Entertainment
Never knew how to market myself: Manjari
Mumbai, Jan 21 (IANS) Actress Manjari Fadnis, who believes she is one of the “best kept secrets of Bollywood”, says she does not know how to develop a professional network and that is affecting her career growth in the film industry.
She started her career in 2004 with the film “Rok Sako To Rok Lo” but found visibility with her performance in “Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na”. However, even after spending over a decade in Bollywood, she believes her potential has not been utilized enough.
“Since I started very young, I never knew how to market myself and in this industry that is important. I am not good at small talk or approaching directors by showing my interest to work with them.
“I think that is why the growth in my career is very slow. But I think this is the time I gear up to grow,” Manjari told IANS in an interview.
The actress added: “I always believed that my work will speak a volume. But it did not happen. I think I am one of the best kept secrets of Bollywood.”
In her latest movie “Nirdosh”, Manjari plays a vulnerable housewife in the Arbaaz Khan starrer. Since it is a suspense thriller, Manjari said it was quite emotionally draining to shoot some of the scenes, but she enjoyed the journey of the character.
“This is the fourth film I am doing with Arbaaz Sir and our relationship has evolved with time. I am happy that even though I have no film background, the industry has accepted me and I am getting good work — whether it is my short film (‘The Cot’) or feature films.
“I am getting work based on my merit and that is a good thing.”
Asked about her wish list of directors, Manjari said: “I so want to work with Rajkumar Hirani and Ashutosh Gowariker because I admire them not just as filmmakers, but also as human beings, they are wonderful.”
–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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