Saturday, June 30, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 30 June 2012

Click to Enlarge.
The daily quiz turns to another movie poster.
daily quiz question answer
The picture on the right hand side is the promotional poster for a critically acclaimed, as well as, commercially successful movie. You will have to identify the movie, from this poster.
daily movie quiz poster answer
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
shovon daily quiz movie poster answer
Answer: The movie is Baishe Srabon (Bengali script: বাইশে শ্রাবণ/২২-এ শ্রাবণ) (lit. 22nd Shrabon, Shrabon being the 4th month of Bengali calendar. It falls around 7th July of the Roman Calendar.) The date also marks the death anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.
baishe srabon quiz question answer
Directed by Srijit Mukherjee, the movie stars Prasenjit Chattopadhyay, Parambrata, Raima Sen, Abir Chatterjee and Goutam Ghose.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 29 June 2012

Click to Enlarge.
Another question from the movies for this edition of daily quiz.
daily quiz question answer
The promotional poster on the right hand side is for a movie, directed by Mahesh Manjrekar and starring Mithun Chakraborty. Identify the movie.
daily movie quiz question answer
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
shovon daily mithun quiz question answer
Answer: Although this film didn't exactly set the cash registers ringing, it was evidently one of the better made films and received critical acclaim. The movie is Ami Subhash Bolchhi (lit. This is Subhash Speaking. Bengali: আমি সুভাষ বলছি), it starred Mithun Chakraborty and was directed by Mahesh Manjrekar.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 28 June 2012

Click to Enlarge.
The daily quiz for today is on movies.
daily quiz question answer
Please identify the movie from the promotional poster given on the right hand side.
movie poster quiz question answer
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
bubble gum movie quiz of the day shovon answer
Answer: Actually, the answer is there, in front of everyone's eyes, in the poster itself. The movie is Bubble Gum, which did not set the cash registers ringing exactly.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 27 June 2012

Click to Enlarge.
Let's pick a visual question for the daily quiz.
daily quiz question answer
As you can see, the photo on the right hand side shows the snap of a cheque for US$ 7.2 millions, and had been issued many a years ago. This particular cheque enjoys a status, that is much more than a footnote, when we talk about the world history.
visual quiz question answer
All I need to know is the significance of this particular instrument of payment
alaska buy out check photo
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
quiz of the day question answer alaska
Answer: As I said, this particular cheque has a special place in the world history. USD 7.2 million was the price paid by the United States of America to the Czar of Imperial Russia, towards the buyout of Alaska. And, this was the cheque issued by the Federal Government of USA to the Czar.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 26 June 2012

A sitter for the daily quiz.
daily quiz question answer
This Indian farmer turned social worker and politician has contested election to the Parliament against Rajiv Gandhi in 1989 under a very 'unusual' circumstance. He also contested the 2004 parliamentary election from Lal Ganj Constituency. He formed a world renowned organisation of people afflicted with the same unusual condition, which has an estimated all-India membership of about 20,000. Unfortunately, his organization has been able to help only four (4) of its members till date. He was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in the year 2003.
who am I quiz question answer
Identify this gentleman. Also, tell us the name of the organization founded by him.
India politics quiz
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
dead man walking quiz
Answer: Time for the answer to the daily quiz question. The name of the person is Lal Bihari Mritak, where "Mritak", literally "dead man", was added by him through a court affidavit.
shovon daily quiz answer
He founded Mritak Sangh or the Association of the Dead in Uttar Pradesh.
mritak sangh founder lal bihari quiz
In a curious twist of fate, Lal Bihari was officially dead between 1976 and 1994. He fought Indian government bureaucracy for 18 years to prove that he is alive. When Lal Bihari tried to apply for a bank loan in 1976, he found out that he was officially dead. His uncle had bribed a government official to register him as dead, so that he would get the ownership of Bihari's land. In order to prove himself to be alive, he fought the General Election of 1989, against Rajiv Gandhi, then the incumbent Prime Minister of India.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 25 June 2012

Let's take up a business quiz question for the day's daily quiz.
daily quiz question answer
This state-owned enterprise of today was established in 1867 at Calcutta by two Scotsmen, George Stephen and Alexander. It is a manufacturer of industrial packaging, barrels & drums, LPG cylinders, greases & lubricants, leather, chemicals, functional additives and marine freight containers. It also undertakes tea exports & trading, travel, tours & cargo and engineering services such as turnkey projects, energy-audit and consultancy. Which company am I talking about?
business quiz question answer
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
business quiz question answer
Answer: Its answer time. The company is Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. It was established by George Stephen Balmer and Alexander Lawrie, two Scotsmen.
shovon chakraborty quiz question answer
Only Harsh has been able to come up with the right answer.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Bloody Sunday - Quiz of the Day - 24 June 2012

