Entertainment
Government doesn’t give importance to cinema business: Richa Chadha
Mumbai, Feb 5 (IANS) Actress Richa Chadha feels the government is ignorant about how the entertainment industry is suffering due to tax.
The Union Budget 2018-2019 brought no relief to the entertainment industry.
“Entertainment tax and exhibitors’ tax is killing the business of our cinema and that is a known fact. But I do not think that government gives any importance to that,” Richa told IANS here.
“They invite celebrities to be a part of their social campaigns and other initiatives since entertainment is a soft power. But they ignore how the entertainment industry is suffering due to the taxation,” she added.
She also hopes the system of GST is simplified to make it more understandable for the common man “because everyone is hiring a Chartered Accountant”.
Richa, who started her career in 2008 with “Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!” and has worked in acclaimed films like “Gangs of Wasseypur series, “Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela”, “Masaan”, “Sarbjit” and the first Indian Amazon Original series “Inside Edge”, is now keen to explore other branches of filmmaking.
“I have started taking interest in other parts of filmmaking rather than just in acting. I have started writing… I am interested in production, how to direct a film and other technical aspects of a film… I see I am growing towards that direction,” said the actress, who produced a short film named “Khoon Aali Chithi” last year.
Richa has also recently featured in a music video titled “Wanna be free”, sung by Shibani Kashyap.
In the wake of the trolls faced by actress Swara Bhasker over her critique of “Padmaavat”, Richa decoded what freedom means to her.
“I think in a democratic country everyone has their opinion on any matter and they have all the right to it. Swara’s note was an open letter addressed to the filmmaker (Sanjay Leela Bhansali). So it should be between them, why are we talking about it?
“Like the way a filmmaker has the right to make a film and release across the country, Swara, who is an actress and audience, has the right to write a letter,” she added.
On her own idea of feeling free, Richa said: “That is my idea of feel free… Where one can say what they want, without hurting anyone’s sentiment and without fearing being trolled and slammed. My idea of freedom is where one can lead a life the way they want without being judged by others, and of course, by contributing to society.”
–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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