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Prime Video highlights VFX’s application in modern filmmaking at Film Bazaar, 54th International Film Festival of India

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Mumbai: Prime Video, India’s most loved entertainment destination, today conducted an engaging session on how VFX technology is an emerging and rapidly evolving avenue of artistic expression at Film Bazaar at the ongoing 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa. Using the popular Original series Mumbai Diaries Season 2 as an example, the session elucidated how VFX helps in moving the narratives forward by creating worlds and storylines that defy traditional boundaries. The session was spearheaded by Nikhil Madhok, head of Hindi Originals, Prime Video, Monisha Advani, Producer, Emmay Entertainment, Madhu Bhojwani, Producer, Emmay Entertainment, Malay Prakash, Director of Photography, and Vishwas Savanur, VFX Head. To give the attendees an experience of the VFX behind the much-loved series, Prime Video has also set up a zone at the Tech Pavilion at Film Bazaar that was visited by Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports.

“If storytellers are the ones who inspire us and open our minds by taking us into new worlds, then it is VFX that acts as the wind beneath their wings,” said Prime Video, India head of Hindi Originals Nikhil Madhok, highlighting that VFX is helping creativity transcend the boundaries of imagination and changing the game in the global entertainment landscape. He further explained that VFX goes beyond just creating visually stunning spectacles, and gives storytellers the power to envision worlds and narratives without being bound by practical constraints. He further added, “Earlier, storytellers faced constraints at the very inception of a project, often holding back ambitious visions at the script stage due to uncertainties about execution. If someone wanted to narrate a story that involved significant world-building, they often first had to question their own belief and answer questions on execution even before they had finished writing their story. However, today, thanks to the advancements in VFX technology, storytellers can dare to dream big. They now place the narrative at the forefront of their creative process, and are able to focus on creating immersive worlds on paper, fully knowing that VFX will help them bring their vision to life.”

By bringing in elements of realism, scalability, cost-effectiveness, and safety, VFX is helping creativity transcend the boundaries of imagination and changing the game in the global entertainment landscape. However, Nikhil also cautioned the industry to avoid looking at VFX as just a way to reduce costs. “While the cost advantages are great and we must make the most of it, but focusing on the cost would be like missing the wood for the trees. We must think of VFX as this powerful tool that helps unleash the imagination of our storytellers!” he explained.

The session commenced with an insightful address by Nikhil Madhok, head of Hindi Originals, Prime Video, India. This was followed by an interesting talk on Mumbai Dairies Season 2 and the role of VFX in it by  producer Monisha Advani and producer Madhu Bhojwani. Next on the agenda was an engaging presentation by Malay Prakash, cinematographer, and Vishwas Savanu, VFX producer on the VFX technology and its potential to be a game changer in filmmaking. The session concluded with an incisive panel discussion among these presenters on the contribution of VFX technology in moving the story narratives forward.

“VFX has transformed filmmaking across genres, elevating production quality and opening new avenues for employment. The flood sequence in Mumbai Diaries Season 2, brought to life by VFX, showcases the technology’s prowess in tackling scenes once deemed too complex or risky to film – offering creators a newfound freedom to explore narratives and visual elements that elevate the overall cinematic experience for audiences,” said Prime Video, India head of Hindi Originals Nikhil Madhok.

Prime Video has used the technology in a number of their Originals, as well as co-productions. From recreating Afghanistan in Film City to creating an immersive underwater marvel in the co-production Ram Setu, spine-chilling effects in the supernatural Original Adhura, the period Original Jubilee’s recreation of a bygone era with incredible detailing, creating a world beyond the realm of reality in the first Tamil Original horror series The Village that just premiered at IFFI, to recreating one of the worst disasters the city of Mumbai had to face in Mumbai Diaries Season 2 – Prime Video has used VFX to redefine storytelling, and create cinematic experiences through immersive world-building.

Emmay Entertainment producers Monisha Advani and Madhu Bhojwani spoke about how VFX technology gives creators an opportunity to realize their vision on screen and tell stories that immerse audiences into magical and fantastical worlds.

