Category Archives: Quizzes

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

hmm

Hiranyagarbha: The Indian History Quiz

A set of easy questions on Indian History.

Rules:


Answer as comments against the post. Comments will be published only after the deadline.
Deadline: 10pm 15th April 2012

Prizes:
Only one Grand Prize: Original manuscript of Kamasutra autographed by sage Vatsayana

__________________________________________________

Questions

1. This Indian language boasts of around 3-5 million speakers across the globe according to a recent survey although it is mainly centred in Southern India. Linguists consider it to be a very interesting case due to certain peculiar grammatical characteristics. The language is apparently used in a Greek mime that was in turn derived from Euripides’ play Iphigeneia in Tauris but adapted according to Indo Greek sensibilities. The language was also mentioned in a 2011 Bollywood blockbuster. ID. 10 points.

2. What is common between good old Hibiscus Cannabinus, a poisonous psychoactive mushroom from the genus Amanita, a shrub of Ephedra genus, Syrian Rue (which does not actually belong to the Rue family) and the Indian lotus? Many more can be added to this list but these are the more prominent ones. 10 points.

3. ID both (No Part Points) 10 points.

4. This modern day monument was built to commemorate certain ancient contacts in the region. The current name of the town X in which it is situated is derived from the first name of a great emperor Y of medieval times. Nevertheless, it is widely believed to be the final resting place of Z, a beloved of his master. ID all. 15 points.

5. The local head Haria married two sisters, one’s name loosely resembles that of an Indian spice while the other resembles a gemstone. One of his sons grew up to be a much more competent leader who started his own kingdom which was later divided into two parts due to infighting among the ancestors. Which Kingdom am I talking about? 10 points.

6. Just identify the person being honoured through this stamp. (Clue: Better known in some other parts of the world) 10 points.

7. ID the film and the events depicted in the same… 10 points.

8. Simply ID the person from this citation… 10 points.
X noticed enemy LMG inflicting heavy casualties on his company. With complete disregard for his personal safety, he charged the enemy bunker, bayoneted two enemy soldiers and silenced the LMG. Though seriously wounded in this encounter, he continued to fight alongside his comrades through the mile deep objective, clearing bunker after bunker with undaunted courage. Towards the northern end of the objective one enemy MMG opened up from the second storey of a well-fortified building inflicting heavy casualties and holding up the attack. Once again he crawled forward till he reached the building and lobbed a grenade into the bunker killing one enemy soldier and injuring the other.

9. He is one of the rare Indians of his kind, an explorer per excellence. He is responsible for mapping remote areas of Tibet and charting the trade routes between Nepal and Tibet way back in the 19th century. He was also the first person to exactly determine the location of Lhasa and is also believed to have met the then Dalai Lama. Who? 10 points.

10. The X family is of Baghdadi Jewish origin. They settled down in Bombay during the 19th century and had close contact with the British in various businesses, accumulating considerable wealth during the process. Opium trade with China was one of his most profitable ventures and eventually he became a naturalised citizen of England too. Scores of hospitals, schools and other institutions in the Bombay-Pune region were set up using donations of this family and are named after them. Identify. 10 points.

____________________________

Answers

1. Tulu, which is spoken mostly in Karnataka. One random character in Singham (2011) speaks the language
2. These are some of the contestants that are supposed to be the Rigvedic Soma Plant, that was used to prepare Somarasa, the ancient Indian wine
3. Uday Shankar and Ballerina Anna Pavlova
4. X-Jalalpur Sharif, Y-Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, Z-Bucephalus (Alexander’s Horse)
5. Koch/Kamata Kingdom
6. Dr. Dwarkanath Shantaram Kotnis who did most of his notable work in China
7. Chittagong (An upcoming film & not Khelenge hum Ji Jaan Sey), Chittagong Uprising
8. Lance Naik Albert Ekka
9. Pandit Nain Singh Rawat
10. Sassoon Family, David Sassoon

Scores

Harsha VS 70
Manoranjan Malakar 90
Daktar Vinay 20
Sushanta Sharma 40
Satam Choudhury 10
Yahsolankar Bhagawati 50
Suman Doogar 50
Beyond the Zero 85
Kaustav Lyon 10
Abhilash Patowary 80
Anurag Talukdar 55
Vikas Tripathi 80
Sushant Srivastava 105
Siddhartha Prakash 50

Sushant Srivastava continues his good for with 105/105 & hence wins the quiz.

