iWorld
Big Flix joins hand with Shemaroo Entertainment
MUMBAI: Reliance Entertainment Digital’s movie-on-demand service, Big Flix, has formed a licensing agreement with one of the leading content houses of the country – Shemaroo Entertainment. The alliance will allow users of Big Flix to stream a wide range of blockbusters movies by Shemaroo Entertainment – ranging from black and white films to some of the most recent releases.
The catalogue offers an assortment of classics to latest hits with a blend of genres in multiple languages – Hindi, Marathi and Tamil. Few of the finest Hindi classics like the iconic film Mughal-E-Azam, Raj Kapoor’s Anari, Mithun’s Disco Dancer, Rajesh Khanna’s Roti to some of the contemporary films like Amitabh Bachchan’s Black, Aamir Khan’s Sarfarosh, Vidya Balan’s Ishqiya & The Dirty Picture and so on form the part of the list.
The Marathi catalogue will feature key titles like Aaichcha Gondhal, Abhimanyu, Joshi ki Kamble and Juiley, while Tamil titles like Balam, Ivar, Mahesh Saranya Matrum Palar and Manja Velu will the add to the variety of the Shemaroo catalogue on Big Flix.
Commenting on the association with Shemaroo Entertainment, Big Flix business head Shreyash Sigtia said, “There is a definite demand for classic films amongst movie enthusiasts and Shemaroo Entertainment is credited to have given Indian audiences some iconic and successful titles in Bollywood for decades now. We are delighted to partner with Shemaroo Entertainment to add an array of blockbusters from every decade to the existing catalogue on Big Flix. The multi-lingual catalogue will cater perfectly to the movie enthusiasts who desire an assortment of film entertainment anytime, anywhere. Also with this alliance, Big Flix continues to tie up with leading entertainment companies, thereby acquiring internet rights of some of the best titles of the industry.”
Shemaroo Entertainment director Jai Maroo said, “We are glad to join hands with Big Flix as the association is in line with our strategy to be one of the major content providers across countries. Our vision is to be present on all devices, any time and on any connection. Big Flix being a prominent online platform in digital space will help us cater to wider range of audience across geographies. Shemaroo has turned into a one-stop-shop for many of the platforms where we not only provide the content but also manage it.”
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.
