Entertainment
Remove references to Punjab,CBFC tells ‘Udta Punjab’ makers
Mumbai/Chandigarh:The makers of Bollywood film “Udta Punjab” are said to have been asked by the Revising Committee of the censor board to remove all references to Punjab — a decision perhaps taken under pressure from the ruling dispensation in the state which is dealing with a festering problem of drugs.
“Udta Punjab”, a Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh starrer movie, delves into how the youth there have succumbed to drugs.
The release of the movie in a year when the state is less than nine months from assembly elections is likely to be seen as politically disastrous for the state’s ruling party, the Shrimoni Akali Dal which is a partner with the ruling-National Democratic Alliance at the centre.
Earlier, there was buzz that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had refused a release certificate for the Abhishek Chaubey directed movie, but later the makers had clarified that no ban was imposed on it. On Monday, reports emerged that the Revising Committee of the CBFC has asked the makers to make 89 cuts.
A source in the know of developments told IANS that the board’s primary demand is to remove all the references to Punjab, but the number of cuts is not clear as they are still awaiting an “official letter”.
“We haven’t received a letter yet. We don’t know how many cuts, but we can tell you that their basic demand is that any reference of Punjab should be deleted from the movie… Which then means a lot of cuts,” the source told IANS.
The source added: “They want the film to be set in a fictitious space and not Punjab. Makers are not going to adhere to it. They will protest. If that means going to a higher tribunal, we will go. Otherwise, we will go to the court.”
It is believed the CBFC’s decision is politically motivated, but the Akali Dal never officially sought a ban on “Udta Punjab”. Senior leaders in the party told IANS in Chandigarh that the party leadership was feeling uncomfortable with the way the drug abuse problem of Punjab was being projected and could harm the political interests of the Akalis in assembly polls in February next year.
Studies done by various agencies and organisations in recent years have indicated that substance abuse, including drugs, is rampant across Punjab, especially in rural areas. The extent of the substance abuse is put by some surveys at over 70 per cent out of Punjab’s 2.8 crore population.
Co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Vikas Bahl as part of their Phantom Films banner, along with Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Aman Gill and Sameer Nair, “Udta Punjab” is slated to release on June 17.
For now, the makers are not planning to shift the release date. “We are planning to host a screening for the cast and crew here on Monday,” the source said.
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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