iWorld
Prime Video India announces Takeshi’s Castle’s new season with Bhuvan Bam as the commentator
Mumbai: Prime Video today announced the Indian reboot of the popular 80s Japanese game show, Takeshi’s Castle, with actor and content creator Bhuvan Bam taking on a new role of a commentator. The eight-episode series will stream exclusively for viewers on Prime Video India. The brand-new season will retain the eccentricities that people saw in the original version – swashbuckling adventures, fun set-ups, and challenging games coupled with hilarious commentary. As contestants travel from one terrifying escapade to another, Bhuvan Bam will be providing a uniquely Indian perspective and add elements of fun and laughter as one of his most-loved characters – ‘Titu Mama’ from BB Ki Vines.
Recapturing the essence of the original series, viewers will get to watch over 100 contestants—the “attacking army”—attempt to storm the impenetrable castle, fighting off all kinds of guards, devils, and giant foam mushrooms along the way. Only the bravest and luckiest will make it through to take on Takeshi himself, and potentially bank 1 million yen.
“Takeshi’s Castle is certainly one of the most iconic shows in India’s television history. Not just in India, but across the globe, Takeshi’s Castle has a huge fan following,” said Prime Video, India director – content licensing Manish Menghani. “As a global streaming service, our mission is to curate diverse content from all corners of the globe, while preserving its relevance and resonance with our local audiences. We are thrilled to announce Bhuvan Bam as the voice of the brand-new season of Takeshi’s Castle. We are sure that his uproarious and off-beat commentary of this iconic Japanese game show will have the viewers in splits. This show promises to rekindle nostalgia and offer an entirely fresh and exhilarating experience to younger audiences.”
Commenting on the involvement in the iconic show, actor and creator Bhuvan Bam said, “Since the original version of Takeshi’s Castle was on television, I have been an ardent fan of the concept, execution and the hilarity of the game show. It’s highly nostalgic for me to have grown up seeing the show and now voicing it, is genuinely a full circle moment. I don’t think there is anyone in my generation who hasn’t loved and enjoyed this madcap comedy. Being a part of this incredible game show is a privilege and an honor. As an entertainer, my viewers have always appreciated the unique yet relatable characters that I’ve portrayed, and I happy to bring a bit of my creative self as ‘Titu Mama’. I am hopeful that the younger generation will get love this show as much as we did.”
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.