Click to Enlarge.
Another visual question from the world of warbirds for the daily quiz.
A demanding aerobatics manoeuvre, in which a plane flying at a moderate speed suddenly raises the nose momentarily to the vertical position and slightly beyond, before dropping it back to a normal flight, as shown in the collage on the right hand side. It uses a potent engine thrust to maintain approximately constant altitude through the entire move and has several combat uses, apart from being an impressive trick to demonstrate an aircraft's pitch control authority, high angle of attack (AOA) stability and engine-versus-inlet compatibility, as well as the pilot's skill. 
daily quiz question answer
What is this manoeuvre called and why?
fighter aircraft quiz answer
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
pugachev's cobra question answer
Answer: Anindya is almost right.
The answer is Pugachev's Cobra. The manoeuvre is named after the Soviet test pilot Viktor Pugachev, who first performed the manoeuvre publicly in 1989 at the Paris Le Bourget Air Show. Sukhoi 27 was the first fighter to perform this.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 23 June 2012

Another warbird for the daily quiz.
daily quiz question
Click to Enlarge.
The photo shows two fighters of the air force of an Asian country. An aircraft of this particular variant, from the Polish air force, was involved in a bizarre incident in the year 1989, which led to the death of an eighteen year old Belgian national.
daily quiz answer
You have to identify the fighter plane's name/model and tell us about the incident.
daily quiz question answer
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
daily quiz question answer
Answer: It's the answer time. Unfortunately, no one came up with the right answer.
daily quiz fighter plane
The fighters are MiG-23 "Flogger".
mig-23 Belgium crash 1989
The incident involving the MiG-23 in 1989 was truly a bizarre one. It started with a routine sortie out of a Polish air force base. Immediately after take-off, the afterburners of the MiG-23 blew out and the pilot ejected at an altitude of 150 meters, suspecting an impending crash. However, the plane did not crash and it continued on a westward pilot-less journey. It was running on autopilot and crossed Poland's territory to enter East Germany. Subsequently, the pilot-less fighter crossed in to the air space of West Germany, then on to Netherlands and ultimately in to Belgium's territory. As the MiG-23 ran out of fuel, it crashed in to Belgian soil and the crash resulted in the death of an eighteen year old man. 

Friday, June 22, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 22 June 2012

Click to Enlarge.
Let's look up some war-birds for the daily quiz.
daily quiz question
You can see the photo of an aeroplane in the picture on the right hand side. This was one of the earliest examples of a stealth aircraft and the first of its kind to enter active service. Unlike the current crop of stealth aircrafts, which use smart materials for evading radars, this particular type heavily depended upon the different angles on its body to deflect radio waves, thus rendering it invisible to the radars. The primary role played by the aircraft was ground attack at night, when its black silhouette meant that it was almost invisible to the naked eye too.
daily quiz answer
All you have to do is identify the aircraft.  
daily quiz question answer
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
quiz of the day answer
Answer: This is the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawka single-seat, twin-engine stealth ground-attack aircraft formerly operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The F-117A's first flight was in 1981, and it achieved initial operating capability status in October 1983. The F-117A was "acknowledged" and revealed to the world in November 1988.
daily quiz question answer
It became the first operational aircraft designed around stealth technology. The F-117A was widely publicized during the Persian Gulf War of 1991. It was commonly called the "Stealth Fighter" although it was a ground-attack aircraft, making its F-designation misleading.
fighter aircraft quiz answer
The Air Force retired the F-117 on 22 April 2008, primarily because of the fielding of the F-22 Raptor and the impending introduction of the F-35 Lightning II. Sixty-four F-117s were built, 59 of which were production versions with five demonstrators/prototypes.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 21 June 2012

