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Sexism, patriarchy very much exists in Indian film industry: Filmmaker Mira Nair (IANS Interview)

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By Milinda Ghosh Roy
Kolkata, Jan 25 (IANS) Mira Nair, who successfully took societal films like “Salam Bombay” and “Monsoon Wedding” to international audiences, feels the Indian film industry is “very much sexist” in its treatment of women.

In a freewheeling interview with IANS, starting from her filmmaking style to racism and sexism in the industry, the Indian-American director delved into issues like censorship in Indian cinema and the tough journey for the country’s women to make a mark in an arena which continues to be largely sexist in its approach towards them.

“There are several more women directors and technicians in the Indian film industry than there are in the West. But, undoubtedly, it is still a very sexist industry in the way men refer to women or the way women are used in films here. I fear patriarchy is very much existent in the industry.

“I was very thrilled to know that a film such as ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’ has been written and directed by a woman with such panache and grace. But I am sure it is not an easy task to make your way through in an essentially male dominated industry,” she said, mentioning she had called “Bareilly…” director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and met her.

Nair, who faced the heat from the censor board for her film “Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love” that was banned in India for its erotic content, deplored the raging protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Padmaavat” in some parts of the country and said censorship in Indian cinema has reached a “draconian level”.

“I think the random instances of anybody making an objection to your film are getting more and more (hoarse) in India. It is a pretty terrible situation. Also, a draconian and sort of arbitrary level of censorship is going on. It is unfortunate.”

“Although I believe negotiation can sometimes enhance creativity, it isn’t exactly the recipe to nourish in a great country like ours, where any person can slap you up and burn you down. I deplore it. I really feel for Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his work,” said the director of the much acclaimed “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” and “Mississippi Masala”.

Nair, now busy with the stage version of her Golden Lion-winning film “Monsoon Wedding” in Broadway, also revealed her plans about her next project.

“I’m just about to start a real dream project, an eight-hour film. I am going to start it in the middle of the year and I am very excited because I have been planning it for many years. The whole of it will be shot in India and, of course, with Indian actors,” she smiled.

The filmmaker, who once turned down an offer to direct “Harry Potter 4” to pursue “Namesake”, based on Jhumpa lahiri’s novel, said she doesn’t regret her decision as she prefers the “privilege of inspiration” more than the prospect of a blockbuster film.

“The decision was more from the heart. I believe in the privilege of inspiration and I was deeply inspired by the ‘Namesake’ at that point in my life as I too had lost a parent. I wanted to tell a story that was imbued with such a sense of melancholy and the sense of crossing bridges in India and the United States; those are the bridges I have known and crossed myself. I don’t regret it for a minute,” she said.

Talking about her filmmaking style, Nair, whose last movie, “Queen of Katwe”, features Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, expressed her fondness for photography and said she instinctually pairs legendary actors with non-actors in her films.

“I love actors and cast kind of instinctually and pair up legendary actors with non-actors. My films come very much from the street, very much from observing the reality and humanity. Although I think I am a strong visualist, I like to imbue that reality with a kind of heightened realism.

“I feel every aspect of a film has to serve a larger intention or deeper intention. So it won’t work to have a beautiful looking thing. All of it has to come to a coherence to work out. That is the beauty of the all-encompassing nature of cinema,” Nair added.

(Milinda Ghosh Roy can be contacted at [email protected])

–IANS
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Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones

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CasinoDays India

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.

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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.

 

CasinoDays India

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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