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Epic scale goes digital as Mahabharat gets an AI-powered global retelling
MUMBAI: When ancient epics meet modern code, even the Mahabharat can travel faster than time. At Inter BEE 2025 in Japan, one of the country’s most influential broadcast and technology exhibitions, Microsoft offered audiences a glimpse of how Indian storytelling is being re-engineered for the global stage with artificial intelligence doing the heavy lifting.
During a Microsoft keynote on November 19, the tech giant unveiled the first look trailer of Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh, an AI-powered cultural project by Collective Artists Network, created in collaboration with its AI division Galleri5. Built using Microsoft Azure AI, the project blends creative IP development with advanced AI-driven production workflows.
The showcase went beyond visual spectacle. Galleri5’s AI systems were deployed across world-building, visual development and pre-visualisation, while Collective anchored the project with detailed research, writing and cultural direction ensuring the epic’s narrative depth survived its technological makeover.
A standout moment came when Microsoft presented a Japanese-language trailer, dubbed from Hindi using Microsoft’s AI tools. The move marked one of the earliest instances of an Indian production house using AI to enable multi-language, cross-border distribution at scale, signalling how local mythology can now be packaged for international audiences without losing its cultural core.
By placing Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh on its keynote stage, Microsoft positioned the project as a live case study in how AI can reshape content pipelines not just by speeding up production, but by expanding cultural reach. From Hastinapur to Tokyo, the message was clear: Indian epics are no longer bound by geography, language or format.
As broadcasters and tech leaders gathered at Inter BEE 2025 to debate the future of media, this AI-led retelling quietly made its point, the next global content wave may well be powered by ancient stories, retold through algorithms.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
