Entertainment
Phoolan Devi story set to return as web series after ‘Bandit Queen’
Cannes: A quarter century after Shekhar Kapur’s “Bandit Queen” generated a massive worldwide buzz following its premiere in Directors’ Fortnight in 1994, the epochal film’s producer, Bobby Bedi, has firmed up plans for a 20-episode web series on the life and death of Phoolan Devi, the dreaded Chambal dacoit-turned-Member of Parliament who was assassinated in the heart of Delhi in July 2001.
The web series, titled “Phoolan Devi”, will be directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, with Tannishtha Chatterjee taking on the role of the protagonist. Dhulia was the casting director of “Bandit Queen”.
Like Seema Biswas, who shot to fame with the Cannes hit from 25 years ago, Tannishtha is a National School of Drama (NSD) alumna. But that is where, the producer says, the similarity between the two productions will end.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, Bedi reveals that the web series will go into production within the next few months. It will be spread out over two seasons of 10 episodes each.
“The first season will end with Phoolan’s eight-year prison term, while the second will largely cover the years in the aftermath of her release,” he says.
“Her prison term was extended by four years, but within two years of her release she became a Member of Parliament,” says Bedi. “There is a great deal of Phoolan Devi’s that remains to be covered.”
“‘Bandit Queen’ hinged on how a woman had to suffer huge indignities in rural India on account of being low caste. It focused on crushing caste oppression,” says Bedi.
After ‘Bandit Queen’ now web series story on Phoolan Devi set to return:
“In an urban setting, conversely, she demonstrated the political power of a low-caste woman.”
For a long time, the New Delhi-based producer had toyed with the idea of doing a sequel to “Bandit Queen” in order to take the Phoolan Devi story forward.
“Then the web space opened up and we realised it would be the best option because it allows the storyteller all the time to develop characters and settings,” he says.
Bedi was sure from the very outset that he wanted Tannishtha for the role of Phoolan Devi. The actress, who is currently wrapping up her first directorial venture, “Roam Rome Mein”, came on board instantly once she was convinced that the web series would be completely unlike “Bandit Queen” in tone and substance.
“I saw ‘Bandit Queen’ a few years after its release. This was in Poland, such was the impact of the film,” recalls Tannishtha.
“The new production is neither a sequel nor a remake the format is long enough to allow us to handle a wider canvas of the Phoolan story,” she adds.
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.
Content provided by Adverloom
Cheers and Cheers: Barzilla’s Joyful Ode to Inclusivity and Celebration
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
Lockdowns in China Force Urban Communities to Defy Censorship and Vent Frustration Online
What monkey fled with a bag containing evidence in it: Read full story
IPL 20202 UPDATE: KXIP vs MI IPL Dream11 Team Prediction for Today Match, Update Point Table of all Team.
In a Live debate AAP leader Syed Asad Abbas hurls abuses to BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
‘India’s Most Wanted’ trailer out Arjun Kapoor on hunt of Osama-Bin-Laden
Time to move on: Sonakshi on Shatrughan’s joining Congress
