M.E.L.A. QuizQM: Kunal Doshi

The Road Ahead

• 20 questions in the prelims

• Multiples of 5 are star-marked questions which will be used to resolve ties.

• Quizmaster’s decision is final.

Prelims

1

Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonsa and Farhad Wadiawere a part of this band. According to them they used to do ‘versions’ and not remixes. They were inspired by the remixes of old songs by Bally Sagoo and wished to do something on the same lines. They were famous for their album ‘Dance Masti’ and its sequels. It featured versions of songs like ‘Dil Kya Kare’ and ‘Baahon Mein ChaleAa’ and employed talented voices like Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan and Mahalaxmi Iyer.

The music group shares its name with a John Lennon song.

Name the band.

2

FITB.

Craig Kilborn ___ _______ _______ _____

Hosts of The Daily Show

Craig Kilborn Jon Stewart Trevor Noah

3

The person in the picture currently works at Valve Corporation. He is known for his anonymity and has never publicly disclosed his actual name and goes by a pseudonym. His involvement with his claim to fame began in 2005 when he received a dominant variant of the project from a designer known by the name ‘Guinsoo’.

What pseudonym does he use?

IceFrog, the lead designer of DotAand DotA 2.

4

Seen on the next slide is the poster for the 2013 Bengali film ‘Satyanweshi’. Which character is the main protagonist of the film and which Bengali director, who is also well-known for his Hindi movies plays the main role?

Byomkesh Bakshi and the actor is Sujoy Ghosh (director of Kahaani)

5

This word means ‘Turtle Destruction Wave’. It concentrates ki into a single point and its different variants are Jet, Bending, Super, Twin Dragon Shot, Continuous and 10x.

What’s the good word?

Kamehameha

6

This series of comic books was the brainchild of Shekhar Kapur and Deepak Chopra.

The series is set in a universe where after a nuclear third world war, the world is divided into two continents, Nark and Aryavarta. In Aryavarta the last kingdom of humans exists inside a city called Armagarh. The series follows the exploits of the sons of the king of Armagarh and their battle against the demonic leader of Nark who is a product of nanotechnology.

Name the comic book series.

7

The designer of a famous album cover says:

“The face on the outside is the Schizoid Man, and on the inside it's the _______. If you cover the smiling face, the eyes reveal an incredible sadness. What can one add? It reflects the music.”

To which album, considered to be one of the first progressive rock albums does this cover belong?

In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson

8

Absolut tribute to which artist?

Jackson Pollock

9

These awards are given to commemorate the worst performances and films. They are a British counterpart to the American Razzies. The name given to these awards is a pun on a prestigious British film award and signifies the bad work done by the recipients of the award.

Kindly name the award.

BARFTAA pun on the BAFTA

10

Wire fu is an element or style of Hong Kong action cinema used in fight scenes. It is a combination of two terms: "wire work" and "kung fu.” Wire fu is used to simply allow actors to perform stunts beyond their physical abilities. In some films, however it is used to create a more dramatic effect and adds magical realism to the world in which the film takes place.

Which Hollywood movie is the most famous example of the usage of such a technique which was subsequently adopted in many other movies?

11

The costume in the picture was designed by William Travilla. The dress is a light-colored ivory cocktail dress in a style which was in vogue at the time. It was owned by Debbie Reynolds later. Reynolds tried to sell it at an auction and its price was estimated to be around 1-2 million, but, it fetched 5.6 million, exceeding all expectations.

Why is this costume famous?

12

Shivaji Satam is an Indian television and film actor. He made his screen debut with the popular TV series Rishte-Naate. He has appeared in many Hindi and Marathi films. In Hindi, his famous films are Ghulam E Mustafa, Yeshwant, China Gate, Sooryavanshamand Hu Tu Tu.

What is his most famous role?

13

He was one of the major British actors who successfully made the transition from Shakespearean theatre to Hollywood blockbusters. He played many memorable roles in movies like Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. He became very well known to the younger generation when he played a famous role in the first installment of a hit Hollywood franchise. Upon his first viewing of the film he wrote in his diary that it was a pretty staggering film as spectacle and technically brilliant, the battle scenes at the end went on for five minutes too long, but it remains a vivid experience. Which actor and what character?

Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi

14

This actor decided to use a stage name to avoid confusion with well-known actor Michael Douglas and daytime host Mike Douglas, as well as to satisfy SAG rules. The rumor that he changed his surname because of an attraction to a famous actress of the 1970s is incorrect. He chose his stage name because of an affinity for the physical comedy of a silent-era actor.

Name him.

Michael Keaton

15

The painting Bathers at Asnières was a mirror impression of another famous painting by the same artist, completed shortly before, in 1884. While the bathers in this painting are doused in light, almost every figure on the other side appears to be cast in shadow, either under trees or an umbrella, or from another person.

Of which painting is this a mirror interpretation?

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Le Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat

16

A Pleasure to Burn is a collection of sixteen short stories published in 2010. The origins and evolution of the author’s most famous work are explored in this collection. Some of the short stories in the collection are:

• The Reincarnate

• Pillar of Fire

• The Library

• Bright Phoenix

This collection is considered to be a companion piece to which book?

17

What name was used for the first time for the pictured collection of short stories?

Graphic Novel

18

Marathi by origin, born and brought up in Indore, where her mother's family was entrenched in the Gwalior gharana of Hindustani classical music, thus she learned music as a child, In 2008, she won accolades for her score for the film, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! She was also the host of a MTV mini-series ‘Sound Trippin’ in which she travels around India collecting local sounds.

Name her.

Sneha Kanwalkar

19

This firm in a movie derives its name from a Latin word which means a gap or a missing part. The word is also used in the name of a type of amnesia.

What is the name of the firm?

Lacuna Inc. from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

20

‘Superduperman’ was a satirical story published in MAD magazine which parodied both Superman and Captain Marvel. The writer of a famous novel said ‘We wanted to take Superduperman and turn him 180 degrees –dramatic instead of comedic’?

Which graphic novel did this story influence?

Watchmen

The MainsGood Luck!

The Road Ahead

• 3 written rounds.

• 24 questions on the pounce.

• Other rules will be explained as we move ahead.

Written Round - I

Rules

• 5 questions about famous partnerships.

• +10 for each.

• No maximizer.

1

Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Sunil Shetty have worked on many films together, some of them being Hera Pheri, De Dana Dan and Awara Paagal Deewana. Which film, that is still remembered for its soundtrack due to songs like ‘Tu Cheez Badi hai Mast Mast’ and ‘Tip TipBarsa Paani’ was their first together?

2

The song ‘Shake’ by the Ying Yang Twins featured which artist (notorious for his frequent musical collaborations) for the first time?

3

The song ‘My Guitar Gently Weeps’ was released in 1968. The song featured a guitar solo by a premier English guitarist of the time. He had developed a good friendship with one of the members of the band, however, he wasn’t credited for the solo.

Who is the guitarist and which band released the single?

4

Each of this iconic graphic novel’s 12 chapters features a title quote pulled from somewhere in literature. Many of these quotes came from the writer's own reading, but for some, he turned to another novelist-comic book writer for help. This was before he became famous for his Sandman series of comics.

Who is the writer of the graphic novel and which writer helped him with the quotes?

5

This director was riding high on the success of his hit superhero film and wished to make a romantic dark fantasy film next. The main character in the film was part human, part machine. He took the audition of an actor who was a teen heartthrob of the time due to his role in the show ‘21 Jump Street’. The actor and the director formed an instant connection. The film was a critical and commercial success. The actor-director duo have paired up for eight films in total.

Name both.

EXCHANGE SHEETS

1

Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Sunil Shetty have worked on many films together, some of them being Hera Pheri, De Dana Dan and Awara Paagal Deewana. Which film, that is still remembered for its soundtrack due to songs like ‘Tu Cheez Badi hai Mast Mast’ and ‘Tip TipBarsa Paani’ was their first together?

Mohra

2

The song ‘Shake’ by the Ying Yang Twins featured which artist (notorious for his frequent musical collaborations) for the first time?

Pitbull

3

The song ‘My Guitar Gently Weeps’ was released in 1968. The song featured a guitar solo by a premier English guitarist of the time. He had developed a good friendship with one of the members of the band, however, he wasn’t credited for the solo.

