Tag Archives: quiz

GQF 2- Kumbh the MELA Quiz

These are the questions and answers from the MELA quiz I conducted at the Guwahati Quiz Festival 2 in January. I was only one of the two QMs so basically I did half a quiz. I am putting the prelims questions first. 20 questions prelims and I made 10 of them. I will put up the mains questions later.

Q1. This 1948 film is one of the early hits by Dilip Kumar. A typical story of star-crossed lovers, it also starred Nargis and Noor Jehan. Just name it.
(Look at the background for clues)

Q1

Q2.Cary Grant at Berlinale circa 1959… ID the Lady with him.
Q2

Q3.Sandokan is an Italian series of fictional pirate adventure novels set in the late 19th century South East Asia. The most popular adaptation of Sandokan was a Italian TV miniseries where a non-European actor played the title role. Who?
Q3

Q4. Identify this cocktail (While remembering the fact that it is a MELA Quiz).
1 to 1 1/2 oz (30 to 45 mL) Vodka
1/2 to 1 1/2 oz (15 to 45 mL) Kahlua (Coffee Liqueur)
Cream, Half & Half, or Milk (to fill or top off the glass)

Q4

Q5. There are two popular Hong Kong actors who have the exact same name (XY). In order to avoid confusion, one is called the Big X while the other one is called the Little X, indicating their actual physical stature. Little X has had a more critically acclaimed career. He was recently in news in India too but strangely spotlight was not on him. Name him.

Q6. Watch this Video carefully. It is from a biopic of a major literary figure who is trying to do something here. Just tell me who he is or what happens after this.

Q7. XY is a 1991 Bollywood film. It was an average grosser starring an actor who went on to become a superstar.
On the other hand YX is a 1995 film. A good example of Bollywood’s nepotism, it starred the producer/director’s brother. Although a surprise hit, the actor never achieved any success again.
Give the names of the films.

Q8. Please watch this mildly homoerotic clip. A certain work of a legendary Indian author is being referenced here. Identify.
(Clue: Do not bother about the 7 stages of Love… that’s NOT what I am looking for)

Q9. Connect (Explanation will do but must be specific). 3rd one is a Tam film called Yaamirukka Bayamei
Q9

Q10. Blue Lobster is a surrealist film in which a foreign intelligence agent called El Gringo, who investigates the presence of radioactivity in some lobsters caught in a fishing village in the Caribbean. As he takes a break at his hotel, a cat steals the lobster.
Colombian journalist and author Alvaro Cepeda Samudio made this experimental film in collaboration with his friend who is known to us all for other reasons. Name this friend.
Q10

_______________________________________________________________________________

Answers:

A1. The mandatory meta question
A1

A2. Jnanada Kakati at Berlin for Puberun (1959)

A3. Kabir Bedi
A3

A4. White Russian (Recipe credit)
A4

A5. Tony Leung…
Tony Leung Chiu Wai is Little one. He recently visited India for Goa film fest and was subjected to the now viral DD interview with the following lady.

A5

A6. Yukio Mishima trying to incite a coup.
The effort fails and he commits Harakiri afterwards.
(Film: Mishima- A Life in Four Chapters by Paul Schrader)

A7.
A7

A8. Ismat Chughtai’s Lihaaf
A9

A9. Remakes of Kim Ji Woon’s Films

A10. Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Th Great Game

The Great Game-I

I planned to do this set of geopolitics quiz more than 2 years ago. But it went on to become a shining example of procrastination that has always plagued my life. Anyways, finally I have got it going.

I will make it a two part quiz. This part I.

Rules are simple. Mail your answers to thetravellingslacker@gmail.com

Deadline: 20th Nov. 11.30 pm.

I am in no position to give away any real prizes apart from my blessing and goodwill which are of no real use as per past experience.

The Great Games: Set I

1. This a political cartoon from 1904 that depicts a certain important event. Identify the persons or personifications here. ID at least two for full marks. (5+5)

Q1

2. In canto 20 of Purgatorio, Dante hears talk of “the wretchedness of avaricious Midas, resulting from his ravenous request, the consequence that always makes men laugh,” clarifying a few lines later: and finally, what we cry here is: “X, tell us, because you know: “How does gold taste?” Now tell me who is X and explain why it is asked. Also name the very well-known cavalry tactic that led to X’s morbid fate. (5+5)

3. These are the ruins of a medieval city. It had a meteoric rise and for a short duration became the centre of Eurasian politics. But the next generations of the royalty abandoned it soon and the city eventually got deserted by the 16th century. Its name is somewhat similar to a mountain range but you must not confuse both. (10)

Q3

4. The official name of this city means spring of the Arabs but the local inhabitants are not very fond of it as they belong to a different ethnicity. However the city was founded only in the early 20th century and the popular name seemed to have derived from the German companies working there. ID this brave city much in news nowadays. (10)

5. This painting depicts an important event during a major 19th century war. A major literary figure was also present there, fighting for the losing side. But the experience gave him material for his future masterpieces. ID the event and name the author. (10)

Q5

6. This is a caricature drawn at the height of Scramble for Africa. Such was his clout that he used have a country named after him although it is no longer the case. ID. (10)

Q6

7. According to some accounts, when he was finally killed in a battle, his enemies dipped his severed head in blood in order to mock his bloodlust. But some other people had a much better opinion about him. For example, the Jews respect him as he rehabilitated them after they were exiled by the Babylonians. Who? (10)

8. For a long time, these islands used to be the only source for two commodities and this attracted the attention of several colonial forces. Both the commodities in question were derived from the same tree. ID the island and name the commodities. (10)

Q8

9. An easy google friendly one… The term was first used by Joseph Goebbels, in a manifesto he published in the German newspaper Das Reich in February 1945, but was popularized by Winston Churchill’s “Sinews of Peace” speech of March 5, 1946. What term? (10)

10. Something has been blanked out in this panel that displays excellent attention to detail by Herge. Basically the item in the sack is considered extremely valuable in that particular region and it had led to several wars between regional as well as global powers in an effort to control the supply of that item. ID this item. (10)

Q10

Result and answers update:


Answers

1. A German cartoon on the Entente Cordiale, with John Bull (symbolizing Eng) walking off with Marianne (Symbolizing France), turning their back on the Kaiser.

2. X – Marcus Crassus. The cavalry tactic being Parthian shot. The line meant the story surrounding his death that the Parthians poured molten gold in his mouth to symbolize his greed for gold.

