Entertainment
Formed lifelong friendship with Judi Dench: Ali Fazal
By Subhash K. Jha
Mumbai, Oct 16 (IANS) “Victoria & Abdul”, about Queen Victoria befriending Indian servant Abdul Karim, seems to have offended Indian critics for not taking into view the ugliness of the British Raj. Actor Ali Fazal, who is a bit baffled by the backlash, says he has formed an enduring friendship with iconic actress Judi Dench.
Ali, who is shooting for “Mirzapur” in Varanasi and turned a year older on Sunday, said: “What is the fuss about? Abdul is a character I play. And everything he does in the film including kissing the Queen’s feet actually happened. I’ve read the real Abdul Karim’s letters to Queen Victoria. They are simply wonderful, truly inspiring. I was very moved by his devotion to the Queen.”
Ali feels it’s wrong to impute colonial responsibilities on his role and performance.
“We are all responsible actors. I take full responsibility for my performances. But the behaviour or political leanings of my characters are not in my hands. As far as I can see, Abdul is a bit of an opportunist. He sees the Queen as a means to climb socially. And what is wrong with that?
“We all want to move upwards in life. But I also know Abdul cared deeply for Queen Victoria… And to my good fortune, I’ve formed a relationship with Judi Dench, which I hope is enduring as the one we share in the film.”
Ali feels both Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim were misunderstood by their contemporaries and are being misread by a section of the audience.
“All he ever wanted was to make her happy. And she found an impetus to live through him in her dying years.”
Ali spent a lot of time getting to know Judi during the shooting and afterwards while promoting the film.
“We were together a lot of time not just while shooting but also while promoting the film. I saw how much affection and warmth she showered on me in our international interactions. It kind of affected me deeply.”
Ali intends to keep his friendship with Dench going.
“I think somewhere, we are bonded much beyond one film. I will be seeing her again in November and I am sure it will be just the same then as it is now. We share the same manager. So, there is plenty of opportunity for us to run into one another. I think I’ve formed a lifelong friendship with Judi Dench.”
–IANS
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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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