Entertainment
Sonam Kapoor Has The Perfect Response On Being Trolled Over Changing Her Surname to Ahuja
The true idea of feminism is having a choice and equal opportunity, says newly wed actress Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, who chose to add her husband Anand Ahuja’s surname and was at the receiving end of comments and criticism.
Sonam, who dazzled on the red carpet of the 71st Cannes Film Festival, spoke to select media in a video chat from the gala, where she represented cosmetic brand L’Oreal Paris.
“I am a true feminist and I believe in choice. Nobody told me to change my name after marriage. I decided to do it by myself. The whole idea of feminism is to have equal opportunity and choice to do what I want to do. That choice should be mine,” Sonam said.
“I always said that I am a feminist and I have the choice to change and not change my name. Kapoor is my family name, so is Ahuja. I am a part of that family too, so I chose to keep both the names. In fact, Anand has also changed his name and nobody noticed that. It is my personal choice,” added the daughter of veteran actor Anil Kapoor.
Sonam married longtime beau Anand on May 8. She immediately changed her name to Sonam Kapoor Ahuja on all her social media accounts after the marriage ceremony got over.
“Taking your father’s name as the last name is a practice. That is how you show respect to your father. You can give the same respect to your husband using his name as the last name. It is the same thing. It is a cyclical thing.
“One can break it and give their child a new surname but it takes a lot of effort. It is a complicated discussion, but at this point in time, this is my choice,” she said.
Her new film “Veere Di Wedding” is all set to release on June 1.
Asked if she would be working in films as enthusiastically as she did before marriage, Sonam said: “Well, people are asking me these questions, which is sad. I do not think it has really changed that much.
“I know it for a fact that Kajol, who also got married at the peak of her career worked. Actresses like Dimple Kapadia, Waheeda Rehman also worked after marriage. In fact, Madhuri Dixit did a film like ‘Devdas’ after marriage.”
“I think as women we should come together and understand that it should be always a choice. And that should not be taken away. I am also making sure that I am leading a normal life of coming back to work after marriage and doing what I do the best,” added the “Khoobsurat” actress.
There has been a buzz that she is shifting to London with her husband.
Clarifying that, Sonam said: “I already have a home in London. I am there for last two years, and nobody noticed. My life will be the same as it is for the last two years. I will stay there for four-five months and then mostly in Mumbai.”
She said she is not even looking for any flat in Mumbai.
“I already have a house in Mumbai, then why?”
Commenting on pay disparity in the film industry, Sonam said: “There is a very misogynistic and patriarchal attitude towards women at the workplace globally, not only in India.
“Women in a powerful position are expected to be masculine or aggressive, otherwise she is not given the kind of respect… People expect her to be in a certain way.
“Even though she demands a certain amount of money or power, they certainly become undesirable. That mindset is what we need to fight. There should be women who should stand and say this is something that I want to change. Things will change.”
Being the brand ambassador of the cosmetic brand L’Oreal, Sonam felt proud to represent her country at a global platform like Cannes as a woman of worth.
“It has been amazing for me to be a part of the brand for the last eight years. They are great…the kind of campaigns that are happening at the red carpet with Time’s Up and #MeToo where women are standing for their equal right, it is great to represent the brand as a woman of worth,” said the actress.
On the film front, she is looking forward to shooting her new film “The Zoya Factor”
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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