3. Karakorum, the Mongol bastion not to be confused with Karakoram mountains.

4. Kobani or Kobane which is under siege by ISIS right now but fighting well.

5. Leo Tolstoy and Siege of Sevastopol

6. Cecil Rhodes, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)

7. Cyrus the Great of Persia

8. Banda Islands. Nutmeg and Mace.

9. Iron Curtain

10. Guano, valuable bird droppings referenced in Prisoners of the Sun

Responses


It was a box office failure in terms of participation. There were some 0 scores that I will not mention. Here are the ones with positive scores…

Amrit Pritom Chetia 10
Sukanya Lenhardt 9
Kapinjal Sharma 7
Bhaskar Chakraborty 3

Cinephilia Cycle 3: Quiz 1- Dafa 302

 

302

After more than a year, I am trying to resurrect these quizzes. This cycle will contain 4/5 quizzes based on my convenience. The cumulative winner gets a real prize at the end of this circle.

Today’s QM is also Vikas Tripathi with little additions by me.

Today’s topic is obscure acts of crime.

Rules:

Put your answers as comments.

They are being moderated and will be published only after the deadline.

You can make multiple attempts and in case of conflicts your last answer will be taken as final.

Every question is worth 10 points irrespective of difficulty level (for ease of calculation).

Answers will be declared on 30th Oct Midnight.

___________________________________________________________________________________
1. Easy one to start with… Identify Him. He shares his name with a popular pop culture figure.
one

2. Two perfectly happy couples. But one person is common in both pics. Gimme the “alleged” story.
two

3. This happened in 1997 at A, where members of B had killed 50+ people allegedly as revenge for a incident in 1992 where members of a certain community were killed by C. Killing started with members of B killing boatmen, who had helped them to cross over to A, followed indiscriminate firing. Identify A, B, C.

4. X was one of the first person to be convicted in a case relating to bribery in independent India. He took a certain amount from a comapny and issued fake documents to help them. He died in prision while serving the sentence.
Hint: X’s son is a better known personality.

5. X is a millionaire and self confessed Marxist. He has worked for a nationalized, foreign exchange speculation and derivatives. He also wrote for a famous newspaper in Thailand and his other interests included mining and companies in lot many countries. Currently under trial in Thailand over charges of fraud, he was supporter of far left parties India and Nepal in his good days. Identify X

6. This 19th Century incident has inspired paintings and plays. Angered by the love affair between priest of ________ temple and his wife, the man decapitated the woman. The event caught public imagination and inspired artworks such as the following. Just FITB.
6

7. X transformed Y so much in India that there were slogans of Indira Hatao, X ko PM banao. It is said Y began at a time when money was bet on opening and closing rates of cotton in New York. Identify X and Y.

8. X was raped by her father in law (FIL) and later, the village kangaroo court declared that X should treat her FIL as husband. This was later supported by a religious seminary as well causing outrage all over the country forcing police to arrest X’s FIL. Identify X.

9. X is a failed actor and producer who acted in some 90s bollywood movie did a remake of one of his father’s(F) better knows films. F, mother(M) and sister(S) died 2 years before X made his debut in boolywood when, under influence of alchohol X’s father shot M, S and himself. Identify X

10. He died in a bomb blast when he went went for a inauguration and at that time, PM of India blamed it on foreign elements. Mitrokhin Archives claim he was on payroll of KGB. His murder case is still unsolved after 30+ years even after session court is hearing it on a day by day basis.
10

___________________________________

Update:
Answers and Scores

1. Dara Singh, known for Graham Steins murder

2. Amita Singh, a formder Badminton Champion now married to politician Sanjay Singh, But she was once married to badminton star Syed Modi who was shot dead in 1988 in Lucknow… and as you can see, there are speculations…

3. A = Laxmanpur-Bathe, B = Ranvir Sena, C = Maoists

4. Rao Shiv Bahadur Singh

5. Rakesh Saxena

6. Tarakeswar Shiva

7. X = Ratan Khatri, Y = Matka

8. Imrana case

9. Kamal Sadanah

10. Lalit Narayan Mishra

Arnav Sinha 10
Himanshu Upreti 10
Shyamal 9
Kapinjal Chowdhury 9
Darshan Godhia 8
Kaustav Chakravorty 1

Keep playing… the next quiz in the cycle will come after a couple of weeks as I will be travelling for a week…

Dus Gunaah

Dus Gunaah: The Indian Crime and Pop Culture Quiz

Hi,

This is a quiz on Indian criminals, murderers, serial killers, bandits and scandals with certain pop cultural associations. There are 10 questions. Follow the usual rules.

Post your answers as comments. They will be visible only after approval.

Questions:


1. Sitter to start with: His urban robberies were stuff of legends. Once he borrowed the plot from a James Hadley Chase novel which he had read in prison. He decided to loot money from the government milk scheme in a bid to gain recognition from the leaders of the underworld. His gang stole a car and conducted the robbery. The stolen vehicle abandoned exactly as described in the Chase novel. The day he was bumped off by the police, he was planning to visit his girlfriend who was a widow with two children. He is now forgotten but nevertheless he inspired a film with a larger than life (Anti)hero. ID the guy and the film. 2 Points.

2. They were four badass friends. They studied together, hanged around together and yes, killed together. They were known to have committed at least 10 murders in a period of 14 months in the late 70’s. They terrorized the entire city with their brutality. They used the same technique for each and every killing and they did it with an intention to rob the valuables. Two of the most famous assaults of them were on two families X and Y and that is why these incidents were known as XY murders. In both cases they eliminated the whole families by strangulating them with ropes. Also in both cases the last person was stripped naked and asked to show the valuables in the household before being killed. They were finally caught and hanged after a long legal process that lasted almost six years. It is believed to have inspired a film which itself ran into serious problems. ID the XY and the film. 2 Points.

3. He killed many. In fact he did not exactly remember how many he’d killed. His targets were mostly the people from lower strata of the society. He was mentally unstable, he lived in the jungle near the city and roamed around at night to kill. Not much is known about his early life. He was not hanged due to his mental condition. A budding filmmaker made a documentary on him which impressed a producer and thus got his big break. He went on to make more critically acclaimed films. ID the serial killer and the director. 2 Points.

4. He was a fearsome Chambal dacoit. He vowed to cut off noses of people and sacrifice them to Maa Kali. He in fact cut off the noses of many people. But it is said that the day he died in an encounter, his own nose was chopped off by a bullet. His name is the same as a fabled silver screen bandit although the depiction in the film was mostly fictional. ID. 2 Points.

5. Connect: 2 Points.

6. He is Jain but is a devotee of Maa Kali. More confusing is his clientele that is believed to be ranging from Elizabeth Taylor to Adnan Khasoggi at one point of time. His good times were over by 1996 but at his peak, he walked the corridors of power and hobnobbed with the most powerful people of the country. ID. 1 Point.

7. Connect: (Events from early part of the last decade) 2 Points.

8. Easy one: ID the guy with Dilip Kumar 1 Point.

9. She was an attractive girl who sang and danced at village gatherings. She was abducted by a gang of Dacoits. She fell in love with the gang leader and stayed with the gang. She learned how to hold the gun and how to kill. But her lover was bumped off as a result of an internal conspiracy. The victor could now have her. But she was not one to relent. She hatched a counter plot and eliminated the villain and got another guy to jointly lead the gang. During an encounter with police she lost one hand but that did not stop her. A B-Grade film was made in 1970s based on her life. 2 Points.

