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Cinema an art, not money earning machine, says Amole Gupte

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Mumbai, Aug 25 (IANS) Filmmaker Amole Gupte, whose latest movie is “Sniff”, says he enjoys doing films on children and that he believes cinema is an art form and not a product of any factory to earn money.

Gupte has worked on interesting films like “Taare Zameen Par”, “Stanley Ka Dabba” and “Hawaa Hawaai” that have had children as their protagonists.

Asked if it is a conscious decision for him to make films on children despite knowing that it is not one of the most profit-making genres in films, Gupte told IANS here: “I think when you are talking about cinema, it is not a product like coconut oil that has been made in factory. If we are talking about cinema, it is an art form of the 21st century and not a money earning machine.

“Art has a longer life. So yes, I have chosen not to get into the game of film’s commercial success.”

Taking a reference of the iconic film “Pyaasa”, he said: “Can you recall all other films that released along with ‘Pyaasa’ on that Friday? I am sure they earned a lot of money and the maker probably bought a bungalow and had a great life. But do we recall that?

“As a filmmaker, we have to have the intention of creating something that can last for long. And people like Guru Dutt, Mehboob Khan, Raj Khosla, Bimal Roy, Vijay Tendulkar came with that intention.”

According to Gupte, making films on children not only gives him the pleasure to nurture his inner child but he also finds it a “luxurious profession”.

“I don’t think I am doing a job… It’s quite a luxury for me. Kids are innocent, adults are corrupt and they tend to make children’s also corrupt. I do the workshop with children and when I choose actors, I just select a kid whose personality close to a character. I do not make them act, I just let them be.”

Gupte’s latest offering is “Sniff” in which the protagonist, an eight-year-old boy has a smell disorder.

Sharing his shooting experience, Gupte said: “The idea of the story came from Radhika Anand and then I wrote the script and started doing a workshop at St Merry’s School. But the film is also special for where I shot it, Bima Nagar, Andheri East, the place where I lived for 40 years… I grew up there.

“So when I went back to the place, around 500 people also participated in the film. I tried to incorporate those local elements in the film. All the dweller of the area was so supportive and for me, it was going back home.”

Being a father of a National Award winning child actor Partho Gupte, asked about if his son comes to his mind whenever it comes to casting a child actor for his film, Gupte said: “You mean nepotism? (laughs out loud). Well, my son is an independent-minded person.

“He is 16 years old and has already directed ‘Pigeonhood’ that has been selected in many international film festivals. You know I told him to appear in ‘Sniff’ on the song that Vishal Bhardwaj sang. But he didn’t. He was like, ‘Why do you need me, papa? I am not just an actor, I am a filmmaker you know’.

–IANS
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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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