Entertainment
Padmavati row: Karni Sena calls for Bharat Bandh on December 1
Jaipur, Nov 15 (IANS) Dubbing Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone’s statement regarding the movie ‘Padmavati’ provocative, the Shri Rajput Karni Sena on Wednesday called for a ‘Bharat Bandh’ (shutdown) on December 1 if Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movie was released on that date.
“We will hold rallies across the country, including Gurugram, Patna, Lucknow and Bhopal before the release date,” Lokendra Singh Kalvi, founder-patron of the Shri Rajput Karni Sena, an organisation of the Rajput community, told the media here.
He said that all communities, including Muslims, supported the Sena on the issue.
“We demand a complete ban on the film. Now, we don’t want any pre-screening of the movie. All we want is a ban,” he said.
He claimed that as per the Cinematography Act, the government can withhold the release of a movie for three months even after a go-ahead by the Central Board of Film Certification and it can be extended further.
“We request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter,” Kalvi said.
He flayed Deepika Padukone’s statement that “nothing can stop the movie’s release”, dubbing it “provoking”.
Activists of the Karni Sena had on Tuesday vandalised a theatre in Kota in Rajasthan after reports that it was showing a trailer of ‘Padmavati’.
The protestors pelted stones and broke windowpanes, gates and the ticket counter and also damaged some office furniture between 3.30 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the theatre in Akash Mall, Anand Yadav, Circle Incharge of Gumanpura police station, told IANS on phone.
Kalvi said that Bhansali’s team had assured them in writing a few months ago that they will pre-screen the movie and take Rajput organisations into confidence before the movie’s release.
“But they did not do so,” Kalvi said.
In January, activists of the Shri Rajput Karni Sena had protested, manhandled and misbehaved with the crew of ‘Padmavati’ in Jaipur, claiming that Bhansali was “distorting” historical facts in the movie.
They had also damaged some cameras and other equipment. Bhansali had to stop shooting.
“We will not allow distorted facts to be shown in the film at any cost and will see to it that the film is not released,” Kalvi said.
“They are trying to defame queen Padmavati by distorting historical facts. It is not acceptable,” an activist of the Karni Sena said.
In March, some miscreants broke the mirrors at the Padmini Mahal in Chittorgarh Fort where Alauddin Khilji is alleged to have seen Rani Padmavati or Padmini. The Karni Sena claims the mirror story was invented years later.
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rajasthan unit chief Ashok Parnami told the media that the Vasundhara Raje government will not tolerate any distortion of historical facts.
“Our history is glorious. We will not tolerate any distortion in historical facts,” he said.
Rajasthan State Commission for Women chief Suman Sharma, in a letter urged CBFC chief Prasoon Joshi to watch the movie and ensure there was no assault on the dignity of women through the film.
Sharma told reporters that she appealed to the board that women from the Rajput community too should be included in the pre-screening of the 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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