10. This final question is does not have a pop culture connect. Just couldn’t resist it!
He was born in a Brahmin family and was known by his somewhat effeminate nickname. Legend has it that he was even good with astrology. He advised his gang leader against going towards a certain direction. But he did and paid the price in an encounter. He became the leader himself after this incident. He was brutal and he his hands trembled if he din’t get to kill for a long period of time. While his guru was called “Raja” by people, he was called “Maharaj” during his heydays. Nevertheless he could not see his own future and was killed in an encounter in 1959. Seen here is a temple dedicated to him in his native palace. ID. 2 Points.

______________________________________________________

UPDATE:

So, here are the answers of the quiz.

1. Manya Surve, Agneepath
2. Joshi Abhayankar Murders, somewhat inspired Paanch which ran into censorship troubles
3. Raman Raghav, Sriram Raghavan
4. Gabbar Singh
5. The Tandoor Murder case or Naina Sahni case… the idea was inspired by Surendra Mohan Pathak’s Novel Mawali… Culprit Sushil Sharma was a member of Youth Congress
6. Chandraswami, who else?
7. The home Trade Scam… they launched a huge advertising campaign… three different ads with these three stars but without any apprent product or service…
8. Haji Mastan
9. Putli Bai, she was abducted by Sultan Singh who was killed by Babu Lohari. She got Babu Lohari killed and started to live with Pahada who was killed in an encounter. Then she moved on with Kalla (Kalyan Singh). After her death Kalla continued and was later killed in another encounter. (Some info I remember from the book Abhishapta Chambal by Tarun Kumar Bhaduri, a book that gave me nightmares when I was in 6th std). Jaymala played the role in the film.
10. Roop Narain Sharma (Roopa Maharaj)… disciple of Raja Maan Singh

Had a good response with 15 unique entries this time.

Navadeep Baruah 4
Nayanjyoti Medhi 11
Sandipan Goswami 4
Amrit Pritom Chetiya 15
Rithwik K 9
Kapinjal Sharma 7
Arunav Chowdhury 1
Supratim Sengupta 3
Chiranjit Gam 3
Harsha VS 13
Kapinjal Chowdhury 10
Daktar Vinay 16
MIT Chowdhury 6
Arindam Phukan 14
Arpit Mehta 9

So,
Daktar Vinay gets to have Koffe with Kala Shetty
Amrit Pritom Chetiya is the lucky one who gets Margarita with Monica Bedi
Arindam Phukan can sip Black Russian with Babloo Srivastav…

Hope these meetings turn out to be a good learning experience for you.

Thanks for playing.

8

Perfumed Garden: The Erotic Film Quiz

After a long period of procrastination, finally I have come up with the erotic and exploitation cinema quiz.
There are 10 questions with varied marks according to the number of variables and level of difficulty.

Rules:


Submit the answers as comments. They will be visible after approval only.
Deadline 10pm Sunday.

Prizes:


1st
The original manuscript of the Kamasutra autographed by Sage Vatsayana.

2nd
A return trip to Salo.

3rd
A lifesize replica of Rasputin’s you know what.

QUESTIONS

1. A timeless classic reimagined and retold by a maestro whose oeuvre was as controversial as his violent death… ID the film (Yes the arrowhead has also been censored for some reasons) 2 points

2. This classical masterpeice X is based on a concept A, that can be considered an andocentric and premarital version of B, a sexual subculture that gained prominence in a decade that is also serendipitously given an epithet that uses the same word B. However, the act of B has always existed in different forms and the two gentelemen C and D were the first recorded ones to have done the same.
X was one of the three collaborations between composer Y and poet Z.
ID A,B,C,X,Y,Z… 6 points

More importantly, why did I ask this question in this context?… 2 points

3. A fairy tale by Bhasa, a collection of stories told through a parrot, an epic poem about a marauding emperor lasting after someone else’s wife… How do you connect them to a person whose pathbreaking 70s film received a popculture reminder through a garish remake 6 years ago? 2 points

4. Easy pickings: X was discovered while working as a receptionist in a film production company. She went on to become the face of a genre Y that gained popularity in the 70s. While the genre waned in the subsequent decades, in the 90s a tribute was paid to the genre by a master known for paying tributes through a film Z which again starred X in the lead role. 3 points

5. Another sitter: X or “eroduction” is a cinematic genre. Due to the nature of local censorship laws, the display of genitals, and even pubic hair, were long-held taboos in the genre. This restriction forced them to develop sometimes elaborate means of avoiding showing the “working parts”. In order to work around this censorship, they positioned props like lamps, candles, bottles, etc. at strategic locations to block the banned body parts. When this was not done, the most common alternative techniques are digital scrambling, covering the prohibited area with a black box or a fuzzy white spot, known as “fogging”. Identify this genre. 2 points

6. Who playing whom? 2 Points

7. She met a guy for a short fling but soon got obsessed. They met again and the relationship moved towards the inevitable necrophiliac finale. This story was told in a 1975 film which mainly catered to the home audience. But a more explicit 1976 film was released by an acclaimed director which overshadowed the previous one. Identify the lady, and the films. 3 points.

8. Identify this highly acclaimed film. This highly erotic but eventually tragic film named after a food item is considered to be the most successful film ever in its homeland and according to box office records, 27% of the entire population of that nation saw the film when it was released. 2 points

9. She grew up under a sternly religious and abusive mother and much of her work is believed to be an act of rebellion against her early oppression. She got sucked into the world of pornography by the time she was 17 and discovered her “forte” by she was 25. One of her most popular work is named after a very wel known piece of literarature. While she gained underground superstardom in the 70s very soon but it also started declining after a while and which led to her own downfall and sad end. ID. (Incidentally, her name is also the name of the topmost film awards in a country) 2 points

10. Identify this lady. There is an Oscar nominated Italian film that apparently has a character based on her. But that is not the reason she’s here ;). 2 points

Happy Quizzing
________________________________________

UPDATE: ANSWERS AND RESULTS

Thanks a lot for you participation. I am delighted at seeing some new participants in this one. & I know some more people genuinely tried. Nevertheless, here are the answers.

1. Il Fiore Delle Mille e Una Notte by Pier Pasolini based on Arabian Nights. Pasolini was lated run over by a car multiple times and the reasons for teh same are still unsure.

2. A-Fiancee Swap, B-Swinging (& serendipitous that decade is also called Swinging 60s), C-John Dee, D-Edward Kelly… Dee & Kelly had a swinging agreement… Y-Mozart, Z- Lorenzo da Ponte… X- Cosi Fan Tutte

Cosi Fan Tutte is of course the 1992 Tinto Brass film & that is why it is here…

Sorry for obscure framing… couldn’t resist it!