Who is the guitarist and which band released the single?

Eric Clapton & The Beatles

4

Each of this iconic graphic novel’s 12 chapters features a title quote pulled from somewhere in literature. Many of these quotes came from the writer's own reading, but for some, he turned to another novelist-comic book writer for help. This was before he became famous for his Sandman series of comics.

Who is the writer of the graphic novel and which writer helped him with the quotes?

Alan Moore & Neil Gaiman

5

This director was riding high on the success of his hit superhero film and wished to make a romantic dark fantasy film next. The main character in the film was part human, part machine. He took the audition of an actor who was a teen heartthrob of the time due to his role in the show ‘21 Jump Street’. The actor and the director formed an instant connection. The film was a critical and commercial success. The actor-director duo have paired up for eight films in total.

Name both.

Tim Burton & Johnny Depp

Infinite Pounce+10/-5 on pounce

+10/0 on bounce

1

Mike Judge is an American writer and director. He wrote and directed a 1999 comedy film which garnered a cult following for its sympathetic depiction of ordinary IT workers. He recently returned to workplace comedy with a hit TV show which was described as “a tech-world Entourage” by the AV Club.

Which cult film? Which TV show?

2

Four paintings are shown here. These were made in the 1920s to promote something. Which entity commissioned the artist to paint these? Who is the artist?

Norman Rockwell was commissioned by General Electric (GE) to capture the profound change which the new electric light brought to American life.

3

This band has floated a couple suggestions for the origination of their band name. It was either created by combining a eatable made by a member’s great grandmother and her name. Alternately, it may have derived from the nickname of NBA star Mookie Blaylock.

Another version says that this item was chosen to be a part of its name because of the natural process from which the item is created i.e. by taking waste and turning it into something beautiful.

Which band?

4

It was inspired by horror tales printed in EC comics and consisted of three segments:

1. Bad Dream House

2. Hungry are the Damned

3. The Raven

This spawned into an annual event, occurring sometime around late October and has happened a total of 25 times till date. The Twilight Zone has been parodied quite often, and has served as the inspiration for it several times.

What am I talking about?

5

The ______ is the most well known of the comic servant characters from an Italian form of theatre characterized by its usage of masks. It is characterized by a chequered costume. His role is that of a light-hearted, nimble and astute servant. The character is known to be a bit mischievous but as the art evolved in England, it became more of a romantic character.

Which comic book character who is usually a sidekick gets its name from this character?

Harley Quinn

6

This character trait was not conceived before the show had begun. William Hartnell had arteriosclerosis and his health was declining. The producers then thought of this trait because the show was doing well and they wanted to keep it going. So, it was Hartnell’ssickness that inspired this very important trait which led to the show becoming immortal and also helped the show in becoming a pop culture icon.

Which character and what trait?

Doctor Who and the regeneration of the character with a new body.

7

The picture shown here is from the movie – ‘The Shining’. The character utters the words ‘Here’s _______’ in this scene. He doesn’t say the names of any of the characters from the movie but parodies a very famous line from the 1980s. This line has been referenced many times in different media.

Whom does the line originally summon?

Johnny Carson

8

Bill Bergson is a fictional boy detective created by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Bill is more or less an ordinary boy with an extraordinary fascination for detective work.

The original Swedish name of Bill Bergson is the nickname of a character from a very famous book series. The character was given this nickname because of his investigative nature.

Which series of books and what is the nickname?

Kalle Blomkvist (Mickael Blomkvist) from the Millenium Trilogy.

9

A musician’s heirs are behind a company called Fifty-Six Hope Road Music, which controls the late star's likeness for licensing endeavors. In 2008, Fifty-Six sued A.V.E.L.A. and other companies for using photographs of the musician in merchandise like T-Shirts, hats and other products sold at Target, Walmart and other large retailers, without the permission of the heirs. The case brought up a relevant question ‘When does the use of a celebrity's likeness or persona in connection with a product constitute false endorsement?’

Which musician was the subject of this case?

10

We know this word in a different context today. It was first used as the name of an exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair designed by Norman Bel Geddes that presented a possible model of the world 20 years from then. It consisted of models of streamlined expressways, artificial crops and other proposed inventions.