Click to Enlarge.
We take up another controversial advertisement for the day's daily quiz.
daily quiz question
In the photo on the right hand side, you can see the print advertisement for an international company, which is known for its tongue-in-cheek series of advertisements. Sometimes, these ads manage to create a lot of noise due to their content, like the one given here. This ad created a furor over the depiction of a smooch/french kiss between to national heads.
daily quiz question answer
The question has two parts. Identify the advertiser company. Also, identify the two heads of states and their respective countries.
daily quiz answer
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
daily quiz question answer
Answer: The company is none other than United Colors of Benetton. The leaders, shown kissing each other, are the US President Barak Obama and the Chinese Premier Hu Jintao.
Congratulations to Anindya Mozumdar, Niladri Sen, Abhinab and P. Vijay for getting the answers right.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 20 June 2012

Click to Enlarge.
We travel down the road of history for today's visual question of the daily quiz.
daily quiz question
On the right hand side, you can see the photo of two historical coins, which are approximately 2000 years old.
daily quiz answer
Straightforward question. Tell me the origin of these two coins, i.e. who minted these.
daily quiz
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
daily quiz question answer
Answer: It's answer time. Sorry, for the delay in publishing the answer.
These two coins are from the Mauryan Empire, during the reigns of Chandragupta Maurya. The coins, with symbols of wheel and elephant, are from 3rd century BCE.
Congratulations to Rakesh Shaw, Dhiraj Bora and Sunayana for getting the answer right.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 19 June 2012

Click to Enlarge.
Let's go back to some visual/pictorial quiz questions for the Daily Quiz series.
daily quiz
On the right hand side, you can see the scanned copy of an old map, which was used for depicting an event that went on to define the course of history. Today's question is based on this event only.
question answer
You'll have to identify the event, being depicted through the map and have to tell us how this went on to alter the course of history.
daily quiz answer
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
daily question answer
Answer: Its the answer time. Both Anindya and Aniruddha were pretty close to the answer, but just missed by a whisker!
The answer is Battle of Plassey. This map shows the Battle Plan and Troop Deployment Plan for the Battle of Plassey.
daily quiz question answer
This 1757 war between Siraj ud-Daulah and the forces of the British East India Company, led by Sir Robert Clive resulted in a decisive British East India Company victory over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, establishing Company rule in South Asia which expanded over much of the Indies for the next hundred years. The battle took place at Palashi, Bengal (Plassey is the anglicised version of Palashi), on the river banks of the Bhagirathi River (shown in the map as Cassembuzar River), about 150 km north of Calcutta, near Murshidabad, then capital of undivided Bengal.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 18 June 2012

Click to Enlarge.
We turn to advertising for today's daily quiz.
gap
The poster, displayed on the right hand side and titled "Underground to Wood Lane to anywhere", was created for the International Advertising Exhibition at the White City and held between November 29 to December 4, 1920. This advertising poster by Frederick Charles Herrick was meant to highlight the subway transportation to the exhibition site at White City, London, and shows an assemblage of characters representing various advertising trademarks and emblems. 
gap
Please identify all characters in the poster, which are/were used as brand image or emblem for particular products or businesses. Also, tell us the names of particular brands, which these characters represented.
gap
Please send in your answers to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. You can also leave your answers by simply commenting on this post. The comments are moderated for a period of 24 hours, after which these are published. The answers to the question will be published tomorrow as an addition to the same post.
Cheers!
daily quiz answer
Answer: Its the answer time, albeit a bit late. Anyway, I was hoping that someone might actually get a right entry. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case.
So, here are the answers -

  • We have Bibendum, commonly known as the Michelin Man towards the left bottom corner, representing Michelin tyres.
  • We have the Kodak Girl towards the right.
  • We have Nipper at the bottom, representing HMV.
  • We have Johny Walker in the middle, representing the eponymous Scotch whisky.
Rajat and Ayesha got at least two of these characters right.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Bloody Sunday - Quiz of the Day - 17 June 2012

We take up business quiz questions for this week's daily quiz. The first question is on an iconic brand and a personal favourite.
gap
This gentleman started to sell whisky in his grocer's shop in Ayrshire, Scotland. The brand became popular, but after his death in 1857 it was his son Alexander and grandson Alexander II, who were largely responsible for establishing the whisky as a popular brand. Initially, whisky sales represented eight percent of the firm's income, but by the time Alexander was ready to pass on the company to his own sons, that figure had increased to between 90 and 95 percent.
gap
In 1865, Alexander produced their first blend,  Old Highland. Alexander also introduced the iconic square bottle in 1870. This meant fewer broken bottles and more bottles fitting the same space. The other identifying characteristic of the bottle is the label, which is applied at an angle of 24 degrees, which means that the text on the label could be made larger and more visible.
shovon
In the first half of the twentieth century, their famous tagline "Born 1820—Still going Strong!" was created, along with the Striding Man, a figure used in their advertisements to this day, in honour of the founder.
gap
Which brand am I talking about?
daily quiz
Please send in your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. You can also answer by simply commenting on this post. The comment will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
gap
Answer: The answer is Johny Walker, one of the finest blended Scotch whiskys.
Congratulations to Anshuman, Anindya Mozumdar and Rakhi Dey for getting the answer correct.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 16 June 2012

