Entertainment
‘Gangaa’ not stereotypical message-based show: Hiten Tejwani
New Delhi: Actor Hiten Tejwani, who is gearing up for his forthcoming TV show “Gangaa”, says it will be different from other shows on social evils.
The 40-year-old, who will be seen playing the titular character’s father Niranjan Chaturvedi’s role in the show, also says “Gangaa” has no similarity with the production banner Sphere Origins’s ongoing show “Balika Vadhu” and will be totally different from what people are expecting from it.
“‘Gangaa’ will deliver a very strong message to the society. The show is not with or against any social issue. It will just demonstrate the life of a widow child. It is not a stereotypical one; rather it is beyond people’s imagination,” Hiten told over phone from Mumbai.
“Usually people do watch the same thing on daily soaps, but this is not one of them,” he added.
Asked whether the show has any similarity with “Balika Vadhu” — which started with a focus on child marriage, Hiten said: “The approach of the show is totally different from others. The concept is new. There is no similarity between ‘Gangaa’ and ‘Balika Vadhu’. Both of them are different shows. There the concept was ‘bal vivah’ but in ‘Gangaa’ we are focusing on ‘bal vidhwa’.”
The story of the show is about a “self independent” child widow — Gangaa, who faces hardships of life and tackles people who do not welcome her in the society.
Talking about his character, Hiten added: “My character is like a support system to Gangaa. Niranjan is a lawyer and a very straight forward person. He is truly impressed by his daughter’s zest towards life. The show will focus on the father-daughter relationship – how they deal with the society.”
Hiten, who has previously appeared in popular shows like “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi”, “Kasautii Zindagii Kay” and “Pavitra Rishta”, says he will be seen in a “totally different” avatar in “Gangaa”.
“I’ll be wearing a moustache in the show to get a feeling of a much matured lawyer. It will be totally different from my previous works,” he said.
Extensively shot in Varanasi, “Gangaa”, which will be aired on the new channel &TV starting March 2, will give a glimpse of the holy ghats and temples of Uttar Pradesh.
“‘Gangaa’ has been shot in real locations. People will get to see the real view of the city and not fake ones, that shows usually show with special effects. But the show has no comparison to the holy river — Ganga. The name of the lead girl is Gangaa, that’s why the show is named after her.”
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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