What name was given to this exhibit?

Written Round - II

Rules

• 4 questions which have three entities as answers.

• +10 for each. +5 if 2 out of 3 are correct

• No maximizer.

1

Oliver Stone has directed three movies about the lives of US Presidents. Name the three presidents.

2

‘Lost Girls’ is a graphic novel by Alan Moore. It tells the story of three famous female characters meeting as adults. The women share erotic stories from their past. The stories are based on the childhood fantasy world of the three women.

Name all three.

3

Davis Guggenheim is the only filmmaker to have three different documentaries in the top 100 highest grossing documentaries of all time.

Name all three.

4

Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children has won three awards with the word ‘Booker’ in it. One in 1981, one in 1993 and one in 2008.

Name all three awards.

EXCHANGE SHEETS

1

Oliver Stone has directed three movies about the lives of US Presidents. Name the three presidents.

• JFK

• Nixon

• W. (George W. Bush)

2

‘Lost Girls’ is a graphic novel by Alan Moore. It tells the story of three famous female characters meeting as adults. The women share erotic stories from their past. The stories are based on the childhood fantasy world of the three women.

Name all three.

• Alice from Alice in Wonderland

• Dorothy from Wizard of Oz

• Wendy Durling from Peter Pan

3

Davis Guggenheim is the only filmmaker to have three different documentaries in the top 100 highest grossing documentaries of all time.

Name all three.

• An Inconvenient Truth

• It Might Get Loud

• Waiting for Superman

4

Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children has won three awards with the word ‘Booker’ in it. One in 1981, one in 1993 and one in 2008.

Name all three awards.

• The Man Booker Prize in 1981

• Booker of Bookers in 1993

• The Best of Bookers in 2008

Infinite Pounce - II+10/-5 on pounce

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11

This gadget used by a superhero appeared for the first time in a 1942 comic. It wasn’t just a method of super transportation, but, a symbol that represented the invisible feminine compliance that women of the Depression Era had to rely on in order to survive in the hostile male dominated work place. It was allegorized that the gadget would be undetected while moving quietly so that it would not be shot down by the guns of Man’s World. By June 2010, this gadget became something of a joke and was laughed off by the publishing company.

Which superhero? What gadget?

Wonder Woman’s invisible jet.

12

The painting shown on the next slide depicts the beginning of the uprising in the early 19th

century when the Mamelukes of the French Imperial Guard are ordered to charge and subdue the rioting citizens of Madrid. The crowd sees the Mamelukes as Moors, provoking an angry response. Instead of dispersing, the crowd turned on the charging Mamelukes, resulting in a ferocious melee.

Which arguably more famous painting is based on events that took place the next day? Who is the artist?

3rd of May, 1808 by Francisco GoyaThe previous painting was 2nd of May, 1808

13

This artist had been accused of having taken a cast from a living model. He conceived one of his most popular works with the controversy still in mind. To prove that he could model from life as well as other sculptors, he determined to make the sculpture of the figures on the door smaller than life. Laws of composition gave way to the work’s disordered and untamed depiction of the underworld.

His most famous sculpture was initially a figure in a large commission, for a doorway surrounding the artwork described above. The artist based this figure on a real poet considering the theme of the above artwork.

Name both sculptures and the poet.

Gates of Hell and The Thinker. The poet being Dante Alighieri

14

The 1975 film Barry Lyndon chronicles the exploits of an 18th century Irish adventurer. The movie required scenes to be shot in the dim light of candles because the era in the movie preceded the invention of the light bulb. The equipment of the time was not advanced enough to capture a clear shot in this low light. But, the director procured new advanced cameras which allowed him to shoot such scenes. Conspiracy theories suggest that the director got these cameras in lieu of a project that he worked on.

Which director? What project?

Stanley Kubrick filmed the Apollo 11 moon landing.

15

The plot of this 1982 film goes thus - A confined but troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone. The soundtrack of the film was very popular. The following songs were included in the soundtrack:• In the Flesh• The Thin Ice• Goodbye Blue Sky• Mother• Comfortably Numb

Name the Movie.

