IIT Kanpur Antaragni 2011 MELA Quiz - Main Round

The Music,Entertainment,Literatureand Arts
Quiz
IITKanpur
-Ankit Sethi

WRITE, BROTHER!
Written Round, 5 questions. +10 per question. +20 bonus for getting
all 5 correct.

"We were somewhere around Barstow, on
the edge of the desert, when the drugs began
to take hold."
1.

“The sky above the port was the color of
television, tuned to a dead channel.”
2.

“You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.”
3.

“Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one
morning, without having done anything truly wrong,
he was arrested.”
4.

“It was a pleasure to burn.”
5.

1.
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

3.
• ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’

ORAL INTERROGATION VOL.1
10 points all around. No negatives.

1.
 Der Zauberlehrling is a poem by Goethe that begins as
an old sorcerer departs his workshop, leaving his
apprentice with chores to perform. Tired of fetching
water by pail, the apprentice enchants a broom to do
the work for him — using magic in which he is not yet
fully trained. The floor is soon awash with water, and
the apprentice realizes that he cannot stop the broom
because he does not know how.
 When all seems lost, the old sorcerer returns, quickly
breaks the spell and saves the day. The poem finishes
with the old sorcerer's statement that powerful spirits
should only be called by the master himself.
 How is this story immortalized on film?

‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ scene in
‘Fantasia’

2.
• "Private Dancer", is a song originally planned for
their 4th studio album, and was recorded by the
band except for the vocals. The lead vocalist
decided that a female voice would be more
appropriate and handed the song to Tina Turner
for her comeback album of the same name. With
hits like ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?”, it
became her best-selling album both in the U.S.
and internationally, and propelled her back to
superstardom during the year of its release. Name
the vocalist/band.

• Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits

3.
 One of the ways this term is used among children is as a
divination game, often played by young girls to foretell their
futures; it runs as follows:
 When shall I marry?
 This year, next year, sometime, never.
 What will my husband be?
 _____, _____, ___, sailor, rich-man, poor-man, beggar-man, thief.
 What will I be?
 Lady, baby, gypsy, queen.
 What shall I wear?
 Silk, satin, velvet, lace
 How shall I get it?
 Given, borrowed, bought, stolen.

• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier
• John Le Carre’s novel
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier,
Spy is derived from
this nursery rhyme.

4.
The Carnal Prayer Mat is a
novel written by author Li
Yu in 1657 during the Qing
Dynasty. It is divided into 4
chapters: Spring 春,
Summer 夏, Autumn 秋,
Winter 冬.
This book is the source for
something in the news in
early 2011. What?

3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy
• The world’s first 3D
“adult” movie bases it’s
screenplay on the story.

6.
• _________ has been called film criticism's
"grand undefined term.“
• For some, it refers to all elements of visual
style—that is, both elements on the set and
aspects of the camera. For others, it takes
on mystical meanings related to the
emotional tone of a film.

Two of American novelist, Frederic Tuten’s best known books. The cover for
both books features original artwork by an artist using his characteristic
benday dot technique.
Identify this pop artist.
7.

8.
• Monica Dogra.
• She’s the lead singer of Sha’air and Func
(song 3), the lead actress of Dhobi Ghat
(song 2) and the co-composer/singer in the
song from Saas Bahu Sensex.

9.
 In the 1980 movie 10, the character played by Bo Derek
asks "Did you ever do it to _____?", a reference to the
thinking that the work is a good soundtrack for making
love to. A four minute excerpt of the song is used during
the subsequent sex scene. This significantly increased
sales of recordings of the work, which is still under
copyright in many countries.
 An Indian connection to the song is the fact that the
song you hear below was inspired by that particular
piece.
 Which song?

10.
Identify the painting they are attempting to re-create.
Video of a documentary called Wasteland.

The word "X" is taken from a form of satirical prose
originating in Spain, depicting realistically and often
humorously the adventures of a low-born, roguish
hero living by his/her wits in a corrupt society.
Aravind Adiga's “The White Tiger” is a recent
example and you would also find the name in a
Tintin adventure.
X?
11.

