May 25, 2008

Pulp Fiction - The Movie Quiz

1. Put Fundaez











Ans.: This is the Family Tree of Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather




























2. Connect and Put Fundaez








































Ans.: The connect is Johnny Gaddar. References to these movies (and more movies) have been made in the movie.
Pulp Fiction - The movie 'Pulp Fiction' is full of homages to other movies (the story comes full circle as well). Same for Johnny G.
Parwana – The movie Parwana is source to Johnny G’s plan.
Johnny Mera Naam – The name Johnny G is taken from this movie, in the hotel reception, the receptionist is watching the movie Johnny Mera Naam and the character uses the name.
Citizen Kane – Shardul’s marriage is not working, wife doing jigsaws.
Eyes Wide Shut – Daya Shetty is watching this movie on TV in his opening scene.
During the fateful train journey, Johnny G is reading the novel ‘The Whiff of Money’ by James Hadley Chase. (Crime never pays is a common moral in Chase novels)

3. He suffered from a rare muscular disorder known as Myasthenia Gravis. He also suffers from Asthma. He has been a leading campaigner for Blood Donation programs among other things. Here is a list of movies, which were signed by him, but they did not make it to the box office for some reason or the other : Rakesh Kumar’s Charlie, Manoj Kumar’s Naya Bharat, Romu Sippy’s Tala Chabi, Praksh Mehra’s Chanakya Chandragupta, Kader Khan’s Jaahil & Asmaan, among others. He had received Rs.5000 as salary for his first movie. Who am I talking about?
(The question looks very arbit, but if I reveal anything else, it would be a give away)





Ans.: Amitabh Bachchan

4.He is banned from entering China. In an interview to TIME Magazine, he said “You shouldn't speak until you know what you're talking about. That's why I get uncomfortable with interviews. Reporters ask me what I feel China should do about Tibet. Who cares what I think China should do? I'm a f***ing actor! They hand me a script. I act. I'm here for entertainment. Basically, when you whittle everything away, I'm a grown man who puts on makeup”. Who is He?






Ans.: Brad Pitt

5.It is defined as a small degree of comfort that can exist between two people emotionally in a relationship. Some people define it as ‘a precise figure defining the comfort, humanity and fellow feeling required between two people for love to survive. If _____________ is nil, Love is dead’. What is defined in the given two definitions?
(Hint: It’s the name of a movie)






Ans.: Quantum of Solace

6.In the opening scene of The Godfather, it shows that the Don is listening to requests for favors from friends and acquaintances. Logically, the ‘Father of the Bride’ should be busy with attending his guests and enjoying the marriage rather than doing this. The question is, despite my (and infact anyone’s) logic, Why was the Don listening to them on that day?






Ans.: It is a Sicilian custom that “No Sicilian can refuse a request on his daughter’s wedding day”.

7. What is this Poster for? Put Fundaez.





































Ans.: The Concert for Bangladesh. It was the event title for two concerts held by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar on August 1, 1971, playing to a total 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was organized for the relief of refugees from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after the 1970 Bhola Cyclone and during the 1970 Bangladesh Liberation War. The event was first benefit concert of this magnitude in world history.





























8. Connect


























Ans.: A Clockwork Orange. Anthony Burgess (in the middle) wrote the novel, which was adapted into movie by Stanley Kubrick (on the right). Andy Warhol (on the left) adapted it into another movie called Vinyl.


9. What is unique about the Malayalam movie Harikrishnans?

Ans.: It is the first Indian movie (and perhaps the only one till date) to have multiple climaxes.The neccessity of multiple climaxes came because of the popularity lead stars, Mammootty and Mohanlal. Both of them have their own huge fanbase and the concentration of the fanbase varies in different regions. However, the mutiple climaxes were only different from each other by a single shot. The scene was Mira(Juhi Chawla) choosing the one to be her friend among both the Harikrishnans. She admires both equally and goes for a selection method which her grandmother tought her to take tough decisions. She sets the method so as to choose her friend; the loser of the toss presumably becoming Mira's lover. Diffrerent climax shots shows Hari(Mammootty) winning the toss and the second one shows Krishnan(Mohanlal) winning it; in other words Krishnan and Hari getting the hands of Mira, respectively. The first climax was used in regions of higher fanbase to Mohanlal like Thiruvananthapuram and the second in regions in which Mammootty has upper hand like Kozhikode. A third climax was also planned for releasing in areas with neutral fanbase share, featuring Shah Rukh Khan. Even promotional stills of the third climax were taken, but the plan was abandoned due to difficulty in introducing a subplot, and the third climax never saw light. After a few weeks, Fazil decided to remove a climax and settle with the same climax in all prints. He chose the one which shows Hari winning the toss. The CD, DVD and TV releases of the film also followed the suit.