3. Mani Kaul’s film The Cloud Door draws from the classics like the Sanskrit play Avimaraka, written by Bh?sa around 5th-7th century, the Sufi epic love poem Padmavat by Mohammed Jayasi in the 13th century and the erotic Indian tales Suksapiti… Aarti Agarwal’s bold topless act in this film was arguably instrumental for the decline of her mainstream career! Kaul’s film Duvidha was remade as Paheli in 2005….

4. X – Pam Grier , Y – Blaxploitation , Z – Jackie Brown by Tarantino

5. Pink Films… Japanese genre of softcore films with agonizing censorship…

6. Paloma Picasso playing Elizabeth Bathory in Immoral Tales.

7. Sada Abe, the epitome of morbid obsession with sex… the lady who committed necrophilia and chopped off the schlong of her beloved… the films are A woman called Sada Abe (1975) and In the realm of senses (1976)

8. Turkish Delight/ Turk’s Fruit.. the 1973 Dutch film by Paul Verhoeven who later made films like Starship Troopers and more recently Black Book…

9.Bodil Joensen, The queen of bestiality… National film awards of Denmark is called Bodil Awards although it is named after two other actresses…

10. Ilse Koch… inspiration behind the character Ilsa in those sexploitation films… as well as Winslet’s character in The Reader…

& Now the scores… (Yes it’s a tie!!!)

Brishbhanu Baruah 18
El Biswajit 18
Nayanjyoti Medhi 17
Manoranjan Malakar 15
Sukanya Lenhardt 13
Arindam Phukan 13
Suman Doogar 12
Mit Chowdhury 12
Mehdi Jahan 10
Biswajit Sarma 5
Jahanpanah 5
Aamil Syed Nayeem 3

The promised prizes will be delivered within 7 days via Kiki’s Delivery Service.
Thanks for Playing…

DEVD-Contempt-Moravia

Cinephilia Quiz Cycle 2: Quiz 2

Hi all,

Due to sheer lethargy I am putting up an A-Z quiz rather than usual 10 questions.
So, basically you can earn 26 points in this quiz.
Please note that I have tried to traverse different geographies. It starts in the Latin Americas, moves to the orient, then to India and finally to Europe. Read carefully and it should be very easy.

Put your answers as comments. They are being moderated and will be shown after deadline.
Deadline: Sunday 10pm.

A is a musician per excellence who has won many awards for his work in the recent decade. He hails from the South American country B and one if his most distinguishable works is a film called C which contained multiple interconnected stories and a biopic called D based on the life of E, one of the most influential personalities of the 20th century. Incidentally a more comprehensive biopic on E was made by F. The film on E was so long that it was divided and released in two parts. The first part was also known as G which basically means the people from the country B. Now, director H is from another country but he made a film I which is set in B and tells the story of two people from H’s native place. Probably H’s biggest success is the film J which was made just after I. The film J was premiered at Cannes and is considered a masterpiece. It is also noteworthy for its eclectic soundtrack that includes compositions of artists as diverse as Nat King Cole and Gesang Martohartono. It uses a recurring theme music which was originally composed for a Japanese film called K and it was composed by L. Now, L has recently composed for a yet to be released film called M which is based on Thomas Hardy’s Tess but is set in India. M stars N in the leading role who achieved fame while working in a film by director O who was also rumoured to be producing a film called P. Now, P was supposed be directed by Q, and rumoured to star R among others although as of now the production is in a limbo. Now, R recently acted in a home production called S which interestingly used A’s service for the soundtrack. Coming back to M, it also has T as another composer. T is otherwise known for working closely with Q and he achieved nationwide fame with his work in Q’s film U. The film U, in a scene, pays tribute to the author V’s book W, which was adapted to a film of the same name in the 1960s by a well-known new wave director X and starred Y, one of the most endearing sex symbols of her times and also has Z, a veteran director who played himself in that film.

____________________________________

So here are the answers and scores….

A) Gustavo Santaolalla
B) Argentina
C) Babel
D) The Motorcycle Diaries
E) Che Guevara
F) Steven Soderbergh
G) The Argentine
H) Wong-Kar_Wai
I) Happy Together
J) In The Mood For Love
K) Yumeji
L) Shigeru Umebayashi
M) Trishna
N) Frieda Pinto
O) Danny Boyle
P) Bombay Velvet
Q) Anurag Kashyap
R) Aamir Khan
S) Dhobi Ghaat
T) Amit Trivedi
U) Dev. D
V) Alberto Moravia
DEVD-Contempt-Moravia
W) Contempt
X) Jean-Luc Godard
Y) Brigitte Bardot
Z) Fritz Lang

Scores:
Amrit Pritom Chetia 26
Anurag Talukdar 19
Bhaskar Chakraborty 26
Hengul Dutta 25
EL Biswajit 21
Vikas Sahu 26
Jayanta Kumar Nath 26
Mayur Borah 26
Mit Choudhury (Incomplete Attempt via Mail) 15

2

The Satyajit Ray Quiz:

I conducted this Satyajit Ray Quiz for the group QuizCraft.

I am reproducing the questions and answers here.

Questions: Satyajit Ray Quiz

1. Easy one to start with: It started the India operations in the late 1920s. Later on it was taken over and became BOMAS which went on to become O&M after some more takeovers. Which organization?

2. Symbolic but exhaustive connect…

3. This is supposed to be Ray’s first screenplay. But he could never make the film during those times and went on to make Pather Pachali. But many decades later he revived and completed the film. He was apparently relieved that he did not make it earlier because he believed his original script was amateurish and too much influenced by western films. Which one?

4. What should come in place of the question mark and how does it connect to the theme?

5. Easy one connect

6. Connect again

7. Ray apparently did not like certain aspects of this filmmaker or his films and wrote in a newspaper criticizing one of his films. This led to a public war of words between both the filmmakers through letters in the newspaper. Who is the other filmmaker involved here?

8. Sitter: As a child prodigy he completed his graduation when he was 16 and then he went on to become a professor at 20. He lives in a town which literally means the land of hills. Who?

9. He was of Kashmiri Pandit ancestry and was born in modern day Pakistan. He wanted to be a painter and after meeting a nephew of Tagore he moved to Calcutta where he started working for commercial Bengali films until he got a chance to meet Eugene Lourie and assist him in a project. He would later work for people as diverse as Muzaffar Ali, Benegal and Basu Chatterjee but he remains known for his long and fruitful association with Ray. Who?

10. Connect

_____________________________________

Answers: Satyajit Ray Quiz

1. D J Keymer, the agency where Ray worked for more than a decade before making his first film.

2. It was a obscure and symbolic one but I was looking for the Roman typefaces/fonts created by Ray.
Daphnis
Holiday
Ray Roman
Ray Bizarre (The logo is that of Bizarre Media)

3. Ghare Baire (1984)

4. The River. These are the films adapted from Rumer Godden novels in a chronological manner starting with Black Narcissus and Enchantment. The River of course is the film where Ray met Renoir and got his final thrust to become a filmmaker.

