Entertainment
I’m not as ambitious, greedy as Khilji: Ranveer Singh (IANS Interview)
By Durga Chakravarty
New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) With menacing eyes, eccentric mannerisms and powerful acting, Ranveer Singh has upped his own ante as Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khilji in “Padmaavat”. But the actor says it’s a character whose ambitions and greed he does not relate to, even though he has his eyes on building a vast legacy of filmography to be proud of.
After captivating cine-goers with his powerful performance in films like “Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela”, “Bajirao Mastani” and the latest “Padmaavat”, actor Ranveer Singh is set to dive into projects that are as different as chalk and cheese. There’s “Gully Boy”, “Simmba” and a biopic on India’s 1983 Cricket World Cup victory.
“I have a very large vision for myself, my body of work, my career. I hope to build a vast legacy with a filmography which I can be proud of when I am done. I want to look back and feel like I made a significant contribution to the art and yes, keep pushing the envelope and keep exploring to things that have not been done before,” Ranveer told IANS over phone from Mumbai.
With Khilji, Ranveer has achieved that. Where did the inspiration for his eccentric antics in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial come from?
“There’s no references (for the character) as such and it definitely didn’t come from within. I cannot really relate to Alauddin Khilji at any level. I am not as ambitious, as greedy and as manipulative,” Ranveer said.
However, the actor, 32, believes “there’s no end to what you can achieve”.
“The more work I do, I realise how much I can do because it is limitless. So, I hope to keep going,” he added.
Ranveer made his acting debut in 2010 with “Band Baajaa Baaraat”, and by his own admission, he has “grown leaps and bounds as an artiste” ever since.
“I think the past seven and a half years have been very solid. It has been an amazing journey from ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ to ‘Padmaavat’. I have learnt a lot. I have been able to showcase my versatility and I have been able to learn and work with very different styles,” he said.
Wasn’t it a risk to play an anti-hero?
“It was a huge risk. I was very apprehensive about taking the risk but Bhansali was very persistent in his pursuit of me and he is the one who convinced me that I would be able to pull it off. I went with his conviction. I can never say no to Bhansali, given the amount he has contributed to my career and to me as an artiste.
“Once I committed, I put my everything into it. But, yes, initially there were apprehensions,” said Ranveer, who found the character “mentally, physically and emotionally” draining.
The movie was mired in a row as protests erupted over alleged distortion of facts. After the film released following a long-stretched battle, reviews pointed out at how Khilji’s character has been demonised.
“As an actor, I just have to stick to the character that I find in the script,” Ranveer justified, saying he used the film’s bound script “as my textbook and my bible” to create a character around it.
Ranveer says he can always choose to add to the script from the “research and homework” he does during the prep phase, but his job as an actor is to do justice to the character.
Excited about his upcoming slate of films, Ranveer said: “I am working with films and filmmakers who are very different from each other. Zoya Akhtar, Rohit Shetty and Kabir Khan… It is again a very good opportunity to showcase my versatility… In my own estimation, I am attracted towards actors who are able to transform themselves with each character.
“I always hope to be that way. I always endeavour to be that way.”
(Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at [email protected])
–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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