16

As a child, this writer apparently witnessed one of his friends being struck and killed by a train, though he has no memory of the event. His family told him that after leaving home to play with the boy, he returned, speechless and seemingly in shock. Many commentators suggest that this event may have inspired some of his darker works.Another inspiration occurred while browsing through an attic with his elder brother, when he uncovered a paperback version of a collection of short stories, entitled The Lurker in the Shadows, that had belonged to his father. He responded to the cover art—an illustration of a yellow-green demon hiding within the recesses of a Hellish cavern beneath a tombstone.

Who is the writer and which writer’s book inspired him?

Stephen King and HP Lovecraft

17

Necronomicon is a compendium of images by Swiss artist HR Giger. The book was given to a director while he was working on the pre-production of a science fiction film. Upon viewing the book, he hired Giger to produce artwork and conceptual designs for the film. Giger most importantly designed a character which is still very prominent in popular culture.

What character?

18

Initially, this character’s chief superhuman characteristic was his indestructibility, rather than super strength, which was attributed to his having rubbed the head of Bernice the Whiffle Hen numerous times after being shot. He later attributed his strength to a different entity. The popularity of the character helped sales of the entity and the character was used as a role model for children.

Which character and what entity?

19

Engineer Louis Mcmanus’ wife served as a model for it. The wings in it represent the muse of art and the atom represents the electron of science. This design was selected after 47 rejected ideas.

‘Ike’ was one of the names suggested for it, but was not chosen because it was also President’s Eisenhower’s nickname.

What am I talking about?

20

This comic can be called a meta-comic as it often satirizes the comics medium, and allows its characters to break the fourth wall and either communicate directly with the author or with characters from other strips. The author appears in the strip many times and is usually the brunt of criticism of the characters for his artwork, bad puns and jokes.

Which comic?

Pearls before Swine by Stephan Pastis

Written Round - III

Rules

• 6 visual questions.

• +5 for each.

• No maximizer.

1

Which 2014 film used this glacier as one of its locations?

2

Identify the book from its minimalist cover.

3

Identify the movie from the storyboard of its most famous scene.

4

This Indiana Jones poster mimics the style of which famous character?

5

This wall painting mashes which musician’s album art with a picture of the Queen.

6

Identify the artist that Salma Hayek is playing in this movie.

EXCHANGE SHEETSAll answers on next slide

Answers

1. Interstellar

2. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

3. Psycho

4. Tintin

5. David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust)

6. Frida Kahlo

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21

William Brodie was a Scottish cabinet-maker, a respectable tradesman and Deacon of the Incorporation of Wrights, the head of the Craft of Cabinetmaking, which made him a member of the Town Council.

At night, however, Brodie became a burglar and thief. He used his daytime job as a way to gain knowledge about the security mechanisms of his clients and to copy their keys using wax impressions. He used the illicit money to maintain his second life, which included a gambling habit and five children to two mistresses.

A famous author was inspired by his life and wrote a play titled ‘Deacon Brodie’ which he later reworked into a novel.

Name the author and the novel.

22

This artist was known for his painting which emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour use. He was diagnosed with abdominal cancer and underwent surgery which left him chair and bed bound. What new style did he adopt to cope with his physical challenges? Shown in the picture is a dress inspired by his works.

Which artist?

Henri Matisse and creating art using paper cut-outs

23

The name of this film studio came from the nickname given to the WWII Italian aircraft Caproni Ca.309. The Italian noun of the name is based on the Arabic name for the sirocco, or Mediterranean wind, the idea being the studio would "blow a new wind through the animation industry.” The last film made by a founder of the studio was about the life of a Japanese WWII fighter aircraft designer.

Which film studio? Who is the founder?

Studio Ghibli & Hayao Miyazaki

24

He acquired this nickname in the 1960s when he played in a power trio named Earth as when he played club gigs he would take care of collecting the band’s nightly pay and distributing among the members. Previously, he was given the nickname ‘The Doctor’. The singer is not fond his nickname as he dislikes authority figures. He was one of the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors where Barack Obama ended his speech saying ‘While I am the president, he is the ____.’

Which singer and what nickname?

Thank You!