12.
• Lord of Light is a science fiction/fantasy novel by Roger
Zelazny that was greenlighted for movie adaptation in
1979. Famed artist X was contracted to produce artwork
for set design. However, the project was later shelved.
• The script and X's set designs, were subsequently
acquired by the CIA as cover for an exfiltration team for
six US diplomatic staff trapped – in Tehran but outside
the embassy compound – by the Iranian hostage crisis.
The team had a copy of the script, and they pretended to
be scouting a location in Iran for shooting a Hollywood
film from that script.
• Which artist made such unwitting contributions to
political intrigue?

13.
• The novel deliberately mirrors the
music of its title, with various
characters "improvising" solo
compositions that fit together into
a complete work. The novel also
utilizes the __________ style of
Jazz music, allowing the
characters to explore the same
events from different perspectives.
• This musical pattern also has a
counterpart in the Indian Classical
Music tradition.
• Name both the Jazz term and it’s
Indian counterpart.

13.
• ‘Call/Response’ a.k.a. as Sawaal Jawaab

14.
• Rain, River, Liberty, _____ (Leaf) and
Summer
• Fill in the blank and explain

14.
• The missing blank is ‘Joaquin’ as in,
Joaquin Phoenix. The rest are his siblings.
In his youth he started calling himself ‘Leaf’
as he too desired the nature inspired names
his siblings had.

15.
• X is defined as a three-day phase when the light is
obscured, and precedes the beginning of a new
cycle. Symbolically, it represents a time of inner
stillness and contemplation, and preparedness for
a new beginning. But the connection with band Y
was not denied by the director, and scenes from
the movie resemble animated sequences from the
1982 Alan Parker film based on Y. Identify X and
Y.

15.
• X: Dark of the Moon
• Y: Pink Floyd

THEME ROUND
+10 for a direct answers. Answers link to a theme. All answers to be
written.

3.+50/-25
• It has been called “one of the most
successful, critically acclaimed, and
ground-breaking preschool television series
of all time”
• The show’s host has reportedly “developed
an avid following among both preteen girls
and mothers.”
• The show had a 10 year run, from 1996-
2006.

4. +40/-20
• A viral video humorously titled “______ Sex Tape”
was an ad for a bottled water company Glacéau.
• The video parodies a series of viral tropes: a
skateboarding dog, a talking parrot that says
“_________, I love your hair”, animated dirty-
dancing babies, a double rainbow and a groin
kick.
• The video was uploaded to YouTube on 7 March
2011 and, as of 1 July 2011, had attracted more than
nine and a half million views.

5. +30/-15
• Sea of Time
• Sea of Science
• Sea of Nothing
• Foothills of the Headlands (or Sea of
Heads)
• Sea of Holes
• In which movie would you find the
characters journeying through all these
scenic locales?

7. +10/-5
• The first movie adaptation of
X fared poorly at the box
office. When the sequel to X
was adapted and became a
hit, fresh attention was given
to the original. It was finally
remade in 2002, this time the
movie having the same name
as X.

• Colours of the Rainbow:
– Violet Hill
– Mood Indigo
– Blue’s Clues
– Rachel Green(e)
– Yellow Submarine
– A Clockwork Orange
– Red Dragon

ART AND MOVIE POSTERS
+10 all around.

THE CRITERION COLLECTION
ROUND
+10 points all around.

2.
• Movie poster designed
by the person on
whom the movie is
based and named
after. Who?

2.
• A documentary about
the noted
underground comic
artist Robert Crumb.

3.
• The film is named
after an architect
and is about with
the city most
associated with the
architect. ID person
and city.

4.
• Two great films in their own right. Connect
the two.

5.
• Who was the location
scout for this
particular film?

6.
• ID the actor.
• The film’s poster was
also the inspiration for
that of a recent movie.
• ID both for full points.

6.
• David Bowie, The Social Network

7.
• Based on the first movie, work out the
name of the second.

7.
• Salo or 120 Days of Sodom
• Therefore the other movie is, Gomorrah.

• Director directing their significant others
(husbands/wives).

1.
• Dave Mustaine created a power-metal
music festival called Gigantour (inspired
from the anime Gigantor) as an alternative
to the more established metal music
festival, Ozzfest, created by Ozzy
Osbourne and his wife.

2.
• ____________ Singapore (1940)
• ____________ Zanzibar (1941)
• ____________ Morocco (1942)
• ____________ Utopia (1946)
• ____________ Rio (1947)
• ____________ Bali (1952)
• The ____________ Hong Kong (1962)
• Fill in the blank and supply any 2 of 3 actors
present in all of the above.

