iWorld
Amazon Prime debuts its US original ‘Z: The Beginning of Everything’
MUMBAI: No couple epitomised the rebellion and the glamour of the Jazz Age like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald, and now their tumultuous romance and life will be brought alive in a bio-series titled Z: The Beginning of Everything on Amazon Prime Video. Z: The Beginning of Everything, is a 10-episode half-hour bio-series following the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald (Christina Ricci), Southern Belle turned flapper, writer and icon of modern feminism. The series dives into the fascinating life of a woman ahead of her time and tells the story of her passionate, yet turbulent relationship with husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald (David Hoflin).
Z: The Beginning of Everything is a ground-breaking concept: a fictionalized bio series of the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, the brilliant, beautiful and talented Southern Belle who becomes the original flapper and icon of the wild, flamboyant, Jazz Age in the 20s. The series begins the moment Zelda meets the unpublished writer F. Scott Fitzgerald in Montgomery, Alabama in 1918 and moves through their passionate, turbulent love affair and their marriage – made in heaven, lived out in hell – as the celebrity couple of their time. It will show the alcoholism, adultery and struggle with dashed dreams and mental illness that leads to Zelda’s tragic, untimely end. Z: The Beginning of Everything dives into the fascinating life of a woman ahead of her time, an artist determined to establish her own identity in the tempestuous wake of a world-famous husband.
Amazon Prime Video has the largest selection of latest and exclusive movies and TV shows, ad-free across Indian and Hollywood movies, US TV shows, top/popular Indian and international kids’ shows, award winning Amazon Original shows along with content from top Bollywood, regional, Indian and international studios – all available in one location/service.
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.
