Entertainment
Can’t afford woman-centric film just now: Kriti Kharbanda
Mumbai, Nov 9 (IANS) Bollywood actress Kriti Kharbanda, who shares screen space with Rajkummar Rao in the upcoming film “Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana”, says though she wants, she cannot indulge in the idea of a “woman-centric film” right now.
Asked if she wants to play a protagonist in a female-centric film, Kriti told IANS here: “Honestly, I do not want to indulge in a woman-centric film just now. I am not as famous as I wish to be and therefore, I do not have the ability to pull the crowd to the theatre.
“Yes, if you are asking as an artiste, with a good story, it is a lucrative thing to act in a woman-centric film. Having said that, I cannot let my producer suffer because of my creative satisfaction.”
However, she added: “I think in the south I can do it, especially in the Kannada film industry. I am popular enough to do a woman-centric film there.”
Born and brought up in Delhi, Kriti moved to Bengaluru after finishing her high school. She had a stint as a model before debuting as an actress in a Telugu film. The actress entered Bollywood with “Guest Iin London”.
She is happy about having worked with Rajkummar — a National Award-winning actor — in “Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana”, which is releasing on Friday.
“I think I have learnt how to be a good co-actor because he is really the one. I heard people saying how in a Rajkummar Rao film, people only watch him in the frame and he could overshadow others. But I must say, he is such a good co-actor who always lets you act your best, because acting also has a lot depending on reacting,” said Kriti.
So, who are the directors and actors she wants to work with?
“I want to work with Sriram Raghavan, Imtiaz Ali, Karan Johar and of course any other director who is offering a great role to play in a film. And when it comes to heroes, whether it is Varun Dhawan, Ranveer Singh or Ranbir Kapoor — everyone is different and working with each of them, I will get a chance to embrace some of their qualities. So I would love to work with all of them,” she said.
–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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