9

Cholera in the Time of Love: A Quiz on love and other maladies

As we know, today is the day when the St. Valentine’s Day massacre took place along with the Behmai Massacre and murder of Captain Cook. To commemorate these occasions I have compiled a random quiz that mostly deals in literature and films as expected with one exception.

Marking Scheme:
Questions will fetch one mark each unless mentioned otherwise.

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:
1. Blue Ray Edition of the Assamese sleeper hit “Samiran Barua Ahi Ase”, signed by Samiran Barua himself…
2. The original manuscript mentioned in the 3rd question.
3. Free pass for the premiere of the film mentioned in the 7th… whenever that happens….

Deadline:
Sunday 19th February 10pm…

1. Identify this South American resort city that was founded by Spanish colonial rulers almost 500 years ago. But the place has been a settlement of ancient agricultural people for several thousand years. In fact the name has been derived from a city of the same name in Spain. A popular tourist attraction now, it has been the site of many pop culture entities including a Brando film and a De Nero film. Nevertheless, my reason for including it in this quiz is entirely different and cannot be disclosed.

2. This hill is known as the home of the ascetics since ancient times. It used to be a site for the followers of Baba Gorakhnath. This is also the place where one epic lover of folklores goes after he gets chased away by the relatives of his epic girlfriend. He meets other ascetics and plans to renounce material world, without realizing that fate has other plans for him.
ID the hill and the lover in question.

3. While this epic has been attributed to one poet, scholars believe that it has come to its current shape over centuries of evolution and that is why we now have several versions of the same. A small manuscript found in Bikaner is considered by some of the scholars as the closest one to the original. On the other hand another version found in Udaipur is more than 12 times longer than this version. What am I talking about?

4. Which word is roughly derived from the ancient Greek for seed (noun) and flow (verb)?

5. Sitter… explain…

6. Although he was considered a major writer of his era, he never earned much from his literary masterpieces. So, he supported himself by writing lurid stories. He had varied interests such as mathematics, astronomy and chemistry. Once he also had an affair with an Anglo-French woman but she suddenly left for Europe one day and never came back. His magnum opus came in the year Bengal was divided. Who?

7. This is a still from an unreleased film directed by a person known for period epics. A very ambitious project for its times, it was based on the life of a peasant girl who became an unlikely poetess who impressed the local king. The king was later imprisoned by a much more powerful emperor and so she spent the rest of her life singing about the pain of her separation. Identify.

8. Another sitter. She is now remembered for an affair which could not succeed due to religious differences in both families. While most of her films are now forgotten, she used to be a much bigger star and in fact the highest paid one at her peak.

9. This is a still from an Opera originally composed by a Frenchman. It is based on an epic Indian tragedy from the medieval times. Identify the original work.

10. Googlable one to end with…
Kafir-e-ishqam musalmani mara darkaar neest
Har rag-e mun taar gashta hajat-e zunnaar neest
(I am a pagan (worshiper) of love: the creed (of Muslims) I do not need;
Every vein of mine has become taut like a wire; the (Hindu) girdle I do not need.)
Whose lines?
________________________________________

ANSWERS and SCORES

1. Cartagena, teh suposed setting for Love in the time of Cholera
2. Tilla Jogiyan, Heer and Ranjha
3. Prithviraj Raso
4. Gonorrhea
5. Raj Kapoor Films Logo
6. Mirza Hadi who wrote Umrao Jaan
7. Movie is Zooni directed by Muzzafar Ali and the Poetess is Habba Khatoon
8. Suraiya
9. Padmavat by Mohammad Jayasi
10. Aamir Khusro

Brishabhanu Baruah 7
Sushant Srivastava 10
Debashri Sengupta 4
El Biswajit 6
Subhorup Dasgupta
Suman Doogar 10
Soumya Sagar 9
Krishnendu Mohapatra 5
Daktar Vinay 6

1st Sushant Srivastava and Suman Doogar.
2nd Soumya Sagar
3rd Brishabhanu Baruah

So, the top prize has to be divided between Sushant Srivastava and Suman Doogar. One will get the Disc and the other will get the cover. I’ll decide that by a toss with a biased coin.

