Entertainment
‘Padmaavat’ will be another ‘Baahubali’, perhaps bigger (Column: Bollywood Spotlight)
By Subhash K Jha
This is not a review of this year’s most awaited film. And why this year? “Padmaavat”, nee Padmavati, is perhaps the most anticipated film since Raj Kapoor’s Satyam Shivum Sunderam. The frenzy that has been incited by some fringe groups, the threats and abuses, the violence and the virulence have whipped up the nation’s appetite.
Methinks, the Sena doth protest too much.
Having had the privilege of being close to the project from its inception, I can say one thing in all certainty. “Padmaavat” is a proud majestic anthem to the valour and pride of the Rajput community. Every frame, every movement exudes a nationalist fervor, a sense of unbridled pride and joy though without a trace of arrogance in being Indian. It is likely to see a major success, perhaps even bigger than “Baahubali”.
I wonder what the fringe groups would have to say once the film is out. Will they apologise to the nation and to the community they purport to represent, for misleading them?
The film industry is a soft target for peripheral attention-seeking organisations. I had never heard of the Karni Sena till the “Padmaavat” protests started. Now we can’t hear the end of their bickering and abuses. I get a feeling they will continue to protest against the film even after it releases, so habituated have they become to the limelight in the past months.
How will they survive without the platform of television channels to scream invectives at Bhansali and the film industry?
Maybe they can find another hapless filmmaker to target? This will keep on happening as long as an emasculated entertainment industry too afraid to speak up; too self-absorbed to care about what happens to a fellow-filmmaker.
As a prominent director explained: “If it was Karan Johar, he would have ten colleagues sitting besides him holding his hand under siege. But Sanjay Bhansali has not made too many friends in the industry. He’s paying the price for it.”
One direct fall-out of the unsolicited troubles that “Padmaavat” faced was the fear of history that now grips the film industry. The makers of bio-pic on Jhansi ki Rani are running through their script constantly to ensure no faction is offended by any of the dialogues or situations.
Nonetheless, trouble may visit any film. Some group or the other may come forward to say Kangana Ranaut is not from Jhansi. How dare she play Jhansi Ki Rani? I am surprised nobody brought up the Rajput angle vis-a-vis Deepika Padukone. Or the Islamic card to deride the casting of the Punjabi Ranveer Singh. Never have we seen a society so abjectly divided on the basis of caste and religion.
Here’s the fallout on historicals in Bollywood: No one is going to make them anymore.
Says a filmmaker: “History and mythology are taboo, unless you’re making a “Baahubali”. Hats off to Aamir Khan for his determination to make “Mahabharat”. He can be pulled up for anything — from his wrong cultural identity to his lack of knowledge of the Epic. The best thing is to make a “Golmaal” or a “Judwaa” in this country. Anything deeper gets you into trouble. So, for now, goodbye history.”
Unless someone wants to make a film on the troubles that “Padmavaat” faced during its shooting and before its release. That would be one hysterical historical. It may become an even bigger hit than “Padmaavat”.
–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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