Entertainment
Smriti Irani draws attention to ‘tolerant’ government
By Sugandha Rawal
Panaji, Nov 20 (IANS) Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani on Monday said that a minister who can a take a joke on herself is an example that the current government is tolerant.
The minister, who was an actor before she started her political career, was referring to the joke that actor Rajkummar Rao — who hosted the opening ceremony of the 48th International Film Festival of India with a fractured leg — made on her surname by drawing a connection with Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s home country.
She said she was referring to the joke because she doesn’t want people to point fingers at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and accuse its workers of breaking his (Rao’s) leg.
“Rajkummar, I would like the whole country to know that you made fun of Irani — a minister — which shows what a tolerant government we are,” Irani said in her speech at the event.
“And I am also expressing this, because I don’t want anyone to say that ‘BJP walon ne actor ki taang todh di’ (BJP workers broke the actor’s leg).”
The minister was taking a jibe at the claims from many sections that the government is not tolerant and is stifling creative voice. The clamour is a reaction to the postponement of the “Padmavati” release, and the exclusion of “S Durga” and “Nude” from IFFI’s Indian Panorama section.
Despite actors like Shabana Azmi and Hansal Mehta asking people to boycott the festival as a sign of protest, the film gala, which will go on till November 28, was opened by superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
Indian cinema icons like Sridevi, A.R. Rahman, Shahid Kapoor and Vishal Bhardwaj were also present.
Irani said: “On behalf of the Government of India, I would like to welcome you to the 48th IFFI.
“We speak almost 1,600 dialects to tell stories, and today’s gathering is unique because it has a five-year-old Pihu, King Khan of romance, Nana Patekar and the ethereal Sridevi.
“I would like to thank each one of us. Like Shahid Kapoor said that this country is all about celebration, utsav and young energy… It is our endeavour on behalf of the Government of India and the Government of Goa, that we invite filmmakers from around the world.”
She also praised hosts Rajkummar and actress Radhika Apte, saying they are a “pride of not only to the industry or the creative industry but also India per se”.
Irani concluded the evening by inviting everyone to come and join the ride of knowing cinema better with the festival.
(Sugandha Rawal’s trip to Goa is at the invitation of the organisers. She can be contacted at [email protected]
–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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