Entertainment
Sanjay Leela Bhansali invites Karni Sena to watch ‘Padmaavat’
Jaipur, Jan 20 (IANS) Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has sent an invitation to Shri Rajput Karni Sena and other Rajput associations to watch “Padmaavat” and keep their ‘misguided grievances’ aside, its patron and founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi has claimed.
In a press conference here on Saturday, Kalvi said the letter has been sent after the date of release of the film has been fixed which shows that this is well-planned gimmick.
“This letter will be put into flames as it is just a part of show-off which has been done in an endeavour to prove that ‘we have invited Rajput community leaders’.”
The letter reads that Rajput community has been misled in this context.
It read: “The film will maintain the honour and dignity of Queen Padmavati… The dream sequence being talked about in the film is just a rumour and we have already apprised you about the same in the letter sent on January 29, 2017. There is no such scene… We assure that the entire Rajput community will feel proud after watching the film.”
Talking about the move, Kalvi said: “We never asked him to show us the film but we wanted nine historians to be shown the film, out of which the film has been shown to three historians only. On top of it, the advice of these historians was also not considered. We now want that the film should be shown to the six remaining historians as well and their opinion on the same sought.”
He added that the historians have been insulted as their opinions were ignored and the film’s release date was decided.
“Now at this point of time, the only solution is to ban the film completely.”
“Padmaavat” has had a long history of trouble. It stars Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji.
From being assaulted on the film’s set in Jaipur to the set being vandalised in Kolhapur to getting threats from detractors — Bhansali has been facing the ire of organisations that are up in arms against the period drama since its inception — from when it was titled “Padmavati”.
Months after facing opposition, the makers, Bhansali Productions and Viacom18 Motion Pictures, clarified that the film was based on 16th century Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s epic poem “Padmavat”, and does not distort historical facts — as was being alleged by some Rajput outfits.
The makers of “Padmaavat” secured a U/A certificate from the censor board after incorporating five modifications, and locked the release date as January 25.
The Supreme Court on Thursday paved the way for the all-India release for “Padmaavat” on January 25 by staying the operation of orders by the Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana governments banning its release.
But Kalvi said that “like every year, January 25 will come but (it will) not (be) the day of the release of the film”.
“I feel obliged as Rajasthan and Gujarat film distributors have assured us that the film will not be released,” he said.
He also made an appeal to the “public to impose public curfew”, saying they should not go to watch 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.
“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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