5. For both Ashani Sanket & Hirak Rajar Deshe Ray got Best music direction National award

6. Documentaries by Ray on Tagore, Sikkim (Ryal emblem of erstwhile kingdom of Sikkim) and Benode Behari Mukherjee

7. Mrinal Sen

8. Prof Shanku

9. Bansi Chandra Gupta, Ray’s regular art director

10. Teen Kanya which comprised of three short stories by Tagore
Post master
Monihara (Lost jewels)
Samapti (The End/Fin/That’s All Folks)

10

The Independence Day Quiz: Volume Zero

Hi,

In order to celebrate the Independence Day, a dedicated Quiz on Indian History is being conducted here in two volumes. This is the second volume.

In case you haven’t seen you can also visit The Indian History Quiz Volume Pi.

Pattern:
There are two rounds with 15 questions each. First volume was posted on 13th night and the answers were posted on 15th night. The second volume is being posted now. So you have a deadline of 48 hours.

Marking Scheme:
Questions will fetch one mark each unless mentioned otherwise. But some of them have multiple variables and hence will fetch as many marks.

Mode of Answering:
Put your answers as comments. They are being moderated and they will not be visible unless they are approved after the deadline.

Warning: Please put your answers in the WordPress comment system at the bottom and NOT as Facebook comments. The FB comment box has been provided for easy interaction but the answers must be moderated and not published directly

Prizes:
There are small token prizes in the shape of Flipkart e-vouchers worth Rs 300, 200 and 100 for cumulative winners in order to encourage participation from younger quizzers. In case you think the amount can be passed off to newer participants, you can mention that you are “Non-Comp” along with your answers.

Request:
Please like the FB page on the right side box or +1 this post to show support so that such efforts can be continued in the future.

A Quiz By
Jitaditya

__________________________________________

Independence Day Quiz: Questions

1. Easy: Translation of a famous stone inscription. Who are they talking about?

2. Situated northwest of Delhi, X is a place of mythological and historical importance mostly known as the ancestral kingdom of a certain Emperor Y who is quite well known. X was a prominent city during the ancient times but after it was sacked by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, it started losing its prominence. By the time of British rule it had been relegated to a nondescript village. But after partition a bunch of refugees were settled around the place and soon it went through a revival of sorts to become a notable commercial town. Now it is a part of a district named after an epic battlefield. Enough clues… identify X & Y. (2 marks)

3.He was of Syrian origin and apparently was only 17 years old when he achieved his most famous achievement. He’s still a popular figure in Pakistan with a port named after him. Nevertheless his success was temporary and he faced defeat soon. Also, due to political changes in his own country, he fell out of favour. There are several controversial accounts about his death, although it is more or less certain that he was only 20 years old when he died/killed. Who?

4. X was one of the most powerful rulers of the 8th century India. According to accounts of various Indian, Tibetan, Turk and Chinese accounts, he not only conquered the bulk of India but also led successful campaigns to different central Asian regions. He is also believed to have conquered regions in Western China and marshalled his troops across Tibet. A twelfth century Indian historian has described his exploits in his magnum opus. Who?

5. Need a bit of explanation here. The gentleman here has made several discoveries with regards to Indian history and archaeology. One particular achievement of his was achieved through the items shown at the bottom and whatever he “discovered” can trace back its origins to the region shown in the map. Identify and explain (2 point)

6. He was a traveller who visited India in the 15th century. He took the sea route and landed on the western coast. He spent a few years in a Deccan kingdom and then tried to return to his place but died before he reached home. A joint production film was made in the 1950’s with a fictionalized account of his travel and affair in India. Among others, the film starred a reigning Indian actress of those times. Identify the explorer.

7. Identify these two and name the more famous one of their kind. (2 points)

8. This is not an exhaustive collection of flags. But they represent something very specific. As shown by the arrow in the middle, they have been arranged following a certain order. The two flags in a row are equal in that regard and it gradually changes as we go downwards. Sorry if it sounds vague, any more clue will ruin the question. Just explain. (2 marks)

9. His exploits were legendary. He expanded the empire of his master at a breakneck speed and British contemporaries considered him to be capable of pushing his boundary up to Europe, only if he had the technology of the Europeans. He apparently died in a winning cause while fighting the Afghans in a critically strategic location. A popular Bollywood song of the 60’s refers to him. Identify.

10. A slight deviation from serious stuff with some indulgent dose of glamour. An Indian royalty, she was considered a fashion icon in the West and was regularly managed get noticed by fashion magazines, photographers and designers. Identify.

11. Sitter again: A trained medicine man from a Brahmin family. What did he start?

12. He sought revenge. It took more than two decades and in between he spent time in Africa, USA and Europe. He also spent a few years in an Indian jail during the period when most of his revolutionary comrades fell. Nevertheless, he finally achieved his goal and he always maintained that his victim deserved it. Identify this martyr.

13. The ruler of this princely state wanted to assimilate with Pakistan. However the Hindu majority populace made it difficult. The Indian government put economic and political pressure and finally occupied the state and the ruler fled to Pakistan along with most of the money in the treasury. The prime minister of the state finally negotiated and completed the formalities of the accession with India. Now, this prime minister was also a prominent personality whose subsequent generations went on to create a political dynasty. Identify the state and the Person mentioned. (Clue: I am not looking for Hyderabad although the initial parts sound like it) (2 marks)

14. A lawyer by profession, he once had the British administration declare a prize on him due to his revolutionary activities. But he is more famous for the role he played more than three decades later during India’s darkest hour. As a matter of fact he achieved a unique achievement during this period and was also involved in a high profile lawsuit. Who?

15. Simple one to end with… who?

Repeat Warning: Please put your answers in the WordPress comment system at the bottom and NOT as Facebook comments. The FB comment box has been provided for easy interaction but the answers must be moderated and not published directly

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Independence Day Quiz: Answers

1. Samudragupta’s exploits as mentioned in Allahabad inscription.

2. X= Thanesar (Thaneshwar) in Kurukshetra district of Haryana, Y= Harshavardhan

3. Mohammad Bi Qasim, who beat King Dahir in 715 AD in Sindh to mark the first successful muslim invasion. He was later beaten by a Rajput Chieftain Bappa Rawal to check his progress and mark his downfall.

4. Lalitaditya Muktapida, as mentioned by Kalhan in Rajtarangini

5. James Princep deciphered the Kharoshthi script using the seal that had Greek inscription on one side and Kharoshti on the other. In a way it can be called India’s Rosetta stone. Kharoshti script mainly developed in the Gandhar (Kandahar) region as shown in the map.

