doors to Gativedhi’s wider ecosystem. Upcoming tools include StudioTrack, for studio operations management covering budgeting, recruitment and IT infrastructure, and WorkTrack, which measures workflow efficiency and team productivity across industries.
IICT plans to embed these tools into programmes covering animation pipelines, VFX workflows, gaming production and media project management. Students will also benefit from guest lectures, masterclasses, workshops, internships and research projects that connect academic learning with real-world studio practices.
IICT CEO Vishwas Deoskar, said the partnership provides “An environment where production pipeline tools can be explored, tested and refined while students gain insight into how large-scale productions are organised.”
Gativedhi Technologies founder & CEO Senthil Kumar added, “This collaboration introduces students to real-world studio management tools and helps us improve our platform with academic feedback.”
With Shotrack in classrooms, India’s future animators, VFX artists and gaming producers will get a taste of studio life long before they step into one.
