Entertainment
SC refuses to stop ‘Padmavati’ release, BJP leader wants Bhansali punished (Roundup)
New Delhi, Nov 10 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday refused to ban the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Padmavati”, even as a BJP member accused the filmmaker of treason.
The apex court refused a plea seeking to ban the controversial epic drama’s release, saying it could not intervene since the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) was yet to decide about the certification of “Padmavati”.
The movie, set to release on December 1, has been a subject of controversy.
Some Hindu groups and political parties, including the Congress and the BJP, claim that the film distorts history and wrongly portrays Rajput queen Padmavati, a contention Bhansali has rebuffed.
BJP member Arjun Gupta, also a member of the CBFC, urged in a letter addressed to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, that Bhansali must be punished for treason.
“The whole country, not just the Rajput community, is standing against it. He needs to be severely punished by being tried for treason for his attempt to distort history, so that in future any filmmaker is wary of these kind of projects,” Gupta said in the letter.
“Padmavati” has been described by Bhansali as a tribute to the sacrifice, valour and honour of Rani Padmavati, a Rajput queen.
The movie has been a subject of many controversies. Some Hindu groups and political parties, including the Congress and the BJP, claim that the film distorts history and wrongly portrays Rani Padmavati.
Bhansali has repeatedly clarified that there are no scenes in the film to hurt anyone’s sentiments — as opposed to rumours that the movie features a romantic dream sequence between Rani Padmavati and invader Alauddin Khilji, essayed by actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh.
Gupta has appealed to the CBFC to “not certify this film”.
However, CBFC chairperson Prasoon Joshi said an individual point of view does not represent the collective view of the organisation.
“We have respect for Bhansali as an individual and artist,” Joshi told IANS.
Meanwhile, the Rajasthan government is planning to set up a committee to watch “Padmavati” ahead of its release to ensure that facts are not distorted. But it is not clear whether Bhansali will screen the movie for it as by law, only the CBFC has the right to certify or censor a movie.
–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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