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Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroop signs up with three DTH ops
MUMBAI: Even as theatre owners in Tamil Nadu threaten to boycott Kamal Haasan‘s Vishwaroopam, Raaj Kamal Films International, the production company owned by the Tamil superstar, has gone ahead and signed up with third direct-to-home (DTH) operator Dish TV to premiere the movie one day before its theatrical release.
Vishwaroopam, the first ever Indian film to premiere on DTH before its theatrical release, had earlier signed up with Videocon d2h and Airtel digital TV.
Dish TV along with Videocon d2h and Airtel digital TV will showcase the movie on 10 January, one day before its theatrical release on 11 January.
Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association and Madurai-Ramanathapuram United Film Distributors, who have been opposing the actor‘s decision, have threatened to boycott the film if the actor doesn‘t reconsider his decision. The theatre owners have also urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to intervene and protect their interests.
However, DTH operators feel the DTH premiere is an idea whose time has come. Even Haasan had made it clear that there was no going back on the decision to premiere it on DTH first.
Says Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor, "It is an idea whose time has come; we are glad that the movie fraternity is looking at this technology as a new revenue stream. As a pioneer in the DTH space, this is yet another first to Dish TV‘s credit.
This Indian spy thriller which is being writtend Directed and co-produced by Haasan is priced at Rs 1,000 per view for the Tamil version, if the subscriber books the order till 5 January. After 5 January, subscribers would need to pay Rs 1,200 per view.
The Hindi and Telugu versions of the movie are priced at Rs. 500. Tamil and Telugu versions are called Vishwaroopam and Hindi version of the same is named Vishwaroop.
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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.
