Entertainment
After months in coma, writer-actor-filmmaker Neeraj Vora dead (Second Lead)
Mumbai, Dec 14 (IANS) Bollywood’s multi-faceted talent Neeraj Vora, an actor, writer and director known for his humorous and happy streak on and off the screen, died here early on Thursday, months after being comatose.
Vora’s younger brother Uttank Vora told IANS that he died at 4 a.m. at an Andheri hospital. Vora was 54.
From the hospital, his body was taken to the house of producer Firoz Nadiadwala, who had been looking after him for over a year, and later to the electric crematorium in Santa Cruz here.
For months altogether, a room in Nadiadwala’s home Barkat was converted into a fully functional ICU for Vora.
Nadiadwala mourned his demise, saying: I’ve lost the battle to save my brother and friend from the clutches of death. His health had improved so much. But it deteriorated suddenly on Friday (December 8).
“He had to be shifted to hospital. But it was of no use. We lost him.”
Vora’s last rites saw Nadiadwala, Rohit Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Paresh Rawal, Sushant Singh Rajput, Deepak Tijori, Ashoke Pandit, Sunil Pal, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Meet Bros, Abbas-Mastan, Rajpal Yadav, Darshan Jariwala and other celebrities paying their last respects to Vora, who wrote “Rangeela”, directed “Phir Hera Pheri” and acted in “Bol Bachchan” among several other projects.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was saddened by the demise of the Gujarat-born actor, whom he described as “an energetic and creative personality”.
“He will be remembered for his films and warm nature,” Modi tweeted.
The film fraternity expressed grief over Vora’s death and said he was one of the best humorists that Indian cinema had.
Actor Akshay Kumar, who worked with him in “Awara Paagal Deewana”, “Deewane Huye Paagal”, “Ajnabee”, “Hera Pheri” and “Phir Hera Pheri”, said he ventured into the comedy genre because of Vora.
“One of the main reasons behind my foray into comedy, saddened to hear about the demise of Neeraj Vora a multi-talented man, writer, director, actor… A mini industry by himself, learnt so much from him. RIP,” tweeted Akshay.
Aamir Khan, who was the lead actor of “Rangeela”, said: “Neeraj was a close friend, a collaborator, a vibrant force of life. His tragic illness and then demise is a loss not only to those close to him but also to the creative world.
“His sense of humour will be missed sorely. Laughter travelled with him.”
Veteran actor Anupam Kher wrote: “Neeraj Vora was one of the most pleasant persons I knew in our film industry. Always smiling. Extremely knowledgeable about theatre and cinema. Deeply saddened by his demise. We have lost a happy and a very talented man.”
Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia described him as “one of India’s finest humorist screenwriter”, while actor Parvin Dabas said he was “one of the most brilliant comic minds in Hindi cinema”.
Writer Milap Zaveri said: “You will surely make the heavens laugh.”
Vora came to be known in the film industry for the way he tackled humour through his acting, writing and directorial projects.
He was also closely associated with theatre. In fact, “Golmaal: Fun Unlimited”, which started the hit comedy franchise, was based on the Gujarati play “Aflatoon” by Mihir Bhuta and Neeraj. They had adapted it from Harsh Shivsharan’s original Marathi play “Ghar-Ghar”
Neeraj had an acting stint on television with shows like “Circus” and “Naya Nukkad”, while on the film front, he made the audience laugh with roles in “Daud: Fun on the Run”, “Hello Brother”, “Bol Bachchan” and “Welcome Back”.
As a writer, he worked on films like “Rangeela”, “Akele Hum Akele Tum”, “Josh”, “Badshah”, “Chori Chori Chupke Chupke”, “Awara Paagal Deewana”, “Deewane Huye Paagal”, “Ajnabee” and “Hera Pheri” and “Phir Hera Pheri”.
His directorial projects include “Khiladi 420” and “Phir Hera Pheri”. He was to direct “Hera Pheri 3”, but uncertainty loomed large over the project after he suffered a stroke in October 2016.
–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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