Entertainment
CBFC chief Nihalani to oversee Malayalam film leak probe: Priyadarshan
Thiruvananthapuram: Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani will arrive here next week to personally oversee the probe after the alleged leak of the censor copy of blockbuster Malayalam film “Premam”, ace director Priyadarshan said on Saturday.
The development comes after Priyadarshan, who has been accused of the leak, approached Nihalani.
Speaking to IANS over telephone from Chennai, Priyadarshan said that his name is being unnecessarily dragged into it by vested interests because sound mixing of the film was done in his studio.
“I spoke to Nihalani and he has promised that he himself will be arriving in the capital city and will oversee the probe. The CBFC will have to do this because the leaked copies of the last month’s released film carries the watermark of the CBFC,” said Priyadarshan, adding the present trend of piracy, if not checked , will sound the death knell of the film industry.
“Premam”, now being touted as a film which is going to break all collection records, had hit a rough patch very soon after its release, forcing its producer Anwar Rasheed quitting his membership from all the Malayalam film-based organisations.
The film stars Nivin Pauly, billed as the rising star of the Malayalam film industry, through a string of hugely-popular films like “Banglore Days”, “Oru Vadekan Selfie”, “Ivide” to name a few.
State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala also got involved, instructing the Kerala Police Anti-Piracy Cell to ensure those responsible are traced and punished. Following this, police have already arrested seven people who were found to have circulated the leaked copy of the new film. Police have also decided to summon more people associated with the Malayalam film industry for questioning.
Menwhile, ace superstar Mammootty on Saturday batted the beleaguered producer Rasheed and his entire film team.
“Stop Piracy! You don’t want us to steal ideas, don’t steal our films! Give every film it’s due ! I support Anwar and Team Premam. Good luck to Nivin and Alphonse and everyone from Premam”, he posted on his Facebook page.
Rasheed, within the span of a decade, has turned out to be a most successful director and also a producer with popular hit films like “Rajamanikam”, “Ustad Hotel” (both which he directed) and ” Bangalore Days” and “Premam” as producer.
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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