Entertainment
My character different from Juhi’s in ‘Darr’ remake: Priya Banerjee
Chennai: Actress Priya Banerjee, who reprises Juhi Chawla’s role in the eponymous remake of 1993 film “Darr”, says her role is quite different from the original character that it is based on.
“This is a remake with a twist. Although I play Juhi’s part, our roles are very different from each other and that makes the remake stand out,” Priya, who is paired with Karanvir Bohra in the film, told IANS.
She’s aware there will be comparisons, but considers it an honour to be part of a celebrated film.
“I can already feel lot of pressure and because our roles are being compared, the expectations are very high,” she said.
The makers had initially considered Ileana D’Cruz, but destiny worked in Priya’s favour.
“They were also in talks with a Pakistani actress, who was almost confirmed. However, things didn’t fall in place and they finally approached me. I was shooting for another film and didn’t have dates,” said Priya, who was moved when the makers adjusted the dates for her.
“It was so nice of them to adjust the whole schedule just for me,” she said, adding that when she came on board, she had to juggle between the sets of two films. It was hectic. I had to simultaneously shoot for my other film ‘3 Dev’, which I had signed even before this film,” Priya said.
Having completed the first schedule of both the projects, Priya is gearing up for busier months ahead.
“I don’t even know how I’m going to manage. When the next schedule starts, I know I’ll be shooting for nearly 20 hours a day or even more,” she said.
Last seen in Sanjay Gupta’s “Jazbaa”, in which she played Shabana Azmi’s teenager daughter, Priya is equally excited about “3 Dev”.
“It’s a fun film with a strong social message. I’m so lucky to be working with an ensemble cast featuring Kay Kay, Tisca Chopra and Kunaal Roy Kapur among others,” she said.
Priya, who has also worked in Telugu films “Kiss”, “Joru” and “Asura”, says she will always a soft spot for south industry.
“I’ll always be open to doing southern films. It’s just that I have a very busy schedule ahead and have no dates for a new project till mid next year. Right after I finish shooting my two Hindi projects, I’ll start working on another Hindi film,” she signed off.
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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