Prelims,The Second Plot- Chakra View 2016

The Second Plot
A MELA quiz by Anjan S
Prelims

Rules of Engagement
• 20 questions in the prelims
• Starred questions are indicated
• Ties will be resolved by starred questions, post
which sudden death will be used
• I have final say

Before we begin
• A shout out to our stakeholders and sponsors

1
• Posted on February 29th, 2016, whose blog explained
design changes to his protagonist as follows,
“X will look different the next six weeks.
I haven’t taken a day off from work for about three
years, and my drawing hand needed some rest and
rehab. So I asked my “co-workers” (at Universal Uclick)
to fill in for me while I try to figure out how vacations
work. (The alternative was running repeats.)”
The protagonist has a colleague who shares a distinct
similarity with the space you are in now.
ID X and the creator.

2
• He was offered this role by the director who said, 'I
always hire theatre actors,' he said, 'because I have
a very strong sixth sense about these things.‘
• He was then asked to fly to London to get six suits
stitched. After all, the character he was playing was
one of the best dressed men during the British
regime in India.
• The only trouble he faced during the shoot was that
he had to wear a monocle which was very difficult
to hold in the eye. There was a British actor on the
set who taught him how to do it. It took a bit of
practice.
• Who and what role?

Alyque Padamsee playing Mohammad
Ali Jinnah

3
• At the age of 40, X decided to become a magician
and this was partly inspired by his creation Y.
• X describes it as "a protracted rant about magic"
disguised as a conventional super-heroine story.
• The most pivotal of these “magic” related issues of
Y is the issue entitled "The Magic Theatre", a
history of the universe told through the major
picture cards of the tarot. X did it in rhyming verse.
He gave each page a title and all 21 titles were
anagrams of “Y" ("Pa Theorem"; "Ape Mother";
"Me Atop Her"; "Heart Poem"; "Meet Harpo" etc).
• ID X and Y.

4
• Identify the “artist” of the following paintings
in the next couple of slides.

Prelims,The Second Plot- Chakra View 2016

5
• When she took on this role she said, “ A few
years ago I was watching the play in the theatre,
with Derek Jacobi playing _____, and I was
thinking, 'My goodness, this could be played by a
woman without having to change a word.”
• "Women have been punished for being powerful
for many centuries, and I thought that was the
remarkable thing about changing genders: you
can bring in that history of female struggle.
• Identify the speaker and the blank.

Dame Helen Mirren and Prospero

6
• In January, after Donald Trump raised
questions about Ted Cruz’s citizenship and,
thereby, his eligibility to be president, Cruz
responded by tweeting a link to a video clip
from the classic TV program, ”X”.
• The video clip shows the protagonist
popularising a phrase that has come to
describe the moment in the evolution of a
television show when it begins a decline in
quality.
• ID X and the phrase

X- Happy Days and “Jumping the
shark”

7
• ________ books are printed books that are no
longer selling well and whose remaining unsold
copies are liquidated by the publisher at greatly
reduced prices. While the publisher may take a
loss on the sales of these books, they are able to
make some money off the sale and clear out
space in the warehouses.
• Which American rock and roll band formed in
1992 by exponents of the written word used this
term to name themselves in a self-mocking
manner.

The Rock Bottom Remainders
• The band includes
writers like Stephen
King, Amy Tan, Scott
Turow and Mitch
Albom.

8
• It was a dream sequence in the soap opera Days
of Our Lives – starring actress Arleen Sorkin
dressed as a court jester – that inspired Paul Dini
to create X’s look and personality – which Dini
discusses in his 1998 book, Batman Animated.
• Identify this devoted, slightly crazy, overly
obsessed character whose first appearance
anywhere was in the September 1992 episode
of Batman: The Animated Series.

9
• The next slide shows the opening credits of
the show, Community, done in the style of
another very famous, cult comedy show.
• ID the style it adapts.

10
• Bhakta Vidur is a 1921 silent Indian film
directed by Kanjibhai Rathod. In this film,the
Hindu mythological character Vidura was
moulded on the personality of Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi.
• The film was released just after the Rowlatt Act
was passed in India and showed many of the
contemporary issues happening across the
country at that point in time.
• What dubious first is attributed to Bhakta
Vidur?

First Indian film to be banned

11
• Very poetically, just before Valentine’s Day this
year, which ‘nostalgia inducing’ publication
house launched its first ever romance title.
• Titled "A Kingdom For His Love," the novel is
based on a Sanskrit
play 'Swapnavasavadattam',authored by
Bhasa, one of the earliest and most celebrated
playwrights.

12
• Identify this recent Guinness Book of World
Records awardee and tell me her claim to
fame.

P Susheela for singing most number of
songs in Indian languages

13
• "Please don’t go by the reputation of the
book. See the film and then decide on the
suitability of the content for kids. The 3D
effects are so scary that the animals seem to
jump right at the audience.“
• Who on what?

Pahlaj Nihalani on awarding a U/A
rating to The Jungle Book

14
• Connect the below image and the audio to a
phrase which suggests a portent of doom or
misfortune.

The writing on the wall
• Painting by Rembrandt titled The Writing on
the Wall
• Song by Sam Smith from Spectre titled
Writing’s on the Wall

15
• ‘Do not write letter ; without order refreshment.
Do not comb hair; is spoiling floor. Do not make
mischiefs in cabin; our waiter is reporting. Come
again, all are welcome whatever caste; if not
satisfied tell us, otherwise tell others God is
Great.’
• This verse was put together from signs above the
wash areas of Irani restaurants in Mumbai. Who
‘composed’ this poem?

16
• Known across the world now for his universal
gaffe(s), whose social media post last
Christmas said “Happy Easter”, to show his
followers that he can take being the butt of
jokes.
• Image follows

17. WTGW
• This word is from the
Persian fairy tale ,”The
Three Princes of
______”, whose heroes
“were always making
discoveries, by
accidents and sagacity,
of things they were not
in quest of”. The word
has come to mean “a
propensity for making
fortunate discoveries
while looking for
something unrelated”.

18
• The name X was borrowed from the lead
guitarist, Anup’s quiz team in college that went
by the same name. The band has always
maintained that the pun was actually
unintentional and they were more interested in
the word pause being part of the band's name.
In recent interviews, the band has been quoted
giving different origins of the name. Some of
them include a tyre company in Brazil, tattooed
fans and an attribution to bassist’s mother.

19
• Which thespian’s unconventional claims to fame
include being the founder and chairman of the
Internet Users Community of India (IUCI) and in
setting up internet organisations like the Ethical
Hackers Association.
• A fan of technology, this wild person who passed
away in 2011 said “The moment the mouse
came in my hand, the cigarette flew
away…permanently.”
• ID him.

20
• The image on the next slide is from the
movie Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy starring Gary
Oldman, based on a novel of the same name.
The movie has a rare on screen appearance
by an acclaimed author. Identify the unlikely
actor highlighted below

Prelims,The Second Plot- Chakra View 2016

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Prelims,The Second Plot- Chakra View 2016