We delve in to famous quotation from politics for today's daily quiz.
shovon
He was one of the most controversial political and national leaders of the 20th Century and had once (in)famously remarked, 
"I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this—who will count the votes, and how."
Identify him.
gap
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
stalin butcher
Answer: Its none other than Joseph Stalin, the most controversial Soviet President ever. His eccentricity, doubting nature, inability to trust others, knack for conspiracy theories, overall dictatorial attitude and a lust for absolute power resulted in a disproportionately high number of deaths among the population of USSR.
gap
Unfortunately, no one came up with the right answer.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 15 June 2012

The "famous quotation" theme continues for the daily quiz.
shovon
This famous quotation was mentioned by Oriana Fallaci in The New York Review of Books, while describing the profile of a political leader. The quotation goes,
"My father was a statesman, I'm a political woman. My father was a saint. I'm not."
Identify the famous leader.
gap
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
gap
Answer: Its none other than our "Iron Lady" Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
Congratulations to Anshuman and Prithviraj Sarkar for getting the answer right.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 14 June 2012

In today's daily quiz, we continue with the famous quotations.
shovon
Identify the cult classic film, which spawned various rip-offs in different languages, from the quotation below -
"Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the color of a car. And memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation, they're not a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts."
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
shovon
Answer: And, its the time for the answer to the question. The answer is Memento. Amir Khan's Ghajini was a terrible terrible remake of this cult classic.
Congratulations to Anindya Mozumdar and Anshuman for getting the answer right.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 13 June 2012

We continue with famous quotations for the daily quiz.
You'll have to identify the cult classic film and the character, who uttered the following -
"I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid. You're afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin. I'm going to hang up this phone, and then I'm going to show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world … without you. A world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries; a world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you."
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
gap
Answer: Its time for the answers. And, the film is The Matrix, the first part of the sci-fi trilogy starring Keanu Reeves. The character is that of the protagonist Neo, played by Reeves.
gap
Anindya Mozumdar and Jaskaran Singh got it right. Cheers!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 12 June 2012

"Famous quotations" will be the theme of the daily quiz for this week.
shovon
Click to Enlarge.
A genius and one of the few popular stars in his chosen field, the pictured gentleman had once famously remarked,
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts."
Identify him.
gap
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com. The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
gap
Answer: The answer to the question is Richard Feynman. Feynman had, on another occasion, famously said, "There are only a couple of persons that I know of, who understand Quantum Mechanics. Albert Einstein is one of them. The other is yours truly." His semi-autobiographical books include Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! and What Do You Care What Other People Think?
gap
Congratulations to Anindya Mozumdar and Shibojyoti Chowdhury for getting the answer right.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 11 June 2012

Click to Enlarge.
Let's take up a "visual connect" question for today's daily quiz.
shovon
Identify the logo displayed in the picture on the right hand side. And, connect this with the original "Iron Lady", Margaret Thatcher, the Tory Prime Minister of Britain.
gap
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.
The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
gap
Answer: The logo is that of the Dakar Car Rally.
The connection is Mark Thatcher.
In 1982, Mark Thatcher, son of the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, along with his French co-driver Charlotte Verney and their mechanic, disappeared for six days. On January 9, the trio became separated from a convoy of vehicles after they stopped to make repairs to a faulty steering arm. They were declared missing on January 12; after a large-scale search, a Lockheed L100 search plane from the Algerian military spotted their white Peugeot 504 some 50 km (30 mi) off course. Thatcher, Verney and the mechanic were all unharmed.
No one came up with the right answer.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Bloody Sunday - Quiz of the Day - 10 June 2012

Let's travel down the path of some high-funda philosophy for the Sunday edition of the daily quiz.
A great philosopher had once remarked,
At fifteen my heart was set on learning; at thirty I stood firm; at forty I had no more doubts; at fifty I knew the mandate of heaven; at sixty my ear was obedient; at seventy I could follow my heart's desire without transgressing the norm.
It is said to be the retrospection of his own life. From this phrase, alternative names for each decades of human life have been derived in his native language.
shovon
Identify the philosopher.
gap
You can leave your responses as comments to the post. The comments will be moderated for a period of 24 hours. Alternatively, you can also mail your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.
The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
gap
Answer: The answer is Confucius, the greatest philosopher to have emerged from China.

