iWorld
TVF goes “Tripling” with Tata Tiago
MUMBAI: Road tripping with your favourite people is bliss. We have all been there. Famous for its brainchild Pitchers and Permanent Roommates, YouTube’s series heavyweights The Viral Fever (TVF) has added a new feather to its hat.
For those who have done it in the past, TVF’s new web-series Tripling will give them a flashback and those who haven’t will immediately start planning.
Written by Akarsh Khurana and Sumeet Vyas, the five episodic show spanning over 20-25 minutes revolves around three distant siblings who come closer on a road trip trying to deal with their individual crisis.
Chandan (Sumeet Vyas), a homeless and jobless man whose marriage seems to be falling apart with Chanchal (Maanvi Gagroo) married into royalty regretting the isolation and responsibility that comes with the title and Chitvan (Amol Parashar) a laid back DJ decide to hit the roads. The show is slated to launch on 28 August. It also stars Kunal Roy Kapoor, Kumud Mishra and Shernaz Patel.
“I started working on the concept six months back and after three or four drafts we finalised the script. I was very keen on writing a road-trip story and wanted it to be different,” says Vyas.
Targeted at the 14-45 age group who can relate to the content, TVF is making this web series in association with Tiago from Tata Motors. Directed by Rajesh Krishnan, the entire show has been shot by G Srinivas Reddy on a Cannon C300 using a two camera set-up.
The series was shot at a stretch with a crew of 30-40 in various places- Mumbai, Rajasthan, Jodhpur, Manali, etc. The catchy music has been composed by Amar Mangrulkar.
According to sources close to the development, Tata Motors has shelled out an eye-popping amount of Rs 2.5-3 crore for backing the production.
“Just like our past shows, TVF will not push this series exceedingly. We will target audiences from the tier 2 and tier 3 cities,” adds producer of the show Sameer Saxena. He is also working on the second season of Pitchers that will be launched early in 2017.
Except teasers and a few hoardings in the top five metro cities, the trailer of the show has been successfully launched with 3,000 likes on the channel within 24 hours. Going by one of the dialogues from the show, Crisis ke time pe family hi kaam aati hai, TVF definitely has one more winner on its hands.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
