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Aamir’s ‘PK’ rocks, a sure shot winner: Film fraternity

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Mumbai: The magic of the “3 Idiots” team — actor Aamir Khan, director Rajkumar Hirani and producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra — seems to be lighting up the otherwise lacklustre year at the Bollywood box office, if reviews by the film fraternity are anything to go by. While Karan Johar calls it a “game changing” cinema, Shekhar Kapur says it gives precedence to quality.

Meanwhile, trade experts believe the movie could well be on its way to touch Rs.300 crore and turn into Bollywood’s biggest ever entertainer.

“@RajkumarHirani and @aamir_khan #PK is a masterpiece wid great entertainmnt value&message.Can turn out to be bigest ever of Bolywood so far,” Mumbai-based trade analyst Komal Nahta tweeted Friday.

Another expert, Amod Mehra, conjectured: “Oh My God.. #PK is sureshot SUPER DUPER HIT.. Will break all records…Will cross 300 crores…200 in 1st week.”

Girish Johar, who keeps a pulse on the business of cinema, shared Friday that “‘PK’ has (had) a huge opening at all premium sites and top end cities. In mass regions, it is above average….Overall, very good start in early shows.”

Theatres are also happy with the response to the film, which also stars Anushka Sharma in a new avatar.

Devang Sampat, business head (strategy), Cinepolis India, said: “With 110 screens of Cinepolis (in 16 cities), we have been running approximately 500 shows in a day. All shows are running 90 percent plus occupancy. ‘PK’ is a much awaited movie of the year and the word of mouth is positive.

“We expect that the movie will do more business in the second week as well.”

Kapur says on Twitter that “PK” finally gives Hindi cinema a “film where people are talking about quality of film rather than box office numbers”.

Karan, a celebrated director himself, has commented that “‘PK’ yet again proves that Rajkumar Hirani is the best director of our country”.

Lauding Aamir, Karan added: “It’s undoubtedly Aamir Khan’s best performance to date. ‘PK’ is hilarious and emotional in equal measure…it’s a game changing film….Kudos to the team!!! @AnushkaSharma you were superb.”

Critically acclaimed actor Atul Kulkarni notes that “PK” is a “bravo” attempt at “an entertaining statement, which requires guts to make and open mind to see”.

The movie, which is said to be about a stranger in a city who asks strange questions, has also struck a chord with younger actors in Hindi filmdom.

After watching the entertainer at a special screening held in Mumbai Thursday night, Neil Nitin Mukesh tweeted: “Watched the screening of ‘PK’. An outstanding film!!! Aamir Khan is an institute. Simply loved him. Bigger fan of Rajkumar Hirani after this.
Mr. Vidhu Vinod chopra take a bow for being an impeccable producer. #Respect

Actress Sonam Kapoor too seemed to be bowled over by the film, as she tweeted: “Overwhelmed by the film that is ‘PK’ what a movie.. Thank you so much #rajuhirani for it! Everyone has to watch this film!! No one but @aamir_khan could have done ‘PK’! You made me cry and laugh out aloud innumerable times. Anything that I say is less.”

From the critics’ point of view, veteran Bhawana Somaaya says that while many would want to compare the movie to “3 Idiots”, it’s unfair to do so.

“People are asking me if ‘PK’ is as good or better than ‘3 Idiots’. Not fair to compare. They are different films, different genres,” she tweeted, and added: “First time as a critic I feel some films are better experienced as a discussion rather than as a critical analysis and ‘PK’ is among them.

Somaaya even said: “Aamir Khan has done many challenging roles in his career, but ‘PK’ is beyond imagination. His performance has to be experienced.”

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Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones

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CasinoDays India

International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.

Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.

The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.

Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile

The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.

CasinoDays India

The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.

“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.

Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings

Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.

 

CasinoDays India

Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).

Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.

The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.

Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.

Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities

The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.

On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.

Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.

“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.

The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.

 

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