Saturday, June 09, 2012

Quiz of the Day - Dubious Movies Special Quiz - 9 June 2012

I have been planning for quite some time to upload a full set of Movie Quiz. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, it did not materialize earlier. At last, I have been able to put together a total of 10 questions, which include some decent and some decently hilarious questions on movies, a mix of Classics, A-listers and B-Grade Movies, and the resultant is ready for your consumption.
gap
The questions cover not only Hollywood and Bollywood movies, but also include the entire Indian and international film industries.
gap
Statutory Warning: Please do NOT take all questions in this particular set seriously/as serious quiz stuff. Instead, just hum along and enjoy!
gap
Click to Enlarge.
Q.1.
Q.1. A semi-autobiographical quasi-documentary about transvestism, starring and directed by Ed Wood, this 1953 film is considered to be  "possibly the worst movie ever made". The film also starred Bela Lugosi, an A-lister from the silent films era. This film started a string of genuinely bad B-movies by Ed Wood. Identify the film.






gap
gap
Click to Enlarge.
Q.2.
Q.2. This 2001 war drama was the debut film of writer and director Danis Tanović. It was a co-production among companies in Slovenia, Italy, France and UK among others.
The film was highly praised and went on to win a total of 42 awards.
Identify the movie.






gap
gap
Q.3. "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you're looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money ... but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills, I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that will be the end of it - I will not look for you, I will not pursue you ... but if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you ... and I will kill you."
Identify the movie.
gap
Q.4. One from closer home. 
Once upon a time, there was this "great" film director, who used to shoot 3 films simultaneously, thereby using the same set in all the three and saving on the budgeted cost. Once a reporter asked him about his idea of world cinema. The reply to this question included gems like "haven't heard the name Steven Spielberg" and "liked that film which had lots of dinos(sic!)". (Un)fortunately, he is not seen on the movie scene these days.
Identify the great man.
gap
Q.5. Identify this Indian director.
He started off as an A-lister and made few movies with the top starcast of the day. Quite a few of these were successful ventures too. Then he chose Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Idiot and made a Titanic mess of the film. Since then, he has almost vanished from the mainstream and has made films like "Mr. Hot Mr. Kool" in the recent past.
shovon chakraborty
Q.6. Identify this B-Grade film from the story line (if it can be called so).
Mithun-da is scheduled to marry the heroine, but is killed by the villains - dhonkhe se, of course. His brain, which looks similar to an oversized and badly cooked jalebi, is stored in the deep freezer of your average 165 litre home refrigerator, by his friend, a doctor and his servant cum assistant. Madhu, the heroine, loses it totally after hearing about the sad news. Next, she is shown dancing around (without missing a step!) in different temples and suddenly falls down, further damaging her already damaged brain. So, the doctor performs a surgery and replaces her brain with Mithunda's. And behold, Mithunda's brain has a recorded copy of his killing. Now, Madhu takes revenge on the group of villains, pure Mithunda "ishtyle". (And I uttered some choicest expletives for the 10 bucks spent on this!)
gap
Q.7. This actor debuted in 1966 with Shagird, starring Joy Mukherjee in the lead. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he has acted in one of the biggest blockbusters of Indian cinema, as well as in one of the better Oscar nominated films from India. He has also worked with Rajesh Khanna in a number of films and has walked the ramp for fashion designer Riyaz Ganji for his summer line last year. His early work on stage were known for their Marxist leanings.
Identify the actor.
gap
Q.8. Identify this Hollywood B-grader.
A super-hero movie, it is about the transformation of a mild-mannered, scrawny janitor into a thundering, muscular hero out for justice, morality and in one case, a bit of sex. Melvin has a job as a custodian at a work-out club where his humiliating treatment by the musclebound reaches an ugly climax in which Melvin is forced to jump out of a window. He lands in a toxic waste truck and by some miracle of modern pollution, he is transformed into a pumped-up monster. From that moment onward, he saves damsels and others in distress by some pretty gory mauling and maiming but finds his moment of fulfillment too.
gap
Click to Enlarge.
Q.9.
Q.9. Identify the film, from the original poster, which created a lot of controversy over the depiction of the lead actress.
gap
Q.10. Identify this 1966 science fiction drama film directed by François Truffaut and starring Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, and Cyril Cusack, which was based on the 1953 novel of the same name. This was Truffaut's first colour film, as well as his only English language film.
gap
Now you can send your answers as comments to this post. The comments will be moderated till Sunday, 10 June, by which time, the entries will close.
The answers, along with the names of persons trying this and their respective scores, will be published on Monday, 11 June 2012.
Cheers!
gap
And its the Answer time to the movies questions. Of all the entries received, no one could get all the answers right. However, all of the names, along with their scores within the parenthesis, is given immediately below all answers.
gap
Answer Q.1. Glen or Glenda. Although, this was probably the very first movie to have taken up an issue, that of transvestites, long considered a taboo in Hollywood, the production quality was so bad, that the movie has gone down the annals of history as probably the worst film ever made. For its Director Ed Wood, this movie was only the starting point of a career, in which he made a number of equally bad B-Movies.
gap
Answer Q.2. No Man's Land. To speak the truth, I was a bit unhappy when Lagaan lost in the Oscar race, more so, since a film called Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon had won the coveted trophy a few years earlier. But when I saw the film, I was simply blown away. Had Lagaan won, that would have been a terrible injustice.
gap
Answer Q.3. Taken. Liam Neeson at his best. Some awesome action and he really acted the part of being a pro.
gap
Answer Q.4. It's none other than "the man" Swapan Saha. Thankfully, Bengali cinema has grown out of his shadows and these days you would not find a mainstream Saha film.
gap
Answer Q.5. Parto Ghosh. After delivering hits like Agnishakshi, a rip-off of Sleeping With The Enemy, probably out of overconfidence, he took on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Idiot, and made a complete mess of it.
gap
Answer Q.6. Diya Aur Toofan. This was another one of those "assembly line" production films starring Mithun Chakraborty when he used to stay at Ooty to look after his hotels business. Most of these films were so bad that they ultimately became good!
gap
Answer Q.7. A.K. Hangal. Now, who would think of Hangal as a model?
gap
Answer Q.8. Toxic Avenger. Now, this one is a serious competition in OTT-ness to the Telegu cinema, which I had to endure during regular overnight bus journeys to different places in Andhra Pradesh.
gap
Answer Q.9. Captivity. The films posters had generated more buzz than the film itself.
gap
Answer Q.10. Fahrenheit 451. This was a tribute question to Ray Bradbury, who passed away recently.

