iWorld
ABP Studios’ ‘Karkhanisanchi Waari’ to premiere on SonyLIV on 10 Dec
Mumbai: ABP Studios’ co-produced Marathi feature film “Karkhanisanchi Waari” (Ashes on a Road Trip) will stream exclusively on SonyLIV, 10 December onwards.
Previously, the film was invited to prestigious screenings in New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Toronto, Stuttgart, and London after receiving praise and acclaim from international film critics. It won an award as one of the best five films at the Tokyo International Film Festival. The film was also a part of the Indian Panorama section of the 51st edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), held in Goa on 23 January.
The film features an ensemble cast including Dr Mohan Agashe, Amey Wagh, Mrunmayee Deshpande, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Vandana Gupte, Shubhangi Gokhale, Pradeep Velankar and Pradeep Joshi. “The purpose behind any film shouldn’t only be entertainment, it should make you think or ponder upon situations around you and that’s what this film does in a brilliant way,” said Dr Agashe at the premiere of the film.
The film, directed by Mangesh Joshi, is a funny, heartfelt story about a dysfunctional ‘last joint family of Pune,’ which takes a comic look at death. The film’s plot is crammed into a Maruti Omni on a road trip from Pune to Pandharpur to fulfill the last wishes of the family’s beloved patriarch.
“All the characters in the film are relatable to all age groups. Viewers can easily relate to the situations in the film with their day-to-day conflicts amongst families,” said actor Amey Wagh.
The film is produced by Archana Borhade (Nine Archers Picture Company) and co-produced by Zulfia Waris (ABP Studios).
e-commerce
Visa report tracks rise of India’s affluent, experience-led spending
Affluent base doubles to 130 lakh, travel 58 per cent of elite spends.
MUMBAI: In India’s new luxury playbook, it’s less about owning more and more about living better. A new whitepaper by Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA) maps a decisive shift in India’s affluent economy, where spending is becoming more intentional, experience-led, and closely tied to personal identity rather than pure income growth.
Titled India’s Affluent Economy 2025–2026, the report draws on a Visa-commissioned Yougov study and VisaNet data across travel, dining, retail and lifestyle categories. The headline number is hard to miss: individuals earning over Rs 10 lakh annually have nearly doubled from 69 lakh to 130 lakh, significantly expanding the country’s discretionary spending base.
But it’s not just about scale, it’s about behaviour. As consumers move up the affluence ladder, discretionary categories are taking a larger share of credit card spends, positioning cards as key enablers of premium, lifestyle-driven consumption.
The geography of wealth is shifting too. Affluence is no longer confined to metros such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, with cities like Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur and Lucknow increasingly mirroring metro consumption patterns.
The report highlights a clear pivot from ownership to access. More than 50 per cent of affluent consumers now use cards for elite memberships, while 7 in 10 are drawn to limited-edition drops and curated collections. Increasingly, luxury is defined by seamless access be it concierge-led travel or curated dining where time saved is as valuable as money spent.
Spending patterns reinforce this shift. Among the ultra-elite, travel accounts for 58 per cent of discretionary spends, far outpacing retail and luxury combined at 28 per cent. Cross-border spending penetration stands at 63 per cent, signalling a growing global outlook among India’s affluent.
Closer home, indulgence is becoming routine. Nearly 4 in 5 affluent consumers dine at premium establishments at least three times a year, while 1 in 4 visit luxury venues more than five times annually. Dining spends are also climbing, with Rs 20,000 emerging as a new entry-level benchmark per experience and Rs 50,000 marking premium territory.
Retail, meanwhile, is becoming more selective. Three in four affluent consumers make a high-end purchase at least once a quarter, while one in four shops premium every two weeks. Luxury retail intensity is also rising, with 2 in 5 consumers spending over Rs 5 lakh annually, and a smaller but significant segment exceeding Rs 10 lakh.
Technology and wellness are carving out new roles in this ecosystem. High-end gadgets now see average spends of Rs 60,000 or more per purchase, while ultra-elite consumers are eight times more likely to visit spas and show five times higher engagement with cosmetic stores than non-affluent groups.
The broader takeaway is structural. Affluent consumers are no longer buying products, they are buying ecosystems. Integrated experiences across travel, dining, wellness and payments are becoming central to how this segment lives and spends.
As India’s affluent base expands beyond metros and aligns more closely with global consumption patterns, the real opportunity lies not just in size, but in speed. For brands, the message is clear: relevance will be defined by how early and how seamlessly, they plug into this evolving lifestyle economy.
