Brands
Canon shoots its shot with ‘Deep Dive’ masterclass for budding storytellers
MUMBAI: Lights, camera, level up! Canon India is stepping out from behind the camera and into the classroom with Deep Dive, an ambitious, first-of-its-kind masterclass series designed to empower the next wave of photographers, videographers, and filmmakers. But don’t expect a slideshow and a swag bag. This is Canon going full throttle into the creator economy lens-first.
Launched in collaboration with IFP, a global creator-first community, Deep Dive is Canon’s answer to an evolving creative landscape where storytellers need more than just inspiration. They need a complete toolkit: creative, technical, and professional. And that’s exactly what this masterclass promises a crash course in the entire visual workflow, from pre-shoot vision to post-production precision.
But what really gives Deep Dive its edge is its who’s who of mentors. Canon’s North Star Alliance has brought together industry powerhouses like Ravi K Chandran, Santosh Sivan, Anand Rathi, Sudeep Chatterjee, G Venket, and Siddharth Sharma names that carry weight not just in Indian cinema, but across international storytelling circles. Their mission? To share more than tips to pass on a legacy of craftsmanship in a world increasingly reliant on speed and surface.
The series aims to do away with the ‘point and shoot’ mindset and usher in a ‘plan and produce’ approach. Participants won’t just fiddle with Canon’s latest tech they’ll deep-dive into real-world workflows, exploring everything from camera setup and lighting design to colour grading, audio layering and final delivery. With Canon’s partners Aperture, Eizo, and Sennheiser backing the experience, there’s no corner of the production puzzle left untouched.
Each session is designed as a full-fledged, city-specific experiential journey, with experts from the wedding, cinema, and fashion industries leading live demonstrations. In Gurgaon, the first city on the map, Canon ambassador Siddharth Sharma kick-started the series with a session that blended insight with intensity and left participants clamouring for more.
Canon India president and CEO Toshiaki Nomura said, “At Canon, we deeply value creators and believe in their limitless creative potential. We recognize that to truly excel, creators need more than just inspiration—they need the right knowledge, cutting-edge technology, and hands-on experience to push their boundaries. They must evolve beyond being mere visual storytellers to mastering the entire workflow, from capturing the perfect shot to delivering a polished final product. With Deep Dive, Canon is proud to create an experiential platform where young, talented filmmakers and photographers can gain real-world expertise, engage with industry leaders, and experience the transformative power of Canon’s advanced imaging technology. Through initiatives like these, Canon is proud to be facilitating the growth of the entire ecosystem, empowering the next generation of creative visionaries.”
And it’s not just about upping individual skills Canon sees Deep Dive as part of a broader mission to nurture and elevate India’s creator ecosystem. It’s a signal that the brand isn’t just focused on selling cameras, but on investing in what comes after the shutter clicks: storytelling, innovation, and community.
In a world flooded with content, standing out requires more than just talent, it needs technique, tools, and trust in one’s creative voice. Deep Dive is Canon’s attempt to offer all three, wrapped in a format that’s immersive, inspiring and packed with substance.
With more cities queued up and interest already peaking, Deep Dive is shaping up to be more than just a masterclass. It’s a movement. And for the creators ready to stop shooting in the dark and start crafting with intention, Canon just lit the way.
Brands
Dunkin’ Donuts to exit India as Jubilant FoodWorks ends 15-year franchise deal
The quick service restaurant giant is ending a 15-year franchise partnership with the American doughnut chain, even as it renews its Domino’s agreement for another 15 years
NOIDA: Dunkin’ is done in India. Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the country’s leading quick service restaurant operator, has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with the American coffee and doughnut chain, and will wind down its Indian stores in a phased manner before December 31, 2026, bringing a 15-year partnership to a quiet, loss-laden close.
The decision, approved by JFL’s board on March 30, 2026, ends a relationship that began with a Multiple Unit Development Franchise Agreement signed on February 24, 2011. JFL will now evaluate and undertake what it described in a regulatory filing as the “rationalisation and/or cessation of certain operations and/or sale, transfer or disposal of assets and/or assignment or transfer of franchise rights,” all in consultation with Dunkin’s brand owners and strictly within the terms of the original agreement.
The numbers tell the story bluntly. In the financial year 2024-25, Dunkin’ India posted a revenue of Rs 37 crore against a loss of Rs 19 crore — a haemorrhage that was always going to test the patience of a parent company recording revenues of Rs 6,104 crore and a profit of Rs 194 crore in the same period. Doughnuts, it turns out, were never going to move the needle.
The contrast with JFL’s handling of its other marquee franchise could hardly be sharper. Even as it walks away from Dunkin’, the company has just doubled down on Domino’s, signing a fresh Master Franchise Agreement on March 31, 2026, granting it exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino’s Pizza stores in India for 15 years, with an option to renew for a further 10.
JFL, incorporated in 1995 and promoted by the Bharatia family, operates a network of more than 3,500 stores across six markets — India, Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Its portfolio includes Domino’s and Popeyes on the global side, and two home-grown brands: Hong’s Kitchen and COFFY, a café brand in Turkey.
For Dunkin’, India was always a stretch. The brand never quite cracked the cultural code in a market where filter coffee and chai command fierce loyalty and where the doughnut remains, at best, an occasional indulgence rather than a daily habit. Fifteen years, mounting losses and a parent with better things to spend its capital on was always going to be a difficult equation to solve.
The doughnut has had its last day. The pizza, however, is staying.
