iWorld
OTT streaming platform aha enters Malaysia
Mumbai: aha, one of India’s leading regional language OTT platforms, launches in Malaysia with a robust content offering for the local Tamil diaspora.
The platform entered the Malaysian market on 19 September 2022 as part of their effort to expand their presence in Southeast Asia. The launch was inaugurated by minister of human resources YB Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, aha brand ambassador Anirudh Ravichander and aha CEO Ajit Thakur at Park Royal Collections Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
Since its debut, aha has engaged its audience by telling stories about their home land, featuring some of the most loved celebrities in India. The 100 per cent Tamil regional OTT platform, aha Tamil, features a number of blockbuster films and exclusive originals.
Actor Simbu and incredibly gifted musician Anirudh Ravichandran are the brand ambassadors for aha. To mark its arrival in Malaysia, the OTT streaming service came onboard as a co presenting sponsor of the Anirudh Live in Malaysia 2022 concert, which was held on 17 September at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil.
On the occasion of the Malaysia launch, Saravanan said that he is excited about aha’s unique efforts in content collaboration and investment in original content with local talents and production houses, which will undoubtedly give global exposure to the Tamil content industry here in Malaysia.
aha is proud to be the first Indian OTT entity that is committed to investing in local content and to uplifting the Tamil entertainment industry in Malaysia by leveraging local talents and production houses. Through this integration, aha hopes to stay relevant in Southeast Asia and is looking at aligning the OTT landscape and providing a seamless experience for consumers in Malaysia and India.
Commenting on Malaysia launch, Thakur said, “At aha, we are proud of our unique proposition of providing 100 per cent local entertainment to the audience and we are delighted to bring 100 per cent local entertainment now to Malaysia. With the launch of aha in Malaysia, we will not only offer the best of Tamil movies and originals to the audience but also source and create content with local film-makers and artists.”
aha Tamil business head Chidambaram Natesan said, “‘Yaadhum Oorey Yaavarum Kaeleer,’ Malaysian Tamils best represent this line by the famous Tamil philosopher Kaniyan Pugundranar. Malaysian Tamils have always welcomed everyone with great warmth to their land. We are confident that aha Tamil’s launch in Malaysia will be supported with the same love and affection.
He added, “aha Tamil OTT started with the core idea of ‘Tamizhal Tamizhil Tamizharuku’ (in Tamil, by Tamil, for Tamil people) and now we are in Malaysia to carry forward the same proposition.”
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.
