iWorld
WhatsApp partners with OML to raise privacy awareness
Mumbai: WhatsApp has collaborated with Only Much Louder (OML), a market-leading, full-service creative and entertainment business network for #MessagePrivately, a consumer awareness partnership focused on the importance of privacy in our lives. The collaboration has led to the production of ‘WhatsApp GoodMornings’ social series with Zakir Khan, Biswa Kalyan Rath, Aakash Gupta, and Gurleen Pannu, who talk about their experiences and light-hearted moments when sharing ‘Good Morning’ messages on WhatsApp from family and friends.
This partnership with the talented bunch of comedians brilliantly combined humour and relatability, leveraging the power of comedians, who resonate with millennials, to deliver content that is both informative and entertaining. With each comedian bringing their unique style, the films highlighted the importance of privacy in our digital interactions, all while delivering light-hearted and engaging storytelling.
It aimed to familiarise key audiences with privacy features related to messaging through some of their favourite comedians. The in-house team tapped into the potential of ‘Good morning’ messages to translate their power into a successful social media marketing collaboration for WhatsApp while seamlessly blending its creative expertise through four films and memes into the ‘WhatsApp GoodMornings’ IP series.
With cheeky wordplay that celebrated his beloved plant, Biswa Kalyan Rath kicked off this partnership by talking about the wrath of spam callers and how to not let them ruin our ‘budding’ happiness. Zakir Khan, with his innovative storytelling, educated his father about dodging over-enthusiastic scammers through the ‘Block And Report’ feature while simultaneously taking a playful jab at singlehood.
Gurleen Pannu taught her overprotective mother how to not let hackers get to chats with WhatsApp’s two-step verification feature. Lastly, Aakash Gupta, with his signature interactive style and wit, explained to viewers the importance of buying products from vendors with a Meta Verified Badge while brewing his first cup of Colombian coffee.
Meta director of consumer marketing Vyom Prashant said, “’Privacy is at the core of WhatsApp. Over the years, we have added layers of security and protection with innovative features that empower our users to communicate securely & confidently on WhatsApp, including engaging with businesses they choose to. ‘Good Morning’ messages on WhatsApp is a shared experience for our users across India, and we partnered with OML to build upon this familiar concept, with humour and levity to explain how easy it is to protect oneself from spam and scams on WhatsApp.”
Only Much Louder SVP of revenue Pankaj Malani said, “The team at OML Studios wanted to elevate the conversation about how WhatsApp is protecting its users’ conversations with loved ones from unwanted scammers. We set out to blend humour with purpose and highlight the importance of privacy while messaging in a light-hearted and relatable manner. We leveraged the intimacy that ‘Good Morning’ messages hold for everyone and kicked off the series with an amazing pool of talent, crafting engaging narratives that resonated with diverse audiences. Each message was designed to not only create awareness but also to foster connection, ensuring that every ‘Good Morning’ message resonated with warmth, all while underscoring the important role that privacy plays in our digital interactions.”
By celebrating the simple joy of good morning messages, this partnership reminded viewers of the love and support that surrounds them, transforming ordinary mornings into meaningful moments of connection. Ultimately, this collaboration highlighted WhatsApp’s privacy features that help people connect with their loved ones safely and securely and demystify privacy in a simplified manner that resonates with audiences. It also fostered a community that values both authentic communication and privacy in the digital age.
iWorld
Netflix celebrates a decade in India with Shah Rukh Khan-narrated tribute film
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.
e-commerce
Tulasi Mohan Padavala elevated to Associate Director at Blinkit
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.
e-commerce
Bharatpe plays a super over as Rohit Sharma fronts T20 push
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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