Entertainment
Padman review: A ”MUST WATCH” movie with a social message
The concept for this film, Padman, is credited to Twinkle Khanna for the story that is based on the short tale in her book, “The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad”. This story has been inspired by the life of Arunchalam Muruganantham a social activist from Tamil Nadu who revolutionized the concept of personal hygiene during the menstrual cycle in rural India by creating low-cost sanitary pads.
Incidentally, the film also shares the same premise as that of Phullu which was released in June 2017.
Set in rural Madhya Pradesh, Lakshmikant Chouhan (Akshay Kumar) a mechanic by profession and a loving and devoted husband to Gayatri (Radhika Apte) ensures that his wife leads a comfortable life by introducing small inventions to enhance her daily life.
But when he learns about the stigma and taboos that surround menstruation and the unhygienic methods used by women during this period, he is pained. So he embarks on a mission to make affordable sanitary pads. How he succeeds in his endeavour, forms the crux of the tale.
Lakshmikant’s story is truly inspirational and writer-Director R Balki leaves no stone unturned to magnify it for the large screen. Narrated in a linear manner and laced with light-humour, stellar performances and statistics-filled dialogues, this film conveys the strong message with ease and is entertaining from word go.
But the graph of the story is flat and the plot, laden with deus-ex-machinas and certain elements truly stretched a la Bollywood style especially Lakshmikant’s invention and his speech at the UN, truly makes the film, “filmi”. It loses the charm of a realistic, biographical film.
Akshay Kumar’s portrayal of Lakshmikant Chouhan is sincere. He delivers on every front and is the soul of the film.
You are with him during his struggle and obsession. He is aptly supported by Radhika Apte as his wife Gayatri. She is every inch the submissive, rural lady struggling to survive within societal norms. Their on-screen chemistry is palpable.
Sonam Kapoor as Pari the city-bred, tabla maestro and a freshly minted MBA, is a misfit and strictly mediocre. She walks through her role and what makes her further unacceptable is the frivolous demeanour that she is forced to portray.
On the technical front, the film has all the trappings of an A-lister.
Cinematographer P C Sreeram’s camera work is definitely commendable.
He captures the locales in all its glory.
Amit Trivedi’s music is effective and it does elevate the viewing experience. The songs; “Aaj Se Teri” has interesting lyrics and “Ladki Sayani ho gayi” that celebrates womanhood is well-choreographed. The other two songs don’t register at all.
Overall, though entertaining, Padman is like a long-drawn public-service film that’s worth your ticket money.
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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