Entertainment
Image of hero changing in audience’s mind, says Atul Kasbekar
Mumbai, Nov 15 (IANS) Celebrated photographer and film producer Atul Kasbekar geared up for the release of his home production “Tumhari Sulu” which features Vidya Balan as the protagonist — a middle-aged housewife — saying the image of a hero has changed in modern Indian cinema.
After the success of his maiden home production “Neerja”, his second film as a producer also shows the story of a woman, where the age representation of the protagonist is different.
Asked what made him take the creative leap, Kasbekar told IANS: “The image of a hero is changing in audience’s mind. Whether it is in ‘Dangal’ where Aamir (Khan) portrays the journey of an over-weight, grey-haired old man, or Sonam (Kapoor) in ‘Neerja’ — the definition of a hero is not about beating up people to prove heroism that used to happen in earlier cinema.
“Now, winning a larger-than-life situation in reality by someone in a realistic manner is praised as heroism. So in our film ‘Tumhari Sulu’, Sulu is an ordinary woman with the enthusiasm of seeking far more from life, and how she handles the situation with honesty, is making her a hero.”
Kasbekar said “Tumhari Sulu”, releasing on Friday, offers an old world charm in the love story of a husband and wife.
“The idea behind backing a script like ‘Tumhari Sulu’ is that its story is so relatable and fresh, and at the same time, the central character of the story is a hero sitting next to you that you do not notice often. As a production company, we also want to explore the genre that has not been explored well.
“This film is slice-of-life and has an old world charm that we used to get in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film. For the longest time, that has not happened in Bollywood. So when Vidya came to us along with Suresh Triveni and we heard the narration, we happily took up the project,” he added.
Having started his career in 1991, Kasbekar is known for the glamorous photo shoot of the Kingfisher calendar from its inception in 2003. As part of it, he photographed some of the top models and Bollywood heroines.
Asked if he tends to give suggestions for better visuals in his film productions since he has a strong visual sense, Kasbekar said: “Well, as a producer I told my director to be open to everyone’s suggestion. But at the end of the day, the film is his vision, so he is the best judge to imply it.
“On our set, even a tea boy’s suggestion can be taken and the studio head’s suggestion is not forced on the director. Our aim is to create a platform to collaborate with creative people to make a film. The role of a producer is to facilitate creative idea, to give the director wings to fly. Otherwise, the change in cinema will not come.”
“Another important thing is, after earning goodwill from the industry, with my 25 years of career as a still photographer, people have respect for me. So, instead of interfering, I suggest things if and when needed. That’s when you get the respect, and suggestions are valued.”
–IANS
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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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