Entertainment
I firmly believe in ‘Bombay Velvet’: Anurag Kashyap
Mumbai: Anurag Kashyap’s latest offering “Bombay Velvet” might have not received a great opening, but the filmmaker has no regrets making the period crime drama.
According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma-starrer has collected Rs.10.30 crore since its release on Friday.
“It’s time to close the book and move on. It’s been a journey, as if one life is over with ‘Bombay Velvet’. A lot of people do not connect with it and a small number of people did… Maybe our experimenting with the narrative didn’t work for most but I firmly believe in the film,” Kashyap posted on Facebook on Sunday.
“This is the film I wanted to make and I am glad I got to make it. I am very happy that all those who have been part of this journey firmly stand with it. No, I am not depressed or hiding, this has taught us a lot and is my absolute personal favourite, there have been no regrets whatsoever,” he added.
Kashyap also thanked all those who were associated with “Bombay Velvet”.
“Thank you for your pride and love in what we did together, the process was beautiful and we have all come back richer from it. I think I am very rich today for having so many friends and people in my life and their faith.”
While many compared Kashyap’s work in “Bombay Velvet” to that of Ram Gopal Verma’s “Aag”, the filmmaker, however, did manage to receive some support from filmmakers Zoya Akhtar and Kunal Kohli.
Kashyap, who has previously made critically acclaimed films like “Gangs of Wasseypur”, “Dev.D” and “Ugly”, further added that leaving the criticism of “Bombay Velvet” behind, he is now looking forward to his next project and has no intentions to leave his director’s chair.
He posted: “Now let’s get on to the next and let’s kick a**. Films is what I breathe, what I live for, does not matter where I go and where I stay, I will only make films, and no I am not done with making films in and about my country, rest is just a little detour.
“’Bombay Velvet’ has been worth all the heart ache and pain and a memory to cherish for life… The Applause or Brickbats do not matter, what matters is who is standing in the arena. I WILL BE BACK.”
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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