Entertainment
Women directors treat female characters with more complexities: Sayani
Mumbai, Oct 15 (IANS) Actress Sayani Gupta, who plays a pivotal role in Naseeruddin Shah and Tisca Copra-starrer “The Hungry”, says women directors treat female characters with “more layers and complexities” than their male counterparts.
Sayani has worked with many female directors like Shonali Bose (“Margarita With a Straw”), Leena Yadav (“Parched”), Nitya Mehra (“Baar Baar Dekho”) and Bornila Chatterjee (“The Hungry”).
Asked about her opinion on treatment of a female character in a film that is directed by a woman director, Sayani told IANS here: “I think I have worked with more female directors than with their male counterparts. From my observation, yes, women directors treat female characters with more layers and complexities than male film directors. I think a woman understands the psychology of another woman better than a man.
“When it comes to interpretation of a woman in the film, mostly, it is extreme. Either they are a sweet and virginal girl or a vamp. There is nothing in between… the grey elements are missing. But all humans are grey. I think a woman writer and director brings that out in a story or in a film. Then it becomes more layered.”
The actress was present here for the Asian Premiere of “The Hungry” at the 19th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star.
Giving an insight into her character Loveleen Ahuja, she said: “In the whole game of power struggle between two business families, she is like the bright sunshine who is untouched by darkness. However, in the course of her journey, she becomes a victim.”
Chatterjee is a new film director whose “The Hungry” is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy play “Titus Andronicus”.
Asked if she was worried about the outcome of the film, Sayani said: “Bornila is a headstrong, sharp and sorted film director. From the first day of the shooting, she knew what she wanted. So whether it is me, Naseer sir or Tisca and the rest of the cast, we knew we were in good hands. We had a great time shooting.”
The film also features Neeraj Kabi, Arjun Gupta, Antonio Aakeel and Suraj Sharma.
It has been shortlisted for the Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality at the 19th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.
–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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