Entertainment
Veteran Anupam Kher is new FTII Chairman (Second Lead)
New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) Anupam Kher, who has acted in over 500 movies and is a vocal supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was on Wednesday named Chairman of the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune.
The film industry hailed the move. Anupam himself said he will give his best to the role.
Anupam, 62, husband of actress-and-BJP MP Kirron Kher, will succeed the controversial Gajendra Chauhan, whose appointment in 2014 had triggered widespread student protests.
“I feel deeply humbled and honoured to be apportioned as the Chairman of iconic FTII. I will perform my duties to the best of my abilities,” Anupam tweeted.
Kirron Kher told Times NOW that Anupam was the right choice to head the FTII, which provides training in acting, direction and other technical aspects of film making in a country which is one of the largest producers of movies.
“My husband is a very fine actor. He has been in the film industry for so many years. He is very capable of (being FTII head).
“He has been teaching acting for so long. He is the only person who earlier headed CBFC, then National School of Drama and now has been appointed Chairman of FTII.”
Anupam, who began his acting career with “Saaransh” in 1984, also has his own acting institute Actor Prepares.
Apart from featuring in Hindi films like “Karma”, “Daddy”, “Lamhe”, “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge”, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”, “Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara”, “A Wednesday” and “Baby”, the National Award-winner has dabbled in international projects like “Bend It Like Beckham”, “Bride and Prejudice”, “Speedy Singhs”, “The Mistress of Spices”, “Lust, Caution” and the Academy Award winning “Silver Linings Playbook”.
He was honoured with Padma Shri in 2004 and with Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contribution to the field of arts.
His appointment on Wednesday was welcomed by the film fraternity with open arms.
Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar tweeted: “Heartiest congratulations to Anupam Kher.” Filmmaker Pritish Nandy called it an “excellent change” at FTII. “Finally, the government is listening to us.”
Actor Kabir Bedi said Anupam “would do wonders” in his new role, and director Kunal Kohli said “no one could be more appropriate to set it back on track”.
Chauhan, however, said FTII needs a good administrator, more than a good actor.
Conveying his good wishes to Anupam, Chauhan told IANS: “In FTII, it’s more important to be a good administrator than a good actor. He is quite experienced and runs his own (acting) institute (Actor Prepares) in Mumbai. So, I think he will be able to handle it quite nicely. I wish all the best to Anupamji and wishes he will complete all the work, which I left due to the end of my chairmanship.”
Chauhan completed his tenure in March. His appointment had triggered student protests at the Pune-based institute. Anupam had then said the FTII needed a person with much more qualifications than Chauhan had as a producer, director or actor.
Chauhan, who said he himself had a “lot of administrative qualifications”, insisted that he had not been axed as claimed by a section of the media.
–IANS
dc-sas-rb/mr
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.
Content provided by Adverloom
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
Cheers and Cheers: Barzilla’s Joyful Ode to Inclusivity and Celebration
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
IPL 20202 UPDATE: KXIP vs MI IPL Dream11 Team Prediction for Today Match, Update Point Table of all Team.
In a Live debate AAP leader Syed Asad Abbas hurls abuses to BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
‘India’s Most Wanted’ trailer out Arjun Kapoor on hunt of Osama-Bin-Laden
Time to move on: Sonakshi on Shatrughan’s joining Congress
