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Graphic India appoints Salil Bhargava as COO
MUMBAI: Graphic India, a character entertainment company, has appointed former Jump Games CEO Salil Bhargava as Chief Operating Officer (COO). The company is focused on creating leading characters, comics and stories for the Indian youth market through mobile and digital platforms.
Bhargava, an veteran in the industry and brings more than twelve years of experience in media, entertainment and digital companies in India and overseas, will report to Sharad Devarajan, Co-Founder and CEO of Graphic India.
CA Media, the Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group, had acquired an undisclosed large minority stake in Graphic India in January this year.
Commenting on the new appointment, Graphic India Co-Founder & CEO Sharad Devarajan said, “Salil has been a leading force in pioneering India‘s mobile entertainment industry over the last decade and I am delighted to bring his experience to Graphic as we build a digital media company that transforms the Indian character entertainment industry with new heroes and stories to inspire the world.”
Commenting on his appointment, Bhargava said, “I am thrilled to be joining Graphic India which is setting new boundaries in creativity for character entertainment in India. Sharad and his team bring an unparalleled level of experience in this space and there cannot be a more exciting company to work with as we pioneer digital initiatives to make Graphic‘s unique and ground breaking content available across every digital device in the country.”
Salil has a Bachelors Degree in Commerce from Symbiosis College of Arts & Commerce, Pune. He has studied at Michigan State University in USA and holds an MBA degree from Eli Broad Graduate School of Management.
Graphic India‘s stories include, Ramayan 3392A.D. and The Sadhu, both currently in development as Hollywood feature films; 18 Days, a reimagining of the great eastern epic, the Mahabharata, by acclaimed graphic novel creator, Grant Morrison; Chakra The Invincible, the first superhero for India from legendary creator Stan Lee; and numerous other heroes and stories.
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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.
