Applications
MTNL, Shemaroo in pact for movie content on 3G, WAP
NEW DELHI: Bored because of the traffic jam which has forced you to stay in the same place for more than 15 minutes?
Just make a video call to 58800 and get to see your favourite film in a short 15-minute version on your 2G or 3G mobile, thanks to a new tie up between the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Shemaroo Entertainment.
The new service also makes it possible for a consumer to log on to http://wap.shemaroo.com/mtnl and see a range of over a 100 films on computers or mobiles.
All feature films will be available for a fee of Rs 15 while viewers can also log on to live devotional programmes from 11 different venues for a fee of just Rs two a minute.
The service which will be available in Mumbai and Delhi.
MTNL CMD Kuldeep Singh said that broadband had been growing at a phenomenal pace and almost 500 to 600 new connections were getting logged almost every day. But it was not broadband which was driving the people who may not even understand the technology; it is the services that come through it. The real challenge is to make these services easy to access and use.
The service will be on the IPTV model with viewers getting access to the films that are in the library.
Shemaroo Director Jai Maroo said the aim was to increase the number of venues for devotional telecasts to around 20 soon. Similarly, he said the number of films in the library would not only be increased but regional language films will also be available. There was also a special ‘movie of the week‘ slot which featured the more popular films. Languages to be covered will include Telugu, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Bangla and Rajasthani. There will also be special videos of songs from films.
Maroo said Shemaroo had around 10,000 hours of video content for IPTV, DTH, mobile and so on. There would also be special content related to festival occasions and documentaries on special subjects like film personalities or places of pilgrimage.
He did not rule out a similar tie-up with the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to reach out to more parts of the country.
MTNL executive director A K Bhargava said the service was very affordable and would cost the same for both 2G or 3G, though the experience would be better on 3G.
The technology is powered by Think Walnut Digital and the devotional content is powered by Vistaas Digital Media.
Bhargava said the promotion will be part of the Rs 60 million put aside for promotion of the MTNL mobile services.
Applications
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.