6. Afanisi Nikitin. Film Pardesi (1957) with Nargis as the female lead and produced by Mosfilm and Naya Sansar.

7. French & Dutch East India Company. More famous is of course the British one.

8. Gun salutes is the login behind this order. The princley states were given gun salues based on their stature and importance. Big ones like Gwalior and Hyderabad got 21. The likes of Bhopal and Travancore had 19 and so on…

9. Hari Singh Nalwa. The song Mere Desh Ki Dharti refers to him… “Rang hara Hari Singh Nalwe se.. Rang laal hain Lal Bahadur se” …

10. Sita Devi of Kapurthala

11. K B Hedgewar… RSS

12. Shaheed Udham Singh who pulled one back by eliminating Michael O’Dwyer, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab during Jalianwalabagh massacre. Do note that he is often confused with General Dyer who actially ordered the firings.

13. Junagadh in Guajarat. The man is question is Shah Nawaz Bhutto. You can figure out the rest with his surname.

14. Raj Narain who defeated Indira Gandhi in Rai Bareily.

15. Shah Bano.

Scores being counted…. Thanks for playing.

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Score Update

Total maximum score 26+20=46

Daktar Vinay (Non-Comp) 10+9=19
Nikhil Kulkarni 04
Harsha VS 9+16=25
Kapinjal Choudhury 7+6=13
Mit Choudhury 1+3=04
Shekhar Shengar 05
Vedanuj Goswami 14+19=33
Anadi Mishra 01
Ritwik K 8+18=26
Arindam Phukan 12+16=28

So, based on the scores in both rounds,

Winner Vedanuj Goswami

Runners up Arindam Phukan

3rd Rithwik

A close miss by Harsha VS!!!

I’ll contact all three with the details after a couple of days.

Thanks

6

The Independence Day Quiz: Volume Pi

Hi,

In order to celebrate the forthcoming Independence Day, a dedicated Quiz on Indian History is being conducted here in two volumes.

Pattern:
There will be two rounds with 15 questions each. First volume will be posted on 13th night and the answers will be posted on 15th night. The second volume will be posted on 19th night and the cumulative winner will be declared on the 21st night.

Marking Scheme:
Questions will fetch one mark each unless mentioned otherwise. But some of them have multiple variables and hence will fetch as many marks.

Mode of Answering:
Put your answers as comments. They are being moderated and they will not be visible unless they are approved after the deadline.

Prizes:
There are small token prizes in the shape of Flipkart e-vouchers worth Rs 300, 200 and 100 for cumulative winners in order to encourage participation from younger quizzers. In case you think the amount can be passed off to newer participants, you can mention that you are “Non-Comp” along with your answers.

Request:
Please like the FB page on the right side box or +1 this post to show support so that such drives can be continued in the future.

A Quiz By
Jitaditya & Vikas

__________________________________________

Independence Day Quiz: Questions

1. Connect

2. X & XY both are mythical entities. XY is more popularly known by his surname Y. But there is a theory that X is the same person as XY. But it may also be a coincidence that they shared the same first name. X was a celebrated monarch who is said to have divine protections and his son was the victor of a famous battle among Vedic tribes. On the other hand XY is the founder of certain branch of practical knowledge and learning that has endured the test of time till date. Identify X and XY. (2 marks)

3. P is a peculiar entity in Indian mythology who has seen a fall from grace over ages in his own pantheon. During the early days, P is also supposed to have aided X from the previous question in vanquishing his arch rival by demolishing multiple fortifications and thus earning the epithet, Q. P and some of his cognates also find mention in other ancient mythologies and was a major deity in the pantheon of R, an ancient state that is believed to have flourished somewhere in Asia Manor and Levant. Identify P, Q and R. (3 marks)

4. A Google friendly one. Three major trade routes passed through this ancient city.

• The northern road which connected Gandhara in the west to the kingdom of Magadha in the Ganges valley in the east.
• The northwestern route through Bactria, Kapisa and Pushkalavati
• The Sindhu route from Kashmir and Central Asia to the Silk Road in the north and also to the Indian Ocean in the south.

This city was also a capital of the state that supported Alexander against Puru during his campaign. Nevertheless, it is more famous till date for another reason. Identify.

5. There is no clear information about the rise of this important center of trade in ancient India. Some experts claim that it existed as early as the 7th century BC although the claims lack material evidence. But even Mahabharata mentions the place on various occasions, thus suggesting its antiquity. Even Periplus Maris Erythraei attests its burgeoning trade with China and South East Asia. It slowly began losing its prominence due to various factors and finally went into oblivion. It is generally agreed that a nondescript present day town with less than 50000 populations is the site of that legendary spot. Which place?

6. Just connect (exhaustive list)

7. It is considered to be a masterpiece in Arabic literature although it was actually a translation. The Arabic version differs considerably from the original book owing to the cultural and religious differences between two countries and the fact that Arabic version was never directly translated. The Arabic version was the source for all European versions until 18th century. Parallel versions exist in Tibet, China and much of South East Asia. What am I talking about?

8. Certain places have been depicted here either through maps or historical monuments. They follow a chronological pattern as suggested through arrows. Explain how they are connected.

9. A certain new testament apocrypha mentions the meeting of X and Y that lead to an event that was “first” of its kind in the subcontinent. But archeological and numismatic evidences suggest that actually X might have predated the event and it may be one of his successors adopting the same name. Identify X and Y. (2 points)

10. This historical site derives its name from Sanskrit word Nagar. Now serving a different religion than what it was built for, its design was based on a certain geographical entity in Indian mythology. It has such a passionate connect with its people that recently a rumor about the site caused riots in the country. Identify.

11. X is believed to be one of the earliest as well as celebrated dramatists in the history of Sanskrit literature. Not much is known about his early life but his oeuvre is replete with classic tragedies. As his works do not always follow the rules of Natya Shastra, we can assume that he even predated Bharata Muni himself. Y is arguably his most famous work which was believed to have been lost forever till it was rediscovered in Kerala in the early 20th century. X & Y? (2 points)

12. Identify the three characters.

13. X and Y differ by approximately 134 years and were started to celebrate two similar events. Still much in use in South Asia and officially endorsed by two different countries, they also gave birth to parallel traditions in India and South East Asia. What are X & Y? (2 points)

14. During his heyday, X was considered to be among the greatest rulers of the ancient world along with his Chinese, Byzantine and Caliphate counterparts by some of the travelers. He belonged to the Y dynasty and is believed have one of the longest reigns in history. X & Y? (2 marks)

15. P was a lesser known frontier king who is known to have prevented at least two invasions from powerful western invaders, finally succumbing to a third one. While much information about him is not available, he is believed to have used scorched earth policy to weaken Q’s army before getting into a real battle and defeating Q comprehensively. This incident finds mention in a rock inscription that is named R after a certain local myth regarding Lord Krishna. The event is also described by historian S in his seminal work T which is considered one of the major sources of those times. Identify P, Q, R, S and T. (5 marks)

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The Answers:

1. A generic connect to start with. The Indust Valley Civilization.

First train of East Indian Railway, Pashupatinath Temple and Ghaggar-Hakra River basin.
It was during the laying of Lahore-Karachi railway line by East Indian Railway company, ancient ruins of Indus Valley Civilization were found in city of Brahimabad.
One of the seals of the civilization has been interpreted as that of Shiva (Pashupatinath) although its debated by some historians.
Ghaggar-Hakra river basin is believed to be the remnant of dried up Saraswati river by many Historians. The drying up of Saraswati river is considered one of the reasons of the ultimate downfall and end of it.

