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Prime Focus contributes 22 VFX shots in latest ‘X Men’ film
MUMBAI: The Namit Malhotra-helmed Prime Focus has contributed 22 VFX shots of Matthew Vaughn’s superhero adventure X-Men: First Class.
Work on the Marvel and Twentieth Century Fox film was completed in London, Vancouver and Mumbai using the Prime Focus’ ‘Global Digital Pipeline’.
X-Men: First Class unveils the epic beginning of the X-Men saga with an unknown history of the cold war and our world at the brink of nuclear Armageddon.
Said Prime Focus VFX Supervisor Stuart Lashley, “We decided to tackle the wire removals in Mumbai, 2D shots in London and animation shots in Vancouver. This was based on the best availability of the appropriate skill sets. Regular reviews were conducted between Stephane Ceretti, the client‘s London-based VFX Supervisor and me after which the notes would be passed on to our global team. We found this to be an efficient workflow for both us and the client.”
With a short time-frame for the work to be completed, the shots were divided between Prime Focus’ teams in London, Vancouver and Mumbai; it was led by Lashley in London, Jon Cowley in Vancouver and Shailey Swarnkar in Mumbai.
The project included some ambitious VFX work for Prime Focus, such as the scene where Magneto brings a line of barbed wire to life to wrap up a group of guards, and a shot providing Xavier‘s point of view as he telepathically looks through someone else‘s eyes.
“This started with a series of ‘broad stroke’ design ideas based on selected reference,” commented Lashley. “These were then refined with feedback from Stephane and editorial until we had something that had the right look and feel for the client.”
Directed by Matthew Vaughn, the film stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult, Oliver Platt, Jason Flemyng, Lucas Till, Edi Gathegi and Kevin Bacon.
Released on 3 June, it became the top-grossing film in the US.
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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.