Thursday, June 07, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 7 June 2012

Click to Enlarge.
An unusual exhibit for the day's daily quiz.
On the right hand side, you can see a photo of the death certificate of a very famous (depending on your allegiance) person, who had been hanged till death in the year 1931 at Lahore Jail.
Identify the person.
Please send in your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.
The answer, as usual, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
shovon chakraborty
Answer: The death certificate is that of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. He was convicted and subsequently hanged for his participation in the murder of the brutal police officer John Saunders. His legacy prompted youth in India to begin fighting for Indian independence and he continues to be a youth idol in modern India, as well as the inspiration for several films.
Congratulations to Anindya Mozumdar, Pulak Deb, Jasdeep and Ishani for getting the answer right.

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 6 June 2012

Click to Enlarge.
We travel northwards to China, for the daily quiz.
The emblem on the right hand side is a registered trademark. The Chinese characters around the Taijitu symbol read, "Using no way as way" and "Having no limitation as limitation" The arrows represent the endless interaction between Yang and Yin.
Identify the emblem and tell us what it stands for.
Please send your response to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.
The answer, along with the names of the persons with the correct answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
shovon chakraborty
Answer: This is the emblem for Jeet Kune Do, the martial art form developed by Bruce Lee. The emblem is a registered trademark held by the Bruce Lee Estate.
Congratulations to Anindya Mozumdar and Tasmin Ahmed for getting the answer right.