10. What is this exhaustive list of events depicting :
1926 - At a desk in a newsroom
1927 - Walking past a tennis court, carrying a walking stick
1929 – Being bothered by a small boy as he reads a book in the subway
1930 – Walking past the house where the murder was committed
1935 – Tossing some litter while Robert Donat and Lucie Mannheim run from the theater
1938 – Outside the court house, holding a camera
1938 – In Victoria Station, wearing a black coat and smoking a cigarette
1940 – Walking near the phone booth
1940 – Leaves the hotel, wearing a coat and hat and reading a newspaper
1941 – Midway through, passing Robert Montgomery in front of his building
1941 – Mailing a letter at the Village Post Office
1942 – Standing in front of the Cut Rate Drugs in New York
1943 – On the train to Santa Rosa, playing cards
1944 – In picture ad in the newspaper for Reduco Obesity Slayer
1945 – Coming out of an elevator at the Empire Hotel, carrying a violin case and smoking a cigarette
1946 – At a big party , drinking champagne and then quickly departing
1947 – Leaving the train and Cumberland station, carrying a cello
1948 – Trademark can be seen on a neon sign board
1950 – Looking at the maid
1951 – Boarding a train carrying a double bass fiddle
1953 – Crossing the top of a staircase
1954 – On the left side of the class reunion photo
1954 – Winding the clock in the song writer’s apartment
1955 – Travelling by bus
1955 – Walking past the parked Limousine of an old man who is looking at paintings
1956 – Watching acrobats in the Moroccan marketplace
1958 – Walking on the street in a gray suit
1959 – Missing a bus
1960 – Wearing a cowboy hat, passing by the office window
1963 – Leaving the pet shop with two white terriers
1964 – Entering the hotel corridor from the left
1966 – Sitting in the Hotel d’Angleterre lobby with a blond baby
1969 – Is being carried on a wheel chair in airport
1972 – In the centre of the crowd wearing a bowler hat, he is the only one not applauding the speaker
1976 – In silhouette through the door of the Registrar of Births and Deaths.



Ans.: Cameo appearances of Alfred Hitchcock.

May 1, 2008

Sports Quiz Group Anniversary Quiz

1. I was completely made of leather; unlike any other one I featured 32 hand stitched panels (12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagons), creating the best shape of my times. My name was derived from “Star of the Television”. I was the first of my kind. I was so made so that I would be visible to the entire world. Who am I?

Ans.: Adidas Telstar. It was the first Official Football of FIFA. It was developed by Adidas for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Mexico. It was specially made in Black and White colour combination so that it would be clearly visible on the B&W Television sets. Earlier, the balls were usually brown in colour.


2. Connect



Ans.: Force India F1 Team. First Logo belongs to Spyker Cars and the Second logo belongs to the UB Group.

3. What has just happened here? And What follows. Put Fundaez



Ans.: Brazil Vs Chile, World Cup Qualifier, 1989. That’s Roberto Rojas in the picture. Chile were 1-0 down in the match.
Plan: The Chileans had planned to force an abandonment of the match and replay it on a neutral venue.
Execution: On 69th minute, goalkeeper Roberto Rojas threw himself into the smoke of a firecracker (thrown in by a lady in the crowd), which had landed nearby, pulled a razor blade from his gloves and stabbed himself in the head.
The Result: Lots of blood, a mass brawl, a walkout, an abandonment. After investigation of video footage, the match was awarded to Brazil, with no replay. Rojas was banned for life (ban was lifted by FIFA in 2001) and the girl who threw the firecracker was signed by Playboy Brazil ( ;) , now that’s something).


4. Whose epitaph reads- "In memory of a once fluid man, crammed and distorted by a classical mess”?

Ans.: Bruce Lee

5. If a batsman hits the ball and it breaks into two (or three or as many as you like parts) and suppose one piece of the broken ball (or as many pieces as you wish) get caught by the fielder/s, What decision will be given by the umpire? Will he be given out?

Ans.: Not out. The ball will be declared dead.

6. Who said "When I came back to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I couldn't ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn't live where I wanted. I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either."

Ans.: Jesse Owens

7.Who gave Kapil Dev, the nickname “Haryana Hurricane”?

Ans.: The Guinness Book of World Records

8.This game derives from an old children’s game ‘Batttledore’. It’s named after the country estate of the dukes of Beaufort in Gloucestershire, England, where it was first played in about 1873. Name the game.

Ans.: Badminton

9.'DB-07’ is an in-house brand of children’s clothing from Marks & Spencer. What is DB in DB-O7?

Ans.: David Beckham, brand ambassador of Marks & Spencer. He uses Jersey No.7, when he represents England

10. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has a unique Post Box Number in every state of Australia. This number is in honour of a Sporting great. Name the Sportsman, the number and the significance of the number.

Ans.: In honour of Sir Donald Bradman, the post boxes of ABC are numbered 9994, to honour his test career average of 99.94.

11.And Finally, a Bonus Question – A Tribute to the Golden Period of Indian Hockey. India beat USA 24-1 in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, one of the biggest wins of all times. Put Fundaez – How did the USA team score their lone goal?

Ans.: The Indian goalkeeper Richard Allen was signing autographs behind the goal post!!