Entertainment
‘Bajirao Mastani’ wins top honour at TOIFA 2016
Dubai:The epic historical love story “Bajirao Mastani” has bagged as many as five awards at the the second edition of the Times Of India Film Awards (TOIFA) cornering the Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actor in a supporting role (female) and Best Playback singer (female) trophies.
At a grand event on Friday, Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali carried home the Best Director award while Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra bagged the Best Actor and the Best Actor (female) trophies respectively.
Ranveer credited his win to Bhansali.
“My master one of the greatest directors of Hindi cinema… the one who has given so much and I just don’t mean hit films but also love, affection and nurturing sir I owe this entirely to you. I love you sir. I hope in the years to come this special collaboration works together,” Ranveer said at the stage, while accepting the award.
Actress Kangana Ranaut had won the Best Actress award for her role in “Tanu Weds Manu Returns”, where she was seen playing a double role.
Her award was accepted by producer Krishika Lulla of Eros International, who was the co-producer of the film.
The story of a lost Pakistani deaf and mute girl, who was helped by an Indian man titled “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” was feted with the Best Film award.
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who bagged the Best Actor Critics- male for the film “Piku” was also honoured with the Living Legend award.
Bhumi Pednekar bagged the Best Debut actor (female) for the film “Dum Laga Ke Haisha”, while actor Aditya Pancholi’s son Sooraj took home the Best Debut actor (male) for the film “Hero”.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who essayed the role of Liak Tungrekar, a bank robber and a murderer in “Badlapur”, bagged the Best Actor in a negative role award.
Ranveer and his co-star actress Deepika Padukone, who was not present at the gala were also given the title as the Best Jodi.
Referring to Deepika as his ‘better half’ of the jodi Ranveer, who was looking dapper in blue tuxedo said on stage: “This is for the ‘Best Jodi’. The better half of the jodi is not here. But I will convey the message to her.”
The Dubai International Stadium, which is popular for its flood lights covering the circumference of the stadium described as “ring of fire”, saw thousands of Bollywood fanatics coming to the event to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars.
A string of A-listers like Varun Dhawan, Jacqueline Fernandes, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Salman, Shah Rukh and Kareena set the stage on ire with their power pact and electrifying performances, which were choreographed by star choreographer Shiamak Davar.
Varun shook a leg on latest hit tracks like “Main tenu samjhawan”, “High heels” and “Tan tan tan”, hinting his fans about his next project “Judwaa 2”, where he will be stepping into the “Dabangg” star Salman Khan’s shoes, who was seen in the 1992 movie “Judwaa”.
Kareena was seen paying a tribute to Bollywood’s yesteryear divas like Helen, Karishma Kapoor and Sridevi.
Ranveer, who is a power house of energy shook his leg songs on Amitabh like “Jumma chumma” and “Pyaar tumhe”.
Bollywood’s “Dabangg” and “Dilwale” star enthralled the audience, who were seen whistling, screaming and hooting, while they performed on numbers from their respective films on stage.
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.
Content provided by Adverloom