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 5 June 2012

A poster of The Big Boss.
Lee is delivering a flying kick.
Bruce Lee has been one of the heroes that a kid in my time looked up to. I was no different. So, tribute question on Lee for today's daily quiz.
When Bruce Lee's sudden death left a void in the martial art film industry of Hong Kong, many studios feared that a movie without their most famous star in it would not be financially successful. So some studios in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan decided to play on Lee's sudden international fame by making movies that vaguely sounded like Bruce Lee starring vehicles, with actors who looked like Lee changing their stage names to sound similar to "Bruce Lee", such as Bruce Li and Bruce Le.
How is this cultural phenomenon known as?
Please send in your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.
The answer and the names of the person with the right answer will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
gap shovon chakraborty
Answer: The answer is "Bruceploitation". The word is a portmanteau of the name "Bruce" and exploitation.
Unfortunately, nobody came up with the right answer to this question.

Monday, June 04, 2012

Quiz of the Day - 4 June 2012

A dry "who am I talking about" type question for today's daily quiz.
He was sent to Rugby at the age of 13 from where he remembers a particularly traumatic morning spent in figuring out how to eat a kipper. At Cambridge, he had studied History, with an emphasis on Islamic subjects. He had also developed an interest in acting during the same period. After graduating in 1968, he moved to Pakistan, where his parents were now based. But he had to return within the year to England, after an attempt at staging Edward Albee's "The Zoo Story" got him into trouble with the censors on account of its references to pork. His first book was published in 1974 and disappeared without a trace. It was not until seven years later that he became something of a sensation.
Identify the person!
Please send in your answer to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.
The answer, along with the names of the persons with the right answer, will be published tomorrow.
Cheers!
gap
Answer: Its none other than Salman Rushdie. Although his first novel, titled Grimus and which was part science fiction, was generally ignored by the public and the pundits alike, his second novel Midnight's Children, published in 1981, won him a Booker and catapulted him to literary notability. His fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, caused immediate controversy in the Islamic world because of what was perceived as an irreverent depiction of the prophet Muhammad. The title refers to a disputed Muslim tradition that is related in the book. According to this tradition, Muhammad (Mahound in the book) added verses (sura) to the Qur'an accepting three goddesses who used to be worshipped in Mecca as divine beings. According to the legend, Muhammad later revoked the verses, saying the devil tempted him to utter these lines to appease the Meccans (hence the "Satanic" verses). However, the narrator reveals to the reader that these disputed verses were actually from the mouth of the Archangel Gibreel. The book was banned in many countries with large Muslim communities. (12 total: India, Bangladesh, Sudan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Thailand, Tanzania, Indonesia, Singapore, Venezuela and Pakistan)
gap
On 14 February 1989, a fatwā requiring Rushdie's execution was proclaimed on Radio Tehran by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of Iran at the time, calling the book "blasphemous against Islam" (chapter IV of the book depicts the character of an Imam in exile who returns to incite revolt from the people of his country with no regard for their safety). A bounty was offered for Rushdie's death, and he was thus forced to live under police protection for several years. On 7 March 1989, the United Kingdom and Iran broke diplomatic relations over the Rushdie controversy.
Congratulations to Anindya Mozumdar and Bharti Kulkarni for getting this right.
And, sorry for the delay in posting the answer. Actually, the heat got to me and I found myself grounded for 3-4 days.

Sunday, June 03, 2012

Bloody Sunday - Shovon's Football Quiz Set - 3 Jun 2012

With Euro 2012 around the corner, the football fever is on the rise again. Unfortunately, for the likes of Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry and Bastian Schweinsteiger, the competition will mean sitting out of the playing arena and cheering for their teammates.
gap
So, with the rising soccer fever in mind, this Sunday's theme for the Quiz is Football/Soccer again.
gap
The set consists of a total of 15 questions, including both dry and visual types. Now, let's get down to the business.
gap
Q.1. In 2010, Borussia Dortmund signed this attacking midfielder from the Japanese club Cerezo Osaka that had only recently been promoted to the J-League first division. It seemed like a somewhat casual signing, but Dortmund struck gold. Dortmund's bargain acquisition, who cost them only €350,000 to sign on from the Japanese club, scored 12 goals in 25 appearances in Bundesliga. His prowess with the ball has attracted so much attention from the big boys of European football, that German tabloid Bild expects the 23 year old to move to a big club in England or Spain, possibly before his Dortmund contract expires in 2013.
Identify the footballer.
gap
Click to Enlarge
Q.2.
Q.2. This team photo was captured during the 1978 FIFA World Cup.
From the photograph, you have to identify the player, around whom, the blue circle has been drawn.
He is considered to be the best foreigner ever to have played in India. While he had been studying at Aligarh Muslim University, the spotters of East Bengal Club saw him and two of his friends, Jamshed Nassiri and Khabazi. East Bengal promptly signed the trio. Although Khabazi did not have a particularly impressive career, the other two dominated the Calcutta football scene for quite some time.
gap
Click to Enlarge.
Q.3.
Q.3. Identify this Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich and Hertha BSC star footballer, who also holds the record for scoring the most number of international goals, 109, in the world.
gap