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.

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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

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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)

9

Cinephilia Quiz- Cycle 2: The Drunken Celluloid Quiz

Hi all,

I am starting the second cycle of Cinephilia quizzes. The cycle will consist of four quizzes and will try to make it an weekly affair.

Today is the Drunken Celluloid quiz. It may be about films where alcoholics are significant characters or about real personalities with liver issues themselves. I’ve always believed that the alcohol issues suffered by some of the brightest of our minds was not their problem but that of the society that was not evolved enough to accommodate them. So I’ll just quote one of the best lines to have come put of Indian music industry in the 21st century and start the quiz.

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 complete cycle, the top three cumulative score holders will win Flipkart Vouchers worth INR 300, 200 & 100.

Deadline:

Sunday Midnight.

The Drunken Celluloid Quiz

1. It is a film that has a unique achievement in the festival circuit. Adapted from a novel, it was apparently conceived by the director during a train ride when he purchased and read the novel during the journey. An unusual affair for its times, it also alarmed the lead actor and he was advised against taking up the role. But nevertheless, he went ahead and reaped benefits for the same. Identify the film.

2. He started his career with a prominent auteur of Indian cinema. He soon moved to Bollywood and played several insignificant roles in various Hindi films. But afterwards a certain talent of his got noticed and the same was utilized again and again by various filmmakers. Even till date he is remembered for these roles only.

3. He had an opportunity to sing a particular song that was penned almost 80 years ago. While playback facility was available, he chooses to sing it live and also act on the same, thus making it one of his most memorable performances. Who’s he and what was the song?

4. Apparently this Indian film has only one surviving copy, that too in another country. And even that copy is partially destroyed. Nevertheless, it remains a path breaking film in terms of technique and treatment in the early days of Indian cinema. Identify.

5.

Signs of profound melancholia and unmistakable, self-destructive alcoholism… whose lines are these?

6. X was one of the early directors of Bollywood who achieved significant commercial success early on his career, only to receive setbacks later. The leading roles in almost all of his films were played by the same actor. Y once worked under him in a film but later on achieved success on his own. It is believed that Y’s film Z is inspired by X’s life but one can also find uncanny resemblance of the film with Y’s own life. Identify X,Y,Z.

7. Some of his books were published posthumously after he killed himself. They were mostly completed by one of his relatives. . He even wrote an episode for an animated TV series but he is known for his debut novel published a few years before his death. Who’s he? How does he fit into this quiz?

8. Sitter: The poster of which upcoming film based on a semi-autobiographical novel?

9. Apparently he was never an alcoholic. But still he fits nicely into this quiz. At one point of time he became so popular that he acted in a film named after himself. Legend has it that once he arrived at the sets of a film, showed his acting prowess playing a drunkard and forced the writer/director to change the script to accommodate a new character for him. Who?

10. Deviating a bit… not exactly films… but the events shown here provided fodder for a lot of Hollywood movies. What is happening here or to be precise which era do they belong to?


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1. Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend (1945). The Lost Weekend and Marty (1955) are the only films ever to win both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival.

2. Keshto Mukherjee

3. K L Saigal…. Babul Mora by Wazid Ali Shah

4. Pramathesh Barua’s Devdas… The only remaining copy is in Bangladesh film archives…

5. Meena Kumari of course. She also recited it and recorder an album called I Write, I Recite.

6. X=Gyan Mukherjee who gave arguably the 1st blockbuster of Bollywood, Kismet. Y=Guru Dutt, Z=Kagaz Ke Phool

7. John O’Brien who wrote Leaving Las Vegas.

8. Rum Diaries based on Hunter P Thomson…. Kinda follow up to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

9. Johnny Walker

10. The Prohibition Era… quite a few crime/gangster films have been based on this period… too many to name…

Thanks for Playing…

9

Parallel Cinema Quiz for Quizcraft

This is the parallel cinema quiz I did at the group Quizcraft. Here I am trying to pay tribute to the Indian parallel cinema movement by moving beyond mere financial considerations. As there are only 10 questions, I have failed to cover all the luminaries of this genre but will try to do the same in the future. Have a look at the questions, the answers have also been provided at the bottom.

