Connect with us

Entertainment

‘Kadvi Hawa’: Bitter truth well told (IANS Review, Rating: ***1/2)

Published

on

By Troy Ribeiro
Film: “Kadvi Hawa”; Director: Nila Madhab Panda; Cast: Sanjay Mishra, Ranvir Shorey, Tillotama Shome, Bhupesh Singh, Ekta Sawant; Rating: ***1/2

Based on true stories, “Kadvi Hawa” is the bitter pill that reminds you about the dark winds of change.

Global warming and climate change are real and are caused by human activity. Despite not showing any such activity that is destroying the civilization, the film makes a heartfelt point in a straightforward way.

It speaks about the state of the environment, the destruction of our civilization, the plight of the farmers and of the people living in coastal areas.

The narrative begins with close-up shots alternating between a pair of weary feet trudging a beaten path and a head shot moving with a staff till the old man comes preciously close to a cliff in the barren ravines of Mahua in Bundelkand.

The man is blind and this dramatic start sets the ball rolling to the personal story of Hedu, the father of Mukund, a debt-ridden farmer.

Hedu lives with his son Mukund and his family comprising of his wife and two daughters – Kuhu and Pihu. They live a hand-to-mouth existence. His companion is Anapurna – the Buffalo who he tends during the day.

Hedu lives in constant fear that his son Mukund might commit suicide because of his inability to pay back his loan.

As a concerned father he also heads to a micro-finance bank in a nearest town to check the amount his son, Mukund owes the bank.

When he realises that the debt has doubled due to accumulating interest, he is flabbergasted and frightened as he is aware that his son has no means to repay back the loan.

In his endeavour to clear Mukund’s debt and unbeknownst to him, Hedu befriends Gunu Babu, the loan recovery officer, who hails from Odisha.

Gunu is also referred to as Yamdut, the God of death, as there have been cases of farmers committing suicide after being pursued by him.

Hedu guides Gunu in recovering the loans from other debt-ridden farmers. But soon realisation dawns on him, when Mukund goes missing.

Guilt-ridden Hedu then laments, that the winds of change have already engulfed them.

The plot unfolds in a simply witty and satirical manner especially when Hedu interacts with his curious granddaughter Kuhu. This is simply evident in practically every scene with her.

Watching them interact is really amusing, especially when he attributes his source of information to the wind. And when the little girl reports to him that a classmate, contrary to the text books, says that there are only two seasons — he responds, “There used to be four seasons, but not now. It feels like the winds have an illness.”

That’s when you realise the plot is stirring towards matters regarding climate change. And with Gunu’s predicament, the director deftly ropes in the Odisha cyclone issue.

Sanjay Mishra is the Sun around which the talented supporting cast orbit. He shines brilliantly, with his down-to-earth, natural performance. You experience his anxiety and pain as Hedu. He is aptly supported by: Ranvir Shorey as the frustrated Gunu, Bhupesh Singh as his reticent son, Mukund, Tillotama Shome as his concerned daughter-in-law and Ekta Sawant as his chirpy granddaughter Kuhu. They all add a distinct flavour to their characters.

The background score by Santosh Jagdale is inspiring and hits the right notes. The only song “Main Banjar” which comes in far end of the narrative suitably conveys the essence of the film.

Cinematography by Ramanuj Dutta captures the terrain and the finer nuances of every actor with detailed accuracy.

Overall, sans any entertainment, this slice-of-life film gives us so little to focus on that it wins by default.

–IANS
troy/nv/in

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones

Published

on

By

CasinoDays India

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.

CasinoDays India

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.

 

CasinoDays India

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

Continue Reading

Trending