2.
• The “Road to…” movies starring Bob Hope,
Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour

• Movies using the ‘Rashomon Effect’ plot
device.

3.
• Dorothy Adjoa Amuah, Zaziwe Dlamini-
Manaway, and her younger sister Swati Dlamini
all grew up in the United States, but then
returned to their native country for business and
family reasons. “This is about three women
breaking away from legacy to find their own feet,”
said director Graeme Swanepoel, who's filming a
reality show on their lives.
• Who are they?

3.
• Nelson Mandela’s grand-daughters.
• The youngest sister Swati had this to say:
“We’re definitely not the African
Kardashians.”

4.
 "I was after a villain that had never been done on-
camera before. Hugo Strange, or Clayface, or one they’d
never done. The Joker seemed a little too high-profile,
and as my friend pointed out, “Well, you’re pretty
brave.” I said, “What are you talking about?” This is
after I got the part. He said, “I wouldn’t want to follow
Jack Nicholson in anything.” And I said, “Oh no. I didn’t
even think of that.” But what was wonderful was the
anonymity involved. Since they can’t see you, you’re
liberated to make much bolder choices than you would
make if you were on-camera."
 Who?

4.
• Mark Hamill talking about his voice-acting
for the Joker in the Batman animated series
and video games.

5.
• This song was first picked up in the
political press by conservative columnist
George Will, then by Ronald Reagan’s re-
election campaign. It was used as an aural
signifier for all things awesome about
America. But the lyrics and the original
demo is an angry, sarcastic cry for a lost
generation, masked by anthemic keyboard
chords meant to evoke irony. Which song?

5.
• Bruce Springsteen, “Born in the U.S.A.”

___________________ is one of the most famous paintings
by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It is believed that
every great Greek philosopher can be found within the
painting, but determining which are depicted is difficult,
since Raphael made no designations outside possible
likenesses.
Part of the painting was used for the covers of 2 albums by
an American rock band. The 2 albums were released on the
same day though it is not technically a ‘double album’.
Painting: 5 points
Band & Album(s): 5 points
6.

Christopher Tin is a composer of Chinese
descent whose work is primarily classical,
with a world music influence. What unique
record does his piece ‘Baba Yetu’ hold in
music history?
7.

7.
• The first piece of music composed for a
video-game (Civilization 4) to win a
Grammy.

8.
• __________ is a British/American television
sitcom. The show is about a British husband-and-
wife comedy writing team who travel to
Hollywood to remake their successful British TV
series, with disastrous results.
• The highlight of the show no doubt is, _______
playing himself playing an actor chosen to play an
erudite headmaster for an elite boys’ school.

9.
• In an incident in New York City in 1986,
news anchor Dan Rather was the victim of
an unprovoked attack by one or two
assailants who, between beatings, would
ask, “________________?” How has this
freak incident been immortalized in music
history?

9.
• “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” by
R.E.M.

10.
• The screenplay for this movie, which writer
_______ told TV Guide he wrote while often high
on crack cocaine, inspired many aspects of The
West Wing.
• In early episodes of The West Wing; some
dialogues from the two are nearly identical. It
also shares several actors as well as the set of the
Oval Office.
• Movie: 5 points
• Screenwriter: 5 points

10.
• Aaron Sorkin and ‘The American President’

11.
 Music Producer Danger Mouse produced an album
in 2004 that created a huge uproar. While critics
called it one of the best albums of the year, EMI
tried fervently to prevent its distribution. The two
affected “parties” had this to say:
 X: "I think it was a really strong album...I was
honored to be on - you know, quote-unquote, the
same song with Y."
 A member of Y:“I didn’t mind when something like
that happened with _________. But the record
company minded. They put up a fuss. But it was
like, ‘Take it easy guys, it’s a tribute.’”

11.
• X: Jay-Z, Y: The Beatles
• Danger Mouse used an a
cappella version of rapper
Jay-Z's The Black Album
and coupled it with
instrumentals created
from a multitude of
unauthorized samples
from The Beatles' White
Album to create…

12.
• In November 1960, Norman Mailer first tried his
hand at a genre that would come to define his
career. He wrote an article in Esquire “Superman
Comes to the Supermarket” about X. Strangely
enough, X has made several appearances in
Superman comics. Superman once asked X to
pose as Clark Kent on a television program
alongside Superman to preserve his secret
identity. In Superman #170, X asks for Superman’s
help to promote a physical fitness initiative in
order to close the “muscle gap.” Who?

