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National Award is not like a godmother’s wand: Geetanjali Thapa

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By Kishori Sud
New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) Actress Geetanjali Thapa, who won the National Award for her performance in “Liar’s Dice” — India’s official entry for the 87th Oscars — says winning the accolade did not work like a “godmother’s wand” in her career. But she admits it helped to be a project “sifter”.

Gearing up for her new film, Onir’s “Kuch Bheege Alfaaz”, releasing on Friday, Geetanjali says the prestigious award which she won in 2014 helped her get the kind of work she wanted.

“It ( National Award) didn’t suddenly open doors. It’s not like godmother’s wand that everything changed overnight. But, yes people started taking me more seriously then,” Geetanjali told IANS.

“But I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing because after receiving the award, they (filmmakers) started thinking that ‘Isko National Award mil gaya hai toh ye serious roles he karegi (She will be doing serious roles only since she has got a National Award). It does tend to happen.

“However, it also helps me get the kind of work I want to do. It comes to me… like a natural sifting in a way,” added the actress, who was here to promote “Kuch Bheege Alfaaz”, in which she essays Archana Pradhan.

Another struggle for her has been racial discrimination. In fact at a press conference here, a mediaperson asked her if she belongs to another country, given her distinct looks.

Born and raised in Sikkim, Geetanjali said she has faced such bias so much that it has become a “part of life”.

“I haven’t faced it much at work, but I face racial discrimination and I am very open about it. I have been facing it for long now but now I have grown a thick skin I guess,” said the actress, who feels it is “very sad” that people discriminate like this.

Nevertheless, pointing at the brighter side Geetanjali said there are filmmakers who don’t care about her looks and give her good work.

“I have worked with Indian directors from around the country. They still cast me. There are filmmakers who really don’t care how I look and where I am from,” said the actress, who debuted in the film world in 2010 with “Tina Ki Chaabi” and then impressed cinema lovers with her work in “Trapped”, “I.D”, “Monsoon Shootout”, “That Day After Everyday” and “Tigers”.

“I have worked with some of the best… I would say brilliant filmmakers of India. There are people who are willing to work with me. I am reading scripts and getting work. I am also still in a privileged stage… I am getting to choose what work I do. Is not like whatever little I am thrown, I have pick it up.”

Currently in a “happy” space of life, Geetanjali says she is glad that she “gets to do films that I believe in and I have a lot of fun doing”.

(Kishori Sud 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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