Indian Parallel Cinema Quiz:


1. A once made a film B based on a short story by C. The same story was later directed by D in a more glitzy manner with bigger stars and the film was called E. D was also an actor in his younger days was known for his common man acts. Identify all.

2. How are they connected?

3.Set in a decrepit Mumbai slum, this film comes with characters like an attractive widower, her teenaged children and her suitors (one of whom duffers from syphilis, one of the rare depictions of STD in Hindi cinema). True to the ideals of parallel cinema of its times, it is as gritty and realistic as it can be. It was the first and last feature length film of the director as his life was tragically cut short by an accident. It fittingly stars two of the biggest “parallel” stars of those times. So, just name the film.

4.One of the earliest instances of using an inanimate object as a character, this film is the first theatrical release of its director. Noted critic once Jonathan Rosenbaum had once drew parallels to Jacques Tati’s Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot. Full with symbolism and wry humor, this 1958 release still remains one of the lesser known works of this maestro. Name it.

5. Name the lady here…she dint do any of those “parallel” films herself…but there exists a connect somehow…


6. Connect

7. Largely overlooked at the time of its release, this film has gone on to receive cult status over time. This late 80’s film portraying life in a fictional small town in India came out of near oblivion couple of years ago, when an equally rebellious new age director accepted its influence on his latest release. Identify this film. (It might look vague but I would refrain from naming anyone here as it would be a giveaway…or probably it already is!)

8. Connect

9. Exhaustive List…connect

10. Simple one 2 wind up…gimme the cult film…

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Indian Parallel Cinema Quiz Answers:

1. A= Mani Kaul, B=Duvidha, C=Vijaydan Dvetha. D= Amol Palekar, E=Paheli

2. The connect is Byomkesh Bakshi.
Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, the creator, Basu Chatterjee who made the cult serial and Ray who made Chriakhana with Uttam Kumar as Byomkesh

3. Chakra by Rabindra Dharmaraj. One of the lesser known ones of its genre but I was blown away by it. Stars Smita Patil & Naseeruddin Shah among others

4. Ajantrik by Ritwik Ghatak that depicts a man and his relationship with his beloved Taxi, a 1920 model Chevrolet which is in dilapidated condition but is his only companion nevertheless.

5. Hansa Wadkar, a popular actress of Hindi and Marathi films in the 30’s & 40’s & was know to be ahead of her time which also lead to problems in her personal life. Shyam Benegal & Smita Patil brought her back to life through their film Bhumika which is actually the parallel cinema connection in this case.

6. Neecha Nagar, is the connect. Maxim Gorky, Chetan Anand & Cannes film Festival. It is on of the first Indian films to gain international recognition, after it shared the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film (Best Film) award at the first Cannes Film Festival in 1946. It was based on a Hindi story, Neecha Nagar, written by Hayatulla Ansari, which in turn was inspired by Maxim Gorky’s “Lower Depths”.

7. Om Dar Badar by Kamal Swaroop. A certain scene is supposed to have inspired the picturization of Emosanal Atyachar.

8. Movies adopted from Mahashweta Devi’s novels…Sanghursh, Rudaali, Hazar CHurashi Ki Maa…

9. Now everyone has got Ray here…but as I said, it was an exhaustive list. The exact connect is the Original Screenplays or Stories by Ray. Kanchenjunga & Nayak are his only proper original screenplays. Sonar Kella, Hirak Rajar Deshe, Jaibaba Felunath & Agantuk are based on his own stories or novels. All his other works are based on noted literary works by other authors such as Rabindranath, Bibhutibhushan, SUnil Gangopadhyay, Sankar, Premchand etc.

*But I have realized now that Shakha Proshakha is another film that is originally written by him. The ray foundation site says “Only six screenplays of these feature length films were entirely original”…but then it names seven films, which confused me…u can follow the link & see for urself…

10. Jane Bhi Do Yaaron, Kundan Shah, Weekend at Bernie’s which is believed to have been inspired by the same & Blow up which has been referenced in the film.

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

__________________________________________

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

india flag

India Quiz for Quizcraft

I framed these India related quiz for the group Quizcraft. You can also have a look at the group for more action.

Just reproducing it here. The answers have also been provided at the bottom.