12.
• Former President John F. Kennedy

13.
• Paintings by MF Hussain based on his
memories of a 1924 film. Which film?
• (hint: not Aladdin)

14.
 The upcoming movie bases its visuals on paintings
of renowned fantasy artist Frank Frazetta, which
are considered definitive representations of the
pulp hero shown herein. Which pulp hero/creator?

15.
 Shah Rukh Khan: Nice guy.
 Aamir Khan: Dickhead.
 Salman Khan: Never heard of him.
 Katrina Kaif: Never heard of her.
 Aishwarya Rai: Pretty, but a terrible, terrible actress.
Isn’t she knocked up now? Why is she still acting?
 These were actual interview answers as part of a
recent publicity interview. Whose words and what
was the publicity drive for?

15.
• Comedian Russell
Peters, who was in India
to promote his
appearance in Speedy
Singhs, and single-
handedly managed to
piss off every
messageboard troll in
India.

ALPHABET SOUP
+2 for every correct answer. 26 items to be identified.

 A is a German Jew author who lived in India during in
1951-1986, after marrying an Indian Parsi architect.
During this period, she also won the Booker Prize (in
1975) for her novel B,also set in India. In the film of the
same name, the lead role was portrayed by a major
Bollywood actor C. A later also won the Academy Award
for Adapted Screenplay twice, with films D(1986) and
E(1992), both based on eponymous novels by the same
author F. Both these films featured actress G, who is
recognisable, not, ironically, for these roles, but for a
character called Bellatrix Lestrange.

• Perhaps C's most famous line in Bollywood, that from the
movie H, was quoted by composer I in his Oscar
acceptance speech in 2009, for his work in the movie J,
directed by K. K himself has stated that the iconic
opening chase sequence of the film J is inspired by a
similar sequence in the 2004 Indian film L, which had
music by folk/fusion/rock band M. Among other people,
the movie also featured N in a cameo, portraying real-life
figure O, who is one of the people convicted in the '93
Bombay blasts.

• M also composed music for the movie P, which was India's entry to
the Oscars earlier this year in February. I was also nominated, for his
work in the movie Q, directed by K, but did not win. Q's leading man
R (who was also hosting along with actress S) appeared with T (who
was also lead actress in J) in a reboot of the classic movie franchise U.
N has most recently directed film V, which has music composed by I.
The film V features a song shot at W, one of the most important Sufi
shrines in the world. I had earlier composed a song in a 2009
Bollywood film X, which was dedicated to W. (i.e. the song, not the
film) The film V features singer Y, the frontman of an Indipop group
of the 90's, on nine tracks. It has also been billed as the last onscreen
appearance of the late actor Z, brother of C.

• A- Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
• B- Heat And Dust
• C- Shashi Kapoor
• D- A Room With A View
• E- Howards End
• F- E.M.Forster
• G- Helena Bonham Carter
• H- Deewar
• I- A R Rahman
• J- Slumdog Millionaire
•

• K- Danny Boyle
• L- Black Friday
• M- Indian Ocean
• N- Imtiaz Ali
• O- Yakub Memon (brother of Tiger Memon, the
mastermind of the '93 blasts)
• P- Peepli Live
• Q- 127 Hours

• R- James Franco
• S- Anne Hathaway
• T- Freida Pinto
• U- Planet Of The Apes
• V- Rockstar
• W- Nizamuddin Dargah, Delhi (shrine of the revered Sufi
saint Nizamuddin Auliya)
• X- Delhi-6
• Y- Mohit Chauhan
• Z- Shammi Kapoor

THE END
“Books, records, films - these things matter. Call me shallow but it's
the fuckin' truth” – High Fidelity

IIT Kanpur Antaragni 2011 MELA Quiz - Main Round

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to IIT Kanpur Antaragni 2011 MELA Quiz - Main Round

Similar to IIT Kanpur Antaragni 2011 MELA Quiz - Main Round (20)

More from Ankit Sethi

More from Ankit Sethi (8)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

IIT Kanpur Antaragni 2011 MELA Quiz - Main Round

Editor's Notes