Entertainment
Arrest incident shocked me, says Kiku Sharda
Mumbai: Known as ‘Palak’ in popular comedy show ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’, actor-comedian Kiku Sharda stated that he was not scared about his detention for making fun of a religious leader, but the incident shocked him.
“I felt very alone when this happened. It shocked me as I had apologized on twitter the next morning after I got feedback. It was not that I was scared,” Kiku Sharda said on video conference during a FWICE meet to protest against his arrest from the set of Comedy Nights with Kapil on January 13.
“As an entertainer, I rethink on my words even if a kid complains to me at a mall. I am careful because I want to make people laugh, I want to make them smile. There is no question of me intending to hurt anyone, ever,” Kiku who was shooting outside Mumbai said late Monday.
Federation of Western India Cine Employees, Cine & Tv Artistes Association, Film Writers Association and other affiliates of FWICE came together to protest against the horrific treatment meted out to him by the authorities treating him on par with other criminals.
Kiku Sharda was arrested for hurting the sentiments of the followers of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda.
The followers of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh filed complaints in various police stations in Haryana, where the sect is based, under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code that makes it a crime to outrage religious feelings of anyone.
Dilip Pithwa, General Secretary, FWICE said: “It all happened so suddenly to Kiku that we were taken completely aback, but today we are together here and the next time anything like this happens to any of us all industry associations with all our members will stand in front of the authorities and demand justice. We will not let this happen again to any of us.”
Actress Renuka Shahane said “mimicry is about imitation. And Kiku Sharda is good human being. My kids study in the same school as Kiku’s kids. And now, kids in the school discuss his arrest… If such misuse of law prevails, we will have to think twice before stepping out of our homes,” she said.
At the media meet organised to protest on the same, writers, actors, and association members geared in large numbers to stand up for Kiku Sharda.
Amit Behl, Kamlesh Pandey, Aashish Rego, Dilip Pithwa, Manoj and Seema Pahwa, Ashutosh Rana, Renuka Shahane, Deepak Qazir, Lubna Salim, Salim Arif, Harsh Chaya, Vrajesh Hirji, Nasirr Khan, Dillzan Wadia, Zama Habib, Sunil Sinha, Sunil Matoo, Ramesh Goel, Akashaditya Lama, besides Om Puri on telecom supported the cause.
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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