MAM
Birla Opus paints the town festive with Ganesh Chaturthi digital film
MUMBAI : When Bappa arrives, even the walls want to dress up. This Ganesh Chaturthi, Birla Opus Paints part of Aditya Birla Group’s Grasim Industries has unveiled a heartwarming digital film under its Duniya Ko Rang Do philosophy, capturing the spirit of devotion, colour, and community.
The film, conceptualised by Leo India, tells the simple yet stirring story of a young boy yearning to welcome Lord Ganesha into his home for the first time. Initially hesitant about the extra effort, his family eventually gives in to his determination, deciding to host Bappa and repaint their home, a reminder that festive joy often begins with fresh walls and fresher spirits.
Ganesh Chaturthi, one of India’s most vibrant festivals, is portrayed not just as a ritual but as an emotion that unites families, neighbours, and entire communities. The film highlights how a fresh coat of paint isn’t merely cosmetic, it’s symbolic of opening doors to divinity and joy.
Birla Opus Paints head of marketing Inderpreet Singh explained: “Ganesh Chaturthi is a time of celebration, bringing homes and neighbourhoods alive. With this film, we wanted to tell the story through the eyes of a child welcoming Bappa home for the first time. Paints play a unique role on such occasions, transforming spaces and adding colour to the memories that will be cherished for years.”
Leo South Asia chief creative officer Sachin Kamble echoed the sentiment: “Birla Opus has always celebrated the transformational power of colours in our lives. This film shows how they go beyond beautifying walls to help turn houses into spaces of celebration and love.”
Streaming across Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin, the campaign is designed to spread festive cheer and inspire families to brighten both homes and hearts this season. Ending with the line “Rangon Ko Khushiyan Phailane Do, Duniya Ko Rang Do,” the film reminds viewers that colour isn’t just what we see on our walls, it’s what we feel in our celebrations.
Brands
Amazon Q1 revenue jumps 17 per cent to $181.5bn, profit soars to $30.3bn
AWS surges 28 per cent while AI bets reshape cash flow and drive future growth
SEATTLE: Amazon kicked off 2026 with a strong first quarter, reporting a 17 per cent year-on-year jump in net sales to $181.5 billion, up from $155.7 billion in the same period last year, as growth across cloud, advertising, and retail continued to gather pace.
Excluding a $2.9 billion favourable impact from foreign exchange, sales still rose a solid 15 per cent, underlining broad-based demand across its businesses.
The company’s cloud arm, Amazon Web Services, remained the star performer, with revenue climbing 28 per cent to $37.6 billion. Operating income for AWS reached $14.2 billion, up from $11.5 billion a year ago, reinforcing its role as Amazon’s profit engine.
Meanwhile, North America sales rose 12 per cent to $104.1 billion, while international revenue increased 19 per cent to $39.8 billion, or 11 per cent excluding currency effects.
Profit growth outpaced revenue. Operating income climbed to $23.9 billion from $18.4 billion last year, while net income surged to $30.3 billion, or $2.78 per share, compared with $17.1 billion, or $1.59 per share, in the first quarter of 2025. A significant boost came from $16.8 billion in pre-tax gains linked to Amazon’s investment in Anthropic.
Cash generation also strengthened, with operating cash flow rising 30 per cent to $148.5 billion over the trailing twelve months. However, free cash flow dropped sharply to $1.2 billion from $25.9 billion, largely due to a $59.3 billion increase in capital expenditure, primarily tied to artificial intelligence investments.
Commenting on the results, Amazon president and CEO Andy Jassy said, “We’re making customers’ lives easier and better every day across all our businesses, and their response is driving significant growth.”
He added that AWS growth of 28 per cent marked its fastest pace in 15 quarters, while Amazon’s chips business crossed a $20 billion annual revenue run rate, growing at triple-digit rates. Advertising revenue also crossed $70 billion on a trailing twelve-month basis, and store unit growth hit 15 per cent, its highest since the tail end of pandemic lockdowns.
Artificial intelligence remained front and centre of Amazon’s strategy. The company deepened partnerships with OpenAI, Meta, NVIDIA and Uber, while expanding its proprietary chip ecosystem including Trainium and Graviton.
Amazon revealed that it has already deployed over 2.1 million AI chips in the past year and plans to roll out more than one million NVIDIA GPUs starting in 2026. OpenAI alone is expected to consume around two gigawatts of Trainium capacity for advanced AI workloads beginning in 2027.
The company also highlighted rapid adoption of its AI services, with Amazon Bedrock processing more tokens in the first quarter than in all previous years combined, and customer spending on the platform rising 170 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
Beyond cloud and AI, Amazon continued to scale its consumer and logistics ecosystem. It delivered more than one billion items via same-day or overnight delivery so far in 2026 and expanded ultra-fast delivery services across multiple global markets. Prime Video also saw strong engagement, including sports streaming growth and box office success for original content like Project Hail Mary, which has grossed nearly $615 million globally.
Looking ahead, Amazon expects second-quarter net sales to reach between $194 billion and $199 billion, representing growth of 16 per cent to 19 per cent year-on-year. Operating income is projected between $20 billion and $24 billion.
Despite macro uncertainties ranging from foreign exchange fluctuations to global economic conditions, Amazon appears to be leaning into its biggest bets yet. With AI investments accelerating and cloud demand holding firm, the company is positioning itself not just for growth, but for what it calls the next big inflection in technology and commerce.
