Entertainment
Don’t kill creativity:Big B on ‘Udta Punjab’ row
Kolkata:After many film personalities expressed support for the “Udta Punjab” makers who are locked in a stand-off with the censor board over suggestion of 89 cuts in the movie, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Wednesday joined the debate saying “killing creativity” can kill the “soul” of artistes.
At a press conference for his forthcoming film “TE3N” here, the 73-year-old actor was asked to comment on the controversy over “Udta Punjab” — a movie on the festering drug menace in Punjab.
He said: “I am not quite aware of what the issue is. I have been reading about it. All I can say is that don’t try and kill creativity. If you kill creativity, you kill the soul and that is all that we (artistes) have. That would be detrimental.”
“I know that there are rules and regulations… That’s something that the government has to decide. But as an artiste and a creative person, all I can say is that don’t kill creativity.”
Bachchan said if filmmakers are “dissatisfied”, they can approach tribunal and the courts. He termed the delay as “unfortunate.”
“But it is unfortunate that there is going to be a delay that they have to fight their way through the high court. In the past my films were denied release and we had to go to higher authorities. Eventually, creativity won. But yes delay was something that one had to cope with,” he observed.
Further, when censorship issues crop up at the time of release and everything is set up (distribution, set up, publicity, theatres, publicity, marketing), then it’s a set back, he said.
“If at that point of time there is an obstacle in the way in certification then it sets you back.”
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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