2. X= Dibodasa, an ancient kind mentioned in the early vedic literature. He was the father of Sudas, the victor of the Battle of Ten Kings.
XY= Dibodasa Dhanvantari, more popularly known as Dhanvantari, the founder of Ayurveda

3. P= Indra, the powerful vedic deity who no longer enjoys the prominence in Hindu pantheon.
Q= Purandar (Destroyer of the cities). Apparently Indra destroyed a hundred fortifications belonging to Divodasa’s enemy who was apparently a non-Indo-Aryan entity.
R= Mittani, a Hurrian speaking state that flourished for a short period around 1200 BC in Syria and Anatolia. They surprisingly worshipped deities such as Indra and Varuna and thus giving rise to a speculation that the local population was ruled by an Indo-Aryan ruling class.

4. Takshashila/ Taxila.

5. Tamralipti, a port city that flourished in the ancient times due to the maritime trade with the South Eastern markets but got buried under silt over time and lost its importance. Present day Tamluk in West Bengal is supposed to be the same place.

6. Symbols of 24 Jain Tirthankaras. The number 24 was the key here in case people counted.

7. Panchatantra. Arabic version is named as Kal?la wa Dimna. Arabic version was adopted in 750 AD from Persian translation that happened in 570 AD. It was exported (probably both in oral and literary formats) north to Tibet and China and east to South East Asia by Buddhist monks on pilgrimage. These led to versions in all Southeast Asian countries, including Tibetan, Chinese, Mongolian, Javanese and Lao derivatives.Intrestingly, a German translation, Das Der Buch Beyspiele, of the Panchatantra was printed in 1483, making this one of the earliest books to be printed by Gutenberg’s press after the Bible.

8. Locations of The four Buddhist Councils.
Rajgriha. The map shows the present day Rajgir, which used to be Rajgriha, the first capital of Magadha.
Vaishali. The pic shows ruins of the single lion capitol of Ashoka in that place.
Pataliputra. The pic of ancient remains near Patna.
The location of the fourth is unsure. It is believed to be Jalandhar or somewhere in Kashmir.

9. X= Gondophares, the Indo-Parthian King, the first Indian royalty to have converted to Christianity.
Y= St. Thomas
Mentioned in the Acts of Thomas, the 3rd century New Testament apocrypha.

10. Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Angkor is derived from Nagar. A temple complex built by King Suryavarman II in 12th Century, now it functions as a Therveda Budhdhist temple. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology. It is cultural symbol of Cambodia and appears on its national flag. Cambodians are so attached to it that in 2003 riots started in Phnom Penh when a false rumor circulated that a Thai soap opera actress had claimed that Angkor Wat belonged to Thailand.

11. X= Bhasa, Y= Swapnabasavadutta, He was also known for certain tragic plays such as Urubhanga, a sympathetic tale of Duryodhan.

12. OM in Balinese, Tamil Grantham and Tibetian scripts.

13. Vikram Samvat(started 56 BC) and Saka Samvat(also known as Shalivahan Samvat and started 78 AD). Vikrama Samvat was founded by the emperor Vikramaditya of Ujjain[1] following his victory over the Sakas and the Satavahana king Shalivahana is credited with the initiation Saka to celebrate his victory against the Sakas in the year 78 CE. Vikaram samvat is official calendar of Nepal and Saka of India.

14. X= Amoghavarsha, Y= Rashtrakuta. Certain travelers of those times considered him to be the fourth greatest monarch in the world after the Roman
Emperor in Constantinople, The Chinese Emperor and the Khalifa of Baghdad.

15. Had to ask an Assam related question and this was it. Din’t expect too many cracks and in fact it goes uncracked. My intention was to shed some light to the matter as it is largely unknown and neglected.
P= Prithu
Q= Bakhtiya Khilji, the conqueror of Bengal.
R= Kanai boroxi boa xil (The rock where Lord Krishna fished)… The rock-inscription found in north Guwahati records the defeat of the Turuska or the Turks in the hands of the local ruler of Kamrupa on March 27 in 1206 AD.
S= Minhaj-i-Siraj
T= Tabaqat-i-Nasiri
Some more info can be found here. Start with Page 133.

Thanks for playing. The scores will be counted after the second volume next weekend.

________________________

Scores after the first volume:
(I’ve been lenient unlike most of the teachers and professors I’ve endured)

Total Marks: 26

Daktar Vinay 10
Nikhil Kulkarni 4
Harsha VS 9
Kapinjal Choudhury 7
Mit Choudhury 1
Shekhar Shengar 5
Vedanuj Goswami 14
Anadi Mishra 1
Ritwik K 8
Arindam Phukan 12

medals

Cinephilia Quiz Cycle 1: Scores and Winners

Hi,

After five rounds of quizzing, here are the cumulative scores. I have rounded up some of the scores for convenience but I don’t think it will affect the standings anyways.

I have decided to give away two prizes instead of one to increase the probability of winning. I understand that the amount is small but that is what I can afford now. Will try to keep three prizes next cycle onwards.

As one can see, the most consistent participant is more likely to win. There were some great individual performances in a few quizzes but unfortunately they could not participate in all of them. Hope to see more consistent participation next time.

So, the winners are,
Roerich Bansal
Vedanuj Goswami

Winners please put your mail IDs as comments here so that I can send the voucher code.

Prizes: Flipkart e-vouchers worth INR 300 & 200 only.

Reason for using this Flipkart Voucher:
1. It saves my work like collecting address or account numbers of people to send such miniscule amounts.
2. Winners don’t have to spend sleepless nights under constant threat of getting their account hacked after providing the details to me.
3. Vouchers remain valid for 1 year and you can wait to gather a few more vouchers so that you can use them together for a more substantial purchase.

Thanks for playing
Jitaditya

2

Cinephilia Quiz 5: Doordarshan

Hi all,

Today’s quiz dedicated to the nostalgic memories of Doordarshan. Have faced a hard time finding pictures and information due to traditional systematic apathy of the organization towards its own heritage. It’s been created in collaboration with Vikas Tripathi.

Rules:

Put your answers as comments.

They are being moderated and will be published only after the deadline.

You can make multiple attempts and in case of conflicts your last answer will be taken as final.

Every question is worth 10 points irrespective of difficulty level (for ease of calculation).

