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Prime Focus World wins its biggest VFX contract
MUMBAI: Prime Focus World, a subsidiary of Prime Focus has been confirmed as the exclusive VFX partner on Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, Robert Rodriguez‘s long-awaited, ultra-stylised comic book sequel. Sin City 2 is PFW‘s biggest VFX project win ever to date and their global teams will work directly with Robert Rodriguez to produce over 2,000 visual effects shots for the stereo 3D movie, currently slated for an August 2014 release.
Rodriguez, always the trailblazer, has been a highly influential filmmaker and is forging his own path since his earliest successes – El Mariachi (1992) and Desperado (1995). The original Sin City (2005) was a seminal film, and its use of stylised computer graphics environments and VFX inspired many films that followed.
This contract further validates the unique business proposition of Prime Focus and catapults it to the league of being one of the few studios worldwide to break into, and contribute in a big way, to mainstream top-of-the-line Hollywood films.
The size and scale of the project would require each of PFW‘s location to come together under localised VFX and stereo leadership, and collaborate via the PFW global pipeline and VFX workflow structure to deliver on the contract.
Prime Focus continues to build a robust Order Book to fill its capacity across its various facilities worldwide. Currently, the group Order Book stands at a combined value of approximately Rs 750-800 crore, to be executed over the next 24-36 months.
“Normally, it is common for a film maker to split its VFX work amongst multiple studios, especially for a film of this size and scale. Robert Rodriguez has backed us to be the exclusive VFX vendor for his film, which makes us even more proud and honored as it validates our scale and superior workflow management capabilities to handle the entire length of a VFX film, across our global facilities. We are constantly looking for such opportunities to challenge both ourselves, and the industry as a whole, by working on projects that question and change creative, practical and economic paradigms,” said Prime Focus World CEO and Founder NamitMalhotra. “Prime Focus has been backed by marquee global institutional investors including Standard Chartered Private Equity, AID Partners and Macquarie Capital. Recently in June 2013, Macquarie Capital invested US$ 38 million in Prime Focus World NV (PFW), at an Enterprise Valuation of US$ 300 million.”
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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.