Malay Prakash, director of photography of Mumbai Diaries Season 2 and Vishwas Savanur, VFX producer, spoke about the need for filmmakers to be aware of what can be achieved with VFX technology and how it can make a scene more believable by keeping the shots relevant, moving and organic.

Prime Video’s participation at IFFI is a testament of the pivotal role video streaming sector is playing in enabling the growth of India’s creative economy, and acting as a robust platform to showcase Indian stories, talent, and creators in the global arena.

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Netflix celebrates a decade in India with Shah Rukh Khan-narrated tribute film

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MUMBAI: Netflix is celebrating ten years in India with a slick anniversary film voiced by Shah Rukh Khan, a nostalgic sprint through a decade that rewired how the country watches stories. The campaign doubles as both tribute and reminder: streaming did not just enter Indian homes, it quietly rearranged them.

Roll back to 2016 and television still dictated schedules. Viewers waited weeks, sometimes months, for favourite films to appear on prime time. Family-friendly filters narrowed options further, and piracy often filled the gaps. Then Netflix arrived, softly but decisively, carrying a catalogue of international titles rarely seen in Indian theatres and placing them a click away. Old blockbusters and new releases suddenly coexisted on the same digital shelf.

The platform’s real inflection point came in 2018 with Sacred Games, a breakout series that refused to dilute India’s grit for global comfort. Audiences embraced its unvarnished tone, signalling readiness for stories that did not need box-office validation or censorship compromises. What followed was a steady procession of relatable narratives. Competitive-exam anxiety fuelled Kota Factory. College relationships unfolded in Mismatched. Everyday pressures, not grand spectacle, proved bankable.

Language barriers thinned as foreign series arrived with Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubbing, expanding viewership beyond urban English-speaking pockets. Marketing mirrored the shift. For global releases such as Squid Game, Netflix leaned on regional creators and influencers to localise buzz and make international content feel native.

The library widened beyond fiction. Documentaries stepped out of festival circuits into living rooms. Stand-up comedians found scale. Established filmmakers, including Sanjay Leela Bhansali with Heeramandi, embraced the platform’s long-form canvas. Subscriber numbers swelled to 12.37 million in India, according to Demandsage, and behaviour followed suit. Late-night binges became routine. Friday release rituals loosened. Watch parties turned solitary screens into social events.

Economics demanded adjustment. Early subscription pricing carried a premium aura that deterred many households. Over time, Netflix recalibrated plans to align with Indian spending sensibilities, conceding that accessibility is as critical as content. To extend momentum around marquee titles, the platform also experimented with split-season releases, stretching anticipation and watch time.

The anniversary film, narrated by Shah Rukh Khan, captures the linguistic shift that mirrors the cultural one: from “Netflix pe kya dekha?” to “Netflix pe kya dekhein?” The question moved from recounting the past to planning the next binge. In ten years, Netflix morphed from foreign entrant to familiar fixture, exporting Indian stories abroad while importing global ones home. The remote no longer waits; it chooses, clicks and moves on. In the streaming age, patience is out, playlists are in, and the next episode is always one tap away.

 

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Tulasi Mohan Padavala elevated to Associate Director at Blinkit

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Gurugram: Blinkit has elevated Tulasi Mohan Padavala to associate director, capping a three-year climb inside the quick-commerce firm and signalling confidence in an executive steeped in ecommerce, category management and on-ground sales execution.

Padavala shared the update publicly, saying he was “happy to share” the promotion, a succinct announcement that nevertheless marks a notable step up within one of India’s fastest-moving delivery platforms. The new role follows nearly three years at Blinkit, where he most recently served as senior category manager from February 2023 to January 2026, focusing on strategic sourcing and assortment planning.

The promotion places Padavala in Blinkit’s mid-to-senior leadership tier at a time when the company continues to expand its rapid-delivery footprint and sharpen category economics. His brief tenure as associate director began in January 2026, with responsibilities expected to span category growth, supplier strategy and cross-functional execution.