India Quiz

1. This pre-independence era Bollywood film incorporated a patriotic song that became very popular. The lyrics warn outsiders to stay away from the sacred motherland and it was worded carefully to avoid British censorship and it rather mentions Britain’s enemies. The young lyricist went on to achieve more success later on and is most remembered for another patriotic song in 1960s. Identify the film and the lyricist.

2. He achieved fame in the 1920s as a politician for his courageous struggle against the British officials in a certain widely publicized scandal of those times. Later on, he joined Congress and rose to prominence but his opposition and unsubstantiated allegations against the high command led to his expulsion. Nevertheless, he is now remembered for lending his name to a prime location in his city of birth.

3. This film X consciously tried to break away from the exotic image of India and its culture in the western eyes. It was also one of the earliest Indian films to collaborate with foreign studios and was based on a verse of the same name by an English poet. The co-director Y also played the lead role and the female lead role went to an Anglo-Indian actress Z who debuted with this film and went on to become one of the earliest stars of that era. Identify X, Y and Z.

4. X made his film debut as a retired clerk harassed by a property-developer and his lawyer. He went on to do several small roles in important films and TV movies including one based on his own magnum opus based during the era of India’s final freedom struggle and partition. While he was a late entrant in the field of acting, his brother Y was a well-known and respected actor in his own right. Identify both.

5. X is a lesser known event in Indian history that basically is a set of sporadic rebellious activities against the British by the ascetic communities in Eastern India during the late 18th century. While they did not achieve much success, they were immortalized by Y almost a century later. Y’s work was called Z which also received a film adaptation in the 1950s. Identify X, Y and Z.

6. There are multiple myths about this historical character from ancient India (pre-Mauryan era). One of the myths goes as follows,

His father didn’t have any children for a long time. So he consulted a soothsayer who told him that a hermit living in the mountains would be reborn as his son but the father was impatient and killed the hermit and the son was born soon afterwards. The soothsayer now said that due to his sins the son would kill the father one day. So the father had the kid thrown from a tower but he escaped. In due course, he grew in strength a held his father captive and starved him to death. Who?

7. X was a 19th century English statesman who was assassinated while inspecting a penal colony of convicts by Y, who was languishing in that remote prison. X was instrumental in founding a well-known college aimed at educating the Indian elite with western culture and orientations. Not much is known about Y or his motivations but for the fact that he shares his last name with a popular Pakistani cricketer. Identify.

8. This 1941 film starred two of the biggest stars X and Y, of early Bollywood talkies and dealt with a very famous event of Indian history that aroused patriotic feelings among the viewers in those turbulent times. While X was also the director of the film, Y played X’s role in another film of 1965 based on the same event. Identify X and Y.

9. He moved to the US and changed his last name and acted in a few Hollywood silent films as well as Broadway shows. In his prior avatar, he also worked for Indian football Association. Who is he? Why does he feature in this India themed quiz?

10. Identify this place that is said to have derived its name fromthe wife of a Rajput chieftain. The urs of saint Sarkar Sabir Pak, one of the leading lights of the Chisti Order is celebrated here every year in the month of May June at the glimpse of the moon of Rabi ul Awwal. It houses a centre of education that is one of the oldest of its kind in India.

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India Quiz Answers

1. “Door hato aye duniyawaalon, Hindustan hamara hai!” from the film Kismat (1943). Poet was Kavi Pradeep who went on to pen “Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon” later on.

2. Khurshid Framji Nariman. The Nariman Point in Mumbai is named after him which is one of the oldest business districts in the country and also among the most expensive in the world.

3. X = Light of Asia
Y= Himansu Ra
Z= Sita Devi (Renee Smith)

4. X= Bhisham Sahani
Y= Balraj Sahani

5. X= Sanyasi Rebellion
Y= Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Z= Anandamath

6. Ajatasatru, the son of Bimbisara of Magadha.

7. X= Lord Mayo who established the Mayo College
Y= Sher Ali Afridi

8. X= Sohrab Modi (Played Porus in the film 1941 film where Kapoor played Alexander)
Y= Prithviraj Kapoor (Who played Porus in 1965 film with Dara Singh playing Alexander)

9. Norman Pritchard (Trevor), who represented Indian in the 1900 Paris Olympics and was the first one from the country to win a medal. In fact he won two silver medals.

10.Roorkee. It houses one of the oldest engineering colleges in India which was later converted into an IIT. The Sufi Saint in question is Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari.