Entertainment
I don’t have a dream, I believe in destiny: Zaira Wasim
Mumbai, Oct 23 (IANS) The budding star of “Secret Superstar”, actress Zaira Wasim, who turned 17 on Monday, says she does not have a dream to achieve. Instead, she believes that destiny will guide her way.
Zaira, who hails from Kashmir, caught the attention of Bollywood buffs first with “Dangal”. With “Secret Superstar”, she has upped the ante with her performance as a teenage girl Insiya, who chases her dream of becoming a singing superstar under the confinement of anonymity.
During her birthday celebrations at her co-star Aamir Khan’s residence here, Zaira was asked about the dream she wants to achieve.
She said: “I do not have dreams. I will go with the flow and I believe in destiny. I know if things are meant to happen, they will happen. Your destiny will take you where you belong.”
In the movie, directed by first-timer Advait Chandan, Zaira’s character goes through a lot of struggle to fulfil her dream.
Has she ever fought with her parents to achieve anything of her desire in real life?
“No, the last time I fought with my parents that I remember was for adopting a cat. Actually, I have two, and I adopted a golden brown kitten without taking their permission.
“I just took the kitten home… So, my mom was like, ‘How many more cats are you bringing home?’ But that’s it. I have no goal or something,” she said in an innocent tone.
What is her secret talent that the world does not know about?
“I can bore you with my super boring PJs (poor jokes),” she quipped.
Adding to that, Chandan said: “Yes, I tolerated that for 55 days during our shooting. I mean I am good at PJs, but she is brilliant at it… She can compete with me.”
The success of “Dangal” and “Secret Superstar” — both of which have starred Aamir — has failed to change anything about Zaira. How does she stay grounded?
She promptly said: “I lay down on the ground, sit down on the ground…You see, that’s the best way to stay grounded.”
After a bout of laughter, Zaira added: “Honestly, I have no answer to that. Maybe it’s because I am not taking the pressure of my success. I am happy that people love the film. It is our film, we all put our effort to make it the best film.
“So, it is not just mine, we all worked hard. I mean we all are happy, that it was a Diwali release and people have had a good time with our film.”
Seconding her thoughts, Chandan added: “I think she is quite untouched by the glory of her success and the skill that she has as an actor. Therefore, you, as an audience get to see the genuine expressions.”
For her special day, Zaira was sent a special wish by Aamir.
He tweeted: “Happy Birthday Zaira! Wish you happiness always! May you always shine as the superstar that you are! God bless. Love. a.”
The actress, along with Chandan and Aamir, also plans to visit various theatres to enjoy the audience reactions while watching the film with them later in the day.
“Secret Superstar” has minted Rs 31.31 crore in four days since its release on October 19.
–IANS
aru/rb/sug/bg
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.
Content provided by Adverloom