Entertainment
I am fond of doing patriotic films, says Akshay Kumar
Mumbai: Known as a ‘Khiladi of Bollywood’ and delivered several successful nationalistic flicks like “Baby”, “Holiday: A Soldier is Never Off Duty” actor Akshay Kumar said that he doesn’t want to stress on patriotism or the fact that there is a sudden rise in patriotic feelings.
Questioned about his patriotic films including his forthcoming one titled “Airlift”, Akshay said: “My father was in the Army, so perhaps due to that I feel like doing such films. I’m fond of the genre. When such stories come in front of you, you feel good about them. But I don’t want to stress on them. I don’t want to enforce this fact that there is extreme patriotism suddenly rising in me.”
In the forthcoming film’s trailer, he is seen playing an influential businessman who has several enemies due to his power. It gives a sneak peek of the time when Iraq invaded Kuwait and Indians had to be evacuated in 1990.
“Of course, there is patriotism and I’m proud to be an Indian. And sometimes those films come like ‘Baby’ which was about RAW agents and there were numerous real elements in it,” added the actor, who donned the uniform for “Holiday: A Soldier is Never Off Duty” (2014).
The actor believes that he has a physique due to which he can “portray a police officer, an Army officer or a Naval officer because you find my structure like that. And so, it looks believable”.
The 48-year-old doesn’t think that he can essay someone who is studying in a college.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to carry that forward. I can’t take it, I know my limits,” he said.
The film will hit the screens on January 22, a few days before Republic Day (January 26).
Asked about the release date, he said: “It’s coming out before Republic Day. There is tremendous patriotism among our people, and the concept of ‘desh’, tolerance and intolerance… has become a very touchy subject. And here I am, bringing a film which conveys to be proud to be an Indian.”
“Patriotism should be in your hearts and doesn’t require you to scream about it, but if you see any malpractice, do report about it,” said the actor, who said that he recently asked someone not to spit in public places.
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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