iWorld
Nila Madhab Panda brings India’s first cli-fi thriller series ‘The Jengaburu Curse’
Mumbai: The internationally acclaimed and national award-winning producer and director, Nila Madhab Panda, is all set to bring India’s first cli-fi thriller series, The Jengaburu Curse. The series is set to stream from 9 August only on Sony LIV. Set in a small town in Odisha, the show follows the story of London-based financial analyst, Priya Das. When her father, Professor Das, goes suspiciously missing, Priya is forced to come back to Odisha. As she starts to search for him, a series of strange events ensue that unravel an unlikely connection between the indigenous Bondia tribe and the mining state of Odisha. The Jengaburu Curse, which marks Nila Madhab’s OTT debut, delves into the repercussions of mankind’s never-ending needs on nature.
Produced by Studio Next, The Jengaburu Curse is created and directed by Nila Madhab Panda. Written by Mayank Tewari, Paulo Perez serves as the DOP on the series. Alokananda Dasgupta and Durga Prasad Mohapatra serve as music director and production designer respectively. Edited by Jabeen Merchant, the series features Faria Abdullah, Nasser, Makarand Deshpande, Sudev Nair, Deipak Sampat and Hitesh Dave in pivotal roles.
Commenting on the show, creator and director, Panda said, “The Jengaburu Curse is the first Indian cli-fi thriller series. The show delves deep into the repercussions of mankind’s relentless pursuit of natural resources, revealing the alarming consequences that follow. Through Jengaburu, our aim is to entertain the audience as well as raise awareness about the dire need for environmental conservation. We are proud to have brought together a talented cast and crew and can’t wait for audiences to embark on this thrilling adventure with us.”
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.
