iWorld
MX Player to offer dubbed international shows with MX VDesi
KOLKATA: After enthralling viewers with its original series, MX Playe is now bringing international content from across the world with the launch of a brand new category – MX VDesi, which will host India’s largest catalogue of dubbed shows in local Indian languages – Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
Starting 24 March, the platform will be dropping new shows every Wednesday – depicting the same emotion but from different regions. Recent studies have shown that certain sentiments are shared by all cultures and when it comes to entertainment and genres like romance, action or comedy – viewers across the globe share the same universal experience of emotions.
With MX VDesi, the platform is bringing compelling international content for the discerning Indian viewer – be it Turkish, Korean, Japanese, French, Spanish or English super hits that are dubbed in Hindi, Tamil or Telugu. International dubbed content is one of the fastest growing verticals on the platform and sees engagement from the top metros as well as tier-1&2 towns of the country.
MX Player content acquisitions & alliances head Mansi Shrivastav said, “International content, as a category, is witnessing immense traction on the platform. With MX VDesi, we’ve curated the largest catalogue of international shows that feature beautifully crafted narratives of relatable, ordinary protagonists that are universally appealing. Today, global content is accessible at your fingertips and we’re delighted to be the frontrunners in introducing India to such a diverse range of international content that can be consumed in preferred local languages.”
The top 10 shows on the platform include Turkish dramas like Day Dreamer, The Promise, Our Story, The Girl Named Feriha, Endless Love, Brave and Beautiful and Forbidden Fruit, as well as Korean dramas like Where Stars Land and Dr. John.
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
