Entertainment
The 1970s era more dramatic than today: Filmmaker Milan Luthria
By Arundhuti Banerjee
Mumbai, Aug 24 (IANS) Filmmaker Milan Luthria, who has made some commercially successful films like “The Dirty Picture” and “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai”, set in the backdrop of 1970-1980s, says he is fascinated by the people and culture of that time as there were more elements of drama and emotion in people’s relationships than in present time.
Luthria’s upcoming directorial venture “Baadshaho” is also set 1970, in the backdrop of the Emergency.
Asked about making films of that era, Luthria told IANS here: “The reason is simple. I find people of that era more dramatic, more emotional than today’s generation. Nowadays, people fall in love, they break up and move on easily… Between two friends, people come close and go away easily. But earlier it was not like that.
“These days, everything looks the same. For me, drama comes from complexity… From how, in the same situation, three people thinking differently and that is changing the situation. Earlier, if friendship turned into enmity, it would go to a disastrous level. In fact, if you look at the international entertainment, whether it is ‘House Of Cards’ or ‘Game of Thrones’, it’s all about drama.
“Therefore, I prefer to explore that era in my stories.”
While the filmmaker explored the darker side of the film industry and life of an actress in “The Dirty Picture” and the world of a gangster in “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai”, he always attempts to approach the subjects differently and utilizes the power of modern technology in storytelling.
Commenting on that, Luthria said: “I always try to create the different texture of every story. You cannot find the world of ‘Once Upon..’ in ‘Baadshaho’ because the latter is set in Rajasthan. The geography, culture, light, camera angles everything is very different that of the city Mumbai.
“And I think that is one of the element as a director I emphasise on… use of technology. if I am narrating the story of an old era using modern technology, it becomes a visual treat for the audience. That’s how it works.”
The story of “Baadshaho” revolves around a royal family of Rajasthan and how their property gets looted after the declaration of Emergency.
As the film features Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Ileana D’Cruz, Esha Gupta and Vidyut Jammwal, Luthria believes that casting different stars create better interest about the film among the audience.
Talking about his equation with his actors, especially with Ajay, he said: “I think with any individual I meet, the first 10 minutes of our conversation defines our equation — either you get along, bond over something, or you don’t. with Ajay, that’s what happens, even though we do not talk to each other every day, we know we are bonded. So you don’t work on developing an equation, it happens naturally.”
“Baadshaho” is releasing on September 1.
(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at [email protected])
–IANS
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Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
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.
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.
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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