Entertainment
Would’ve proudly said so had I directed ‘Simran’: Kangana
New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS) National Award winning actress Kangana Ranaut, who was earlier slammed by writer Apurva Asrani for taking the co-writer credit in “Simran”, says she didn’t take part in the direction of the film and would have proudly said it openly if she had done it.
Kangana was slammed by Asrani after the poster of Hansal Mehta’s “Simran” released, showing Kangana’s name as co-writer. Apurva took to Facebook to raise objections to it and slammed the actress for taking undue credit.
In a conversation at the NDTV Youth For Change Conclave here on Monday, Kangana was asked if she had any part to play in the film’s direction.
Kangana said: “I have not done anything to do with direction in ‘Simran’. I have acted in it and written it. If I had directed the film, I would have proudly said it, but I have not done it.”
Kangana, who comes from a non-filmy background and hails from Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, also spoke about her background.
“Big cities are money-oriented, small towns are more concerned about what people — buaji, mausiji — will say? I come from an extreme environment, a conservative background. I felt stifled and just wanted to be free,” said the National Award winner.
Kangana, who has been appreciated for films like “Fashion”, “Queen” and “Tanu Weds Manu Returns”, says she tries to be away from award shows.
“There is a lot of manipulation in our award shows. Like they will tell you in advance that you will get this award, but will ask to perform for them. I try to stay away from all this.”
Kangana, 31, said in future she would like to do things that have some “underlined significance”.
“At 30, I have seen a lot of things in my life. A film nearly takes two years of your life. That’s the kind of contribution that I like to give to films. Other than entertainment, I will not like to do something which doesn’t have any underlined significance,” Kangana said.
“I should be able to communicate to my audience directly and cause some sort of impact, which will bring me closer to them. That’s what I am planning to do when I will take up direction,” she added.
“Simran” is slated for release on September 15.
–IANS
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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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