Entertainment
Was scared of losing stardom with ‘Dangal’: Aamir
New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan says he was scared of losing out his fan-following when he was offered the role of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat in “Dangal” as he had to play an old and fat man.
“I do get scared (of losing stardom). When I heard the story of ‘Dangal’, I thought I have to do this film. But then I thought that I have just done ‘Dhoom 3’ and ‘PK’, and have six-packs and star-image. If I will do this film (‘Dangal’), then I will become old and fat. What my fans will think? I hope I don’t lose my fan-following,” Aamir said here on Wednesday while promoting new film “Secret Superstar”.
“Mahavir is a 55-year-old in the film. I am 52. So, there is less difference between us. We are too close. But fans don’t know that as they see me as 30-year-old. So, I told the director that I liked the film and I will do it after 10 years when I will be old. They agreed to that too.
“But the story of the film couldn’t leave my mind. So, I decided that I should do it and not get afraid of anything,” he added.
“Dangal”, which released in 2016, went on the break various records at the box office worldwide.
Aamir says being a producer himself, he likes his films to be “economically viable”.
“I feel that through the films I am working in the person, who is investing his money, should at least get 10-15 per cent profit. But, I don’t look at the box office. If I will take a film thinking how much collections it will make, then I wouldn’t have made ‘Taare Zameen Par’ or ‘Secret Superstar’,” he said.
Directed by Advait Chandan, “Secret Superstar” is based on the life of a teenage girl named Insia, played by Zaira Wasim, who sets out to follow her dream of being a singing superstar under the confinement of anonymity.
Chandan said that the film is not based on any real life incident.
“All the characters in this film are original and not based on anybody, but they are inspired from people. The people I met during ‘Satyamev Jayate’ are the ones this film inspired from,” he said.
Zaira, whose made her acting debut with “Dangal”, considers herself lucky to work with Aamir again.
“I am glad that I got to work with him (Aamir) twice. I never wondered of working with him. I have been very lucky,” she said.
“Secret Superstar” is slated for release on October 19.
–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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