iWorld
JioCinema launches Digital Film Festival starting 29 September!
Mumbai: JioCinema, a streaming destination is all set to launch a digital film festival, JioCinema Film Fest, starting 29 September. The festival is an incredible cinematic celebration that will bring together Kala, Kalakaar aur anokhi Kahaniyaan, through 20 remarkable films across 20 days. These captivating and award-winning stories will bring together a distinguished repertoire of artists such as Nawazuddin Siddique, Naseeruddin Shah, Ira Dubey, Supriya Pathak, Sheeba Chaddha, Amit Sadh, Satish Kaushik, Rajat Kapoor, and Adah Sharma amongst others.
A celebration of India’s rich storytelling, JioCinema Film Fest includes a robust line-up of films such as The Comedian that will throw light on an ageing comedic actor in the Indian film industry who has no laughter left in his life and Birha (The Journey Back Home), a winner at multiple international film festivals that describes the heart-wrenching story of a family that tears apart due to the unjustified ambitions of a young child. Other films in the line-up include Ghuspaith: Between Borders, which inspired by the life and tragic death of renowned Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui; Rat in the Kitchen, a Neo-Noir Thriller is a story of a man going through loneliness and witnessing surreal experiences while being home alone; Bebaak is a gripping film about a woman’s identity crisis as a Muslim woman in India, trying to make her place in a prejudice-ridden world. Set in an Indian town under curfew, The Daughter is a film about a young woman who sets out in search of a man who can help her carry out an act that will test her limits.
In addition to this, the film festival boasts of some exceptional stories that include Ring Mili Kya, Munna Ka Bachpan, Laar, Mein Mehmood, Gangster Ganga, Armaand, Maachis Ki Dibiya, Phone Call, Murakh (The Idiot), Before We Die, Dammy, The Last Envelope, Coming Out with the help of a Time Machine and Kofuku.
Witness the magic of films, starting 29 September streaming exclusively on JioCinema Film Fest.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