Prizes:

I have decided to finish this cycle with this quiz. For this cycle, due to extreme poverty, I will give only one prize worth Rs 500 to the cumulative winner. More plans are on regarding the next phases and hope we’ll be able to dole out more prizes next cycle onwards.

Deadline:

24 hours from the moment of publishing.
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1. A sitter to begin with…. Connect them and give me a classic DD serial.

2. How can you connect this logo with the person below? (Please ignore the third finger, it is purely coincidental)

3. Identify this Maharashtrian politician who started his career with the newly found Socialist party at one point of time but later on changed his allegiance. Also explain why he is in this quiz.

4. This guy is related to these three films but he is more famous for his exploits in the field under discussion here. Who’s he?

5. A recent ad that is a throwback to the golden age of DD. Identify the advertiser and also identify the two personalities.

6. Connect and give me the personality.

7. Identify the people being interviewed here and also the interviewer. What distinction does the interviewer hold?

8. X did something in the year Sholay released. Popularity of X’s act was so much that an encore was done after 10 years. Who is X? What am I talking about?

9. Connect

10. Connect (not exhaustive)

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Answers:

Here are the answers:

Maximum number of page visits for this quiz but miniscule participation. Only 7 unique entries is disappointing.

I will update cumulative scores later on.

1.Buniyaad: The writer Manohar Shyam Joshi and directors Ramesh Sippy & Jyoti Sarup
2.Jungle Book: Logo of Nippon Animation which adapted Jungle book into an anime version. It was later dubbed in hindi by doordarshan where Nana Patekar voiced for Sher Khan.
3.Vasant Sathe: As Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting he initiated the process which led to Indian television(DD) moving into colour broadcasting for the Asian Games 1984 and Hum Log the first colour Indian soap-opera.
4.Master Manjunath acted as a child artist in these films but he was more famous as Swami of Malgudi Days. He did not pursue an acting career later on.
5.Ads by Ebay: Features 80s popular hosts Dr Narrotam Puri and Komal GB Singh as themselves.
6.Bhisham Sahni: Acted in Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!, Tamas and Little Buddha and in fact Tamas was based on his novel of teh smae name.
7.Pratima Puri(First newsreader on Doordarshan) interviewing Yuri gagarin in 1965.
8.The iconic LIRIL Ad featuring Karen Lunel, an airhostess with Indian Airlines in lime green bikini.It was first shot in 1975 and then again in 1985 considering its enduring popularity.
9.Surabhi: The Amul ad with clips from Manthan featuring Smita Patil was especially made for Surabhi. The competition postcards were also introduced for Surabhi as its weekly quizzes became too popular.
10. I wanted a specific answer for this one. Characters played by Om Puri in Bharat Ek Khoj. Ashoka, Rajaraja Chola, Krishna Devraya, Aurangzeb. He played some more but I could not verify all of them due to lack of online resources on the topic.

2

Cinephilia Quiz 3: Bollywood Inspirations and Adaptations

Hi all,

Today’s quiz is about Bollywood “inspirations”. ’nuff said!

Rules:

Put your answers as comments.

They are being moderated and will be published only after the deadline.

You can make multiple attempts and in case of conflicts your last answer will be taken as final.

Every question is worth 10 points irrespective of difficulty level (for ease of calculation).

Prizes:

After a three month cycle, the top three cumulative score holders will be given certain prizes. The nature of prizes are still being decided. (Please moderate your expectations, my resources are limited!!!)

Deadline:

24 hours from the moment of publishing.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Questions:

1. This 2009 British coming of age film is based on autobiographical accounts of a journalist. A winner and nominee of multiple awards, it tells the story of a young London girl in the 1960s who falls in love with an older man. While it is yet to “inspire” a complete Bollywood film, its poster shown below has already been ripped off by a 2010 Bollywood film. Name both the films.

2. This 1963 Hitchcockian thriller was not directed by Hitchcock. It was directed by a person better known for musical comedies. It stars two of the biggest stars of Hollywood and is noted for multiple twists and turns. It was ripped off by Bollywood in an 2003 film that starred two star kids, who unfortunately never turned out to be stars themselves. The director of this version is also better known as the brother of a more illustrious technician and director. It also featured a raunchy item song that compared love to chili pepper. Name both the films.

3. Ghajini’s “inspiration” is well known. But it has also paid tribute to a much acclaimed 2001 film in a scene where the female lead escorts a blind man through the street while offering him a vivid description of the people around him. Identify this film.

4. This 2004 French action film is basically a showcase for a certain form of extreme sport that involves acrobatic ways of moving from one place to another through urban landscapes. Most of its stunts including the climax were ripped off in a 2006 Indian film. Identify both.

5. This 2007 Hindi comedy film was a remake of a 1998 French film adapted from a play of the same name. It also received an official Hollywood remake in 2010. The makers of the Bollywood film also released a sequel a few weeks ago, buoyed by the success of the first installment. Identify the films.

6. This 1961 action adventure war film was based on a best selling novel by an author who himself had seen action in WWII. It has a notable climactic action sequence where some of the characters climb a steep cliff to outflank the enemies. Now, a 2004 Bollywood film has a strikingly similar climax. Name both the films.

7. This 1988 film is based on certain real events in a Southern US state in the 1960s. A 2010 Bollywood film is based on some burning issues faced by India and directed by someone known more for his comedies. However the plot of this film is identical to the Hollywood film. Identify both.

8. This cult thriller of 1990s is mainly noted for its twist ending as well as a memorable performance by one of the actors who went on to win an Oscar for the role. A 2005 Bollywood film that claimed itself to be “The most powerful film of the year” for some obscure reasons, ripped off the entire plot. It only changed the name of a Japanese character to the name of an acclaimed film and also moved the setting to London. The only good thing it did was to introduce a female character who prefers to get wet and croon in skimpy attires in the dreaded cold of December. Identify both films.

9. Although it deals with the themes of infidelity, this 1960s film turns out to be a feel good drama with its delectable lead pair. It was also the last film of its kind to achieve a certain feat at the Academy Awards. It contributed a major portion of the plot in a 2007 Bollywood film that sought to attract overseas audiences owing to one of its stars who achieved fame in UK for totally uncinematic reasons. Identify both the films.

10. Identify this classic 1930s film that has at least two versions in Bollywood, one released in the 1950s and one in the 1990s.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Answers:

1. An Education & Anjana Anjani

2. Charade & Chura Liya Hai Tumne
Bonus Clip

3. Amelie

4. Banlieue 13…. 2006 Indian film was Pokiri, which of course was remade into Wanted…

5. Bheja Fry and Le Diner de Cons…

6. Guns of Navarone & Lakshya

7. Mississipi Burning & Aakrosh

8. The Usual suspect & Chocolate
Bonus Clips…

9. The Apartment & Life in a Metro

10. It Happened One Night, Chori Chori & Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi.