Entertainment
‘Mastani’ Deepika Padukone’s royal fashion affair
Gurgaon: A leaf out of yet-to-release historical saga “Bajirao Mastani” found its way on the runway of Blenders Pride Fashion Tour 2015 here when designer Anju Modi painted a picture of opulence of the era through her collection.
Bollywood’s ‘Mastani’ Deepika Padukone turned back the clock by taking on the warrior princess avatar to present a glimpse of her feminine side.
The actress walked on the ramp to the tunes of the film’s newly launched song “Deewani Mastani” as the fashion tour kicked off here on Saturday with glitz and glamour. It will travel to other cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
Blenders Pride Fashion Tour 2015 collaborated with Eros International and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Bajirao Mastani” to present a fusion of rich legacy. And the song “Deewani Mastani” was also launched at the event with a preview of the track.
Larger than life, as grand it can get are the first few thoughts that stream into our minds with the visuals of the song, in which Deepika is seen declaring her love for Bajirao (played by Ranveer Singh) by dancing passionately.
Back to the fashion show, a ray of light seeping from “jharokhas” (projecting window) on the stage, which gave an impression of sunrise, set the pace for the show with live music and vocals entwined with rustic beats by MIDIval Punditz and Kutle Khan.
It was a blast from the past with models laying fashion statement from the era through elaborate head ornaments, dupatta on head, nose rings or hair bun adorned by garlands.
Soft colours with subtleness ruled the line with splashes of hues of white, yellow, pink, blue, red and gold. With a shimmer of mirror work, the range comprised layered ethnic attires like three piece lehenga choli, anarkalis, garara and flowy jacket.
The thing that caught attention was the intricate detailing on dupatta with floral works, embroidery and chikankari, giving an edgy historic twist to the range. The fabric ranges from velvet, silk, georgette with flowy quality that adds volume to the attire.
Modi’s collection captured the atmosphere with its sheer brilliance as models came forth on the ramp, with ensembles that highlight influences of the traditional Marathi outfits and authentic Persian costumes. Each piece was a page from the book of history, illustrating the era.
Deepika looked every bit royal as she walked on the stage amidst loud cheers in a layered ensemble in shades of pink, red and yellow comprising of red lehenga adorned with floral prints and layered dupatta.
Deepika said: “This (Blenders Pride fashion Tour) is sort of where I started my career. We did shows in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. So, I’m excited and nervous.”
The actress is creating waves with her look as Mastani in Bhansali’s magnum opus “Bajirao Mastani”, which narrates the story of Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I, and his second wife Mastani. Ranveer and Deepika portray the title protagonists, while Priyanka Chopra plays Bajirao’s first wife.
Deepika asserts that the whole team should be credited with and applauded for the character’s look, and not just the actor.
“I have always believed that styling is very important in making a character look convincing. It is a team effort — director’s vision, team’s hard work to bring it alive,” Deepika said.
Modi asserts that the “costumes imbibe different characteristics of the characters”.
“I have recreated the whole era by thinking about the costumes. It was a challenge as there was very limited reference material,” Modi said.
There were some hiccups like the venue’s audience surpassing its seating capacity as half of the attendees were seen standing during the entire duration of the show or delay in starting the show. One of the audience members, who had come for the show that started three hours late, was heard exclaiming “show is tomorrow and we have come a day before”.
One of the models also stumbled while walking the ramp, on another occasion Deepika, who carved a place for herself in the world of modelling before taking over Bollywood, also lost her balance while twirling in her heavy attire.
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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