Entertainment
Would never give up fashion for films: Vikram Phadnis
By Sugandha Rawal
New Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS) Fashion designer Vikram Phadnis surprised everyone when he announced his decision to enter showbiz as a director and a producer. But he says he will never ditch the fashion world for the film industry.
Phadnis entered the film business with Marathi project “Hrudayantar” last year. The film, featuring Hrithik Roshan in a cameo, revolves around a couple going through a rough patch and how they mend their relationship after a traumatic incident in their family.
“It (directing) wasn’t a deliberate attempt. I have wanted to direct a film for the last 12-13 years. It took me a long time to write the subject. Directing a film is like being a captain of the ship. I’ve been a technician behind the camera where I have been involved in the costume department. But telling a story is the ultimate thing,” Phadnis told IANS on email.
“A good director is a person who can tell a beautiful story. So I wrote the story myself; but it wasn’t a pre-planned transition. Also, the fact is that I would never give up fashion. Fashion has always been my core business. But the process of making a film was so beautiful that I can’t wait to make a second film.
“So I would like to believe that I have an alternate career — but fashion remains the primary one,” he added.
As a director, he has set some guidelines for himself. Just like Tom Ford — whose “Nocturnal Animals” was aired in India on Sony Le PLEX HD — Phadnis wants to do only original scripts.
“I won’t do remakes as I want to develop my own scripts. But I don’t think I can do horror or sex or comedy as a genre. All I can do is a romance or a social drama, the two genres that I know I am comfortable with. Also, when I write my second film, I am not going to decide the language — but if not now, then eventually, I will make a Hindi film. That is something that I know for sure.”
In the design space, Phadnis is known for creations that give a “larger than life” feel. But on the big screen, he opted to tell a very simple story.
Phadnis said he “didn’t want people to come to the theatre to only see a style quotient or something I am good at in terms of clothes as that’s what they have already seen”.
Stars like Naomi Campbell, Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi, Sushmita Sen and Malaika Arora have adored his creations. He feels fashion evolves every day.
“New people, new suggestions, new ideas, new talent, so I don’t think it’s over a period of time .. now it’s the IT thing, whether you go to the gym, the airport, a party or a wedding, there’s a look for it all,” added the designer, who insists that he is an “Indian designer doing Indian clothes” and is someone who doesn’t “keep track of international trends”.
What is he working on currently?
“This year I turn 50; so I am planning a huge show. The preparations for that have already begun. It’s a mix of both, my fashion shows and next film.”
(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at [email protected])
–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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