Entertainment
Humbled by love, SRK gives ‘Fan’ to fans on 50th birthday
Mumbai: It was a scene right out of “Om Shanti Om” — SRK stood in a balcony of his house Mannat here, blew kisses to his fans, waved at them, smiled at them and there was a gleam in his eyes. On his 50th birthday on Monday, the Bollywood superstar was “humbled” by the love that his fans showered on him.
The flash of the cameras went clickety-click, as seen in a video that the ‘badshah’ posted on his Facebook page. There was a loud cheer and whistles from the crowd that filled the street outside Shah Rukh Khan’s house in Bandra here.
Even before the clock struck 12, fans had begun gathering outside, and the attention made Shah Rukh be grateful for the love that his audience has showered on him since over two decades of his Bollywood career.
It’s this love that keeps him going.
“Right now so humbled by the attention and love being given to my birthday. Didn’t ever realise living will be so beautiful. Thanks all,” Shah Rukh shared on social media platforms.
At night, he even cut a cake with his family members — wife Gauri, sons Aryan and AbRam and daughter Suhana.
“Happy birthday Shah Rukh… it’s just us tonight,” Gauri posted with a photograph on Facebook. The actor is seen cutting a cake with white frosting.
On his special day, he reached out to his fans to treat them with a glimpse into his upcoming movie “Fan”, a Yash Raj Films (YRF) production.
“Today as I turn 50, I turn 25 again – for all the years of love you hav given me, I give u my most heartfelt creation. Gaurav the FAN.U and I are a belief,” he posted.
The film, directed by Maneesh Sharma, stars SRK as a fan.
Its first 63-second teaser was launched earlier this year, but on his birthday, SRK released the second teaser — a much-longer version — for his fans. It features some of his ownA
YRF had earlier described the film as: “Two powerhouses. One special tribute. SRK in and as Fan.”
And the new teaser shows that the movie can’t be described any better. It’s about Gaurav, a commoner, who’s in awe of superstar Aryan Khanna — much like several Bollywood buffs who worship cine stars like a god — in India, which is one of the leading producers of films in the world.
Only a few hours after releasing the teaser and since bringing in his birthday, SRK shared: “It’s been a few hours and I have received such unconditional love and wishes for my smile, I think it’s time I find new reasons to smile from today.”
The actor, who has featured in a melange of action, romantic, dramatic and comedy roles through his career, is one of the most successful actors in Hindi cinema. His fan following is global, and his charm, unmatched.
With films like “Baazigar”, “Badshah”, “Duplicate”, “Karan Arjun”, A”Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge”, “Dil To Pagal Hai”, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”, “Dil Se..”, “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham”, “Swades”, “Kal Ho Naa Ho” and “My Name Is Khan” — he has won his fans over and over again.
The saga will continue with “Dilwale” and “Fan”. So, as he says in “Om Shanti Om”, “picture abhi baaki hai”.
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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