Before Blinkit, Padavala spent a short but intensive stint as global ecommerce manager at Wholsum Foods, the parent of Slurrp Farm and Millé, between November 2022 and February 2023. There he worked on digital marketplace expansion and online retail operations, adding a direct-to-consumer and international ecommerce layer to his résumé.

A longer stretch at Amazon shaped much of his cross-border commerce experience. As business development manager for Amazon’s India Global Selling programme from February 2021 to October 2022, Padavala helped Indian D2C brands enter the North American market. His remit ranged from seller recruitment and category revenue management to coordination with industry bodies, regulators and logistics partners. Key outcomes included launching more than 50 D2C consumable brands in the United States, driving a cumulative gross merchandise sales figure of $1m in FY21-22, tripling sales for participating brands during Prime Day through marketing and visibility levers, growing the monthly recurring revenue of more than 10 newly launched sellers from zero to an average $20,000 each, and negotiating ecommerce partnerships that reduced initial launch costs by 20 per cent.

Padavala’s earlier career was forged in the field rather than the dashboard. At Coffee Day Group, he spent close to five years across multiple sales leadership roles. As sales manager in the Greater Delhi Area from July 2019 to January 2021, he led vending-machine and consumables sales for small and medium enterprises with a team of more than 15 assistant and territory sales managers, managed over 2,000 clients, drove upselling and cross-selling, maintained channel partnerships and ensured timely collections. Prior to that, he served as area sales manager in Delhi between May 2018 and June 2019, handling south and east Delhi markets, and earlier in Hyderabad from April 2016 to May 2018, where he led Andhra Pradesh sales for the vending division, supervised service and logistics functions and managed a base of more than 600 machines with a four-member team.

His professional arc began with internships that combined analytics and process improvement. At Boehringer Ingelheim in 2015, Padavala analysed the impact of brand extension on the drug Pradaxa, identified key performance indicators through market research and assessed sales forecasts, recommendations that drew positive responses in pilot studies. Earlier, at Genpact in 2014, he automated manual sales-order backlog reporting using VBA and Excel, increasing efficiency by 800 per cent, and worked on benchmarking metrics within supply-chain planning processes.

From automating spreadsheets to scaling cross-border ecommerce and now steering quick-commerce categories, Padavala’s trajectory tracks the evolution of India’s retail economy itself. Blinkit’s bet is clear: blend data, discipline and delivery speed. The promotion formalises what his career already suggests. In the race for instant commerce, experience that moves from warehouse floors to global dashboards is no longer optional. It is the engine.

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e-commerce

Bharatpe plays a super over as Rohit Sharma fronts T20 push

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MUMBAI: When the stakes rise and seconds matter, even payments need a match-winning finish. That’s the cue for Bharatpe, which has rolled out Super Over, a nationwide campaign led by Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma, timed neatly ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

The campaign draws a straight line between the pulse of cricket and the pace of everyday digital payments. A new brand film taps into India’s emotional bond with the game, while positioning UPI as the quiet hero that keeps daily transactions ticking along at match speed.

As part of Super Over, users making payments via Bharatpe UPI can bag daily rewards ranging from match tickets and signed merchandise to a chance to watch a T20 World Cup fixture alongside Rohit Sharma himself. Both consumers and merchants are also assured Zillion Coins on every eligible transaction, adding a little extra sparkle to routine payments.

Behind the scenes, Bharatpe is also batting for safety. The platform is backed by Bharatpe Shield, a fraud-protection layer designed to offer enhanced security, comprehensive coverage and dedicated support aimed at helping users transact with greater confidence as digital payments scale up.

Announcing the campaign, Bharatpe head of marketing Shilpi Kapoor said Super Over mirrors the aspirations of everyday Indians, combining speed, security and instant rewards to make UPI transactions feel both reliable and rewarding.

The campaign will play out across digital platforms, social media and on-ground activations nationwide, staying live through the T20 World Cup season proof that in cricket, as in payments, timing is everything.

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