Entertainment
Relatable quality makes a web series work: R. Madhavan
By Subhash K. Jha
Mumbai, Jan 27 (IANS) R. Madhavan is back, this time in a web series entitled “Breathe” for Amazon, and the actor, who completes 22 years of film acting in 2018, says that relatable qualities makes such platforms work. Excerpts from an interview:
Q. First of all, why a web series now?
A. Because this is where I saw something worth investing my time, energy and efforts in, apart from movies. See, you have to understand that the magic of the large-screen won’t go away. But at the same time, the lure of the Internet is something I saw coming long before most people in the entertainment industry.
Q. So are you saying the size of the screen doesn’t matter, that content is king?
A. Not just any content. But powerful, fresh content. And a web series cannot be treated on a par with the big-screen experience. The other day I was watching “Padmaavat”. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone transported us into a different world. We stared at their larger-than-life world, heads raised, looking up at the screen. When we see a web series, our heads are at level with the screen. We are one of them on the screen. It’s the relatable quality that makes a web series work. Just as “Padmaavat” can’t work on the small screen, “Breathe” would have fallen flat on the large screen.
Q: What made you choose “Breathe” as your web debut?
A: When Vikram Malhotra of Abundantia Films and Amazon offered me the series, I was not sure I wanted to do it. But then I heard my role and I heard the twists and turns in the plot, I was bowled over and sold over. I had to do “Breathe”! I had to play Danny Mascarenas. He is an average, kind, doting father who goes amok when his son faces death. This is a role any actor would give his life for.
Q. Any fears about audiences doubting your career in cinema?
A. You mean because I’m doing something on the smaller screen? In the West, the biggest of the stars do web series. Meryl Streep is doing the second season of “Big Little Lies”. I saw the potency of the digital platform long ago. I was waiting to do a web series. “Breathe” gave me just the opportunity to make my debut on the web. Having said that, let me hasten to state that my movie career is not yet over. I took a three-year break to rejuvenate myself and I made a comeback with the films “Irrudi Sutru” and “Vikram Vedha”. Even as we talk, preparation for my next film is on.
Q. Since you are a father in real life, did you delve into your emotions with you real-life son Vedant to play the troubled father in “Breathe”?
A. No. Not at all. I was not allowed bring Danny Mascarenhas home. When I was shooting he was with me. But the minute I left the set, he was not with me. So to answer your question, as a father to a son I knew exactly when and where to hug my son, and the difference between a kiss on his forehead and a kiss on his cheek. Beyond that, I didn’t use any of my own experiences to play the father in “Breathe”.
Q. Do you see the web as the future?
A. I see it as the present. Audiences do not want to be told to be present at theatres at certain specific times to watch a film. They want to see it at their own convenience. If we give them content like “Breathe” on the digital platform they will use that opportunity to be entertained. But digital entertainment cannot replace the movie-going experience. So if we want our audience to continue to love the movie-going experience, we have to give them content they respect. Do not take the audience for granted.
–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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