Entertainment
CBFC seeks disclaimers, modifications, change in name for certifying ‘Padmavati’ (Third Lead)
Mumbai, Dec 30 (IANS) The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has decided to give a U/A certificate “along with some modifications” to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s controversial film “Padmavati” and has asked the filmmaker to “likely” change the movie’s title to “Padmavat”. However, the suggestions have been slammed by a Mewar royal and some members of the film industry.
The makers of “Padmavati”, featuring Deepika Padukone as Rajput queen Padmavati, were also asked to give a few disclaimers — one regarding not glorifying the practice of Sati and also relevant modifications in the song “Ghoomar” to “befit” the character portrayed, a CBFC statement said on Saturday.
The decision was taken after an examining committee meeting was held on Thursday in the presence of CBFC chief Prasoon Joshi. The special panel consisted of Arvind Singh from Udaipur, Dr Chandramani Singh and Professor K.K. Singh of Jaipur University.
As per CBFC, the film was approached with a “balanced view keeping in mind both the filmmakers and the society”. The board asked for modifications and a name change, before giving the film the certification for being shown in theatres in India. Reports saying 26 cuts were ordered were denied by the CBFC.
Considering the complexities and concerns around the film, the requirement for a special panel was felt “to add perspective to the final decision of the official committee”, the CBFC said.
“Padmavati”, which was earlier slated for release on December 1, got embroiled in controversy after the Karni Sena, an organisation of the Rajput community, urged a nationwide ban on the film claiming that it “distorts historical facts”. Members of the political organisation also physically assaulted Bhansali during the film’s shooting in Jaipur earlier this year. They even burnt the sets of the movie on the outskirts of Mumbai.
The row took an ugly turn when threats were issued against Bhansali and Deepika.
Despite the go-ahead by the CBFC, the Shree Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena on Saturday demanded a complete ban on the film and said they will vandalise the theatres which show the film.
Earlier on November 30, Bhansali appeared before a Parliamentary committee and said: “All the controversy over the film is based on rumours. I have not distorted facts. The film is based on a poem by Malik Muhammad Jayasi,” referring to the 16th century Indian sufi poet’s epic poem “Padmavat”.
The certificate will be issued once the required modifications are carried out and final material submitted, the board said.
However, the suggestions from CBFC were slammed by a Mewar royal, who expressed his disappointment in a letter to Prasoon Joshi — a copy of which is with IANS.
Maharajkumar Vishvaraj Singh, son of Mahendra Singh Mewar — the 76th Maharana of the Mewar dynasty and a former Lok Sabha member — said he was supposed to be a part of the committee on Thursday, but couldn’t make it in the end, and the decision was taken by the Ccensor Board without his consent.
Popular Bollywood celebrities like Anubhav Sinha, Renuka Shahane and Apurva Asrani, among others, also slammed CBFC’s decision on Twitter, where some people edited Deepika’s photograph with her co-star Ranveer Singh, referring to the new title, “Padmavat”.
“So Bhansali can now actually throw a party. Just that whisky will be called ‘whiska’, vodka will be called ‘vodki’ and so on,” Sinha tweeted.
Renuka wrote: “The ‘I’ of the storm has passed. CBFC changes the name of “Padmavati” to “Padmavat” and passes the film with a U/A certificate. Thereby, nobody will have any issue and nobody’s sentiments will be hurt. Name changing is game changing I must say!”
Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia was “disgusted” by CBFC’s decision.
“Disgusted by the open and blatant use of political muscle to screw filmmakers during elections. Now that Gujarat and Himachal are won, ‘Padmavati’ has got its U/A, it will be praised. Rajputs’ heroism will be talked about by the same people who slammed it. Thank God we have not made a film called Gandhi! Can you imagine what title CBFC would suggest,” he tweeted.
Asrani said: “If ‘Pad Man’ picks up the ‘I’ that ‘Padmavat’ drops, they’ll have to call it ‘Padmani’. From the frying pan into the pyre.”
Actor Rahul Dev tweeted: “‘Padmavati’ turns ‘Padmavat’, smart move, yet wonder why is the ‘I’ so large in our country? CBFC gives U/A certificate for the film.”
–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.
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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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