Click to Enlarge.
Q.4.
Q.4. He is cited as being the player in the Premier League that commits the most fouls. He has committed more offences than any other Premier League player in three consecutive seasons from 2004 to 2007. In the 2003-04 and 2007-08 seasons, he was slightly better behaved, committing the second highest number of fouls. In his stint with the current club, he has committed over 1000 fouls, more than any other Premier League player in the competition's history. On 10 September 2011, he received his 100th yellow card in the Premier League. In 2010, at the age of 33, he made his debut for the England National Team.
Who is the footballer?
gap
Click to Enlarge.
Q.5.
Q.5. In the photo mosaic, the three persons, from left to right, are Gary Cole, Karim Bagheri and Archie Thompson. Cole and Bagheri are former Australia and Iranian internationals, while Thompson has also represented Australia National Soccer Team.
All you have to do is connect the three of them.
gap
Click to Enlarge.
Q.6.
Q.6. In one of the most bizarre cases of cheating, this footballer got a friend to phone Graeme Souness, the then manager of Southampton, posing as George Weah, Liberian international and former FIFA World Player of the Year. This supposed "Weah" told Souness that the player concerned was his cousin, had played for Paris Saint-Germain and also had 13 international appearances under his belt. He also suggested that Souness should give his "cousin" a chance. In due course, the "cousin" was invited to train with Southampton and despite having apparently been terrible during training, he found himself on the subs bench for a game against Leeds United in 1996. To top that, he was brought on after 32 minutes and was truly appalling for the following 21 minutes before being hauled off by Souness. He later tried his luck at Gateshead FC but was nowhere near good enough to play even at Conference level!
Identify this "great" footballer.
gap
Q.7. One from the Fifa World Cup.
Connect the following national teams - Scotland, Brazil, England, Cameroon & Belgium.
gap
Click to Enlarge.
Q.8.
Q.8. This Sampdoria star striker was thought to be destined for World Cup stardom. However, he was substituted towards the end of the first group match. The player who had substituted him had previously played only once for the country, but netted the all important goal and went on to start in all subsequent matches. In the semi finals, the Sampdorian star got his third start of the world cup. However, after an uninspiring performance, he was replaced again. Identify the player.
gap




Q.9. During the qualifying matches for the FIFA World Cup of 1970, riots and killings broke out among the fans of two rival countries. Because of these clashes, ultimately a full-fledged war broke out between the two countries in July 1969. Thousands of people were killed or injured. Historians have called this "The War of Soccer". Later, both the teams qualified for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, in which one of the two countries in question entered the record books for their performance in the group match against Hungary.
Identify both the rival countries, as well as the feat for which one of the team's name entered the record books.
gap
Click to Enlarge.
Q.10.
Q.10. Identify the legendary footballer shown in the photo on the right hand side.
He started his playing career for Howrah Union in the Calcutta Football League and subsequently shifted to Mohun Bagan. During his stay at Mohun Bagan, he reportedly took only a token amount of Re.1/- per year. During Indian team's visit to London, whenever he took his trademark strong free kicks, the spectators used to chant, "Oh my foot!" He is the only Asian Footballer ever to be named among the 10 best Captains in the world by the English FA in 1953.
gap


Click to Enlarge.
Q.11
Q.11. Born at Faridpur of undivided Bengal (now at Bangladesh) in 1896, he started his football career with Kumartuli Club at the age of only 11. A chance discovery by Kalicharan Mitra, one of the only two Indian members in the governing body of IFA, while he was playing at Kumartuli Park took him to Dukhiram Mazumdar and ultimately led him to don the Mohun Bagan jersey a year later in 1912. He was the first footballer to be honoured with the Padmashree in 1962 and in 1998, he became the first Indian footballer on whom a postage stamp was issued.
Identify this legendary player.
gap




Click to Enlarge.
Q.12.
Q.12. Born at a remote village of Assam on 28th January, 1918, this legendary Centre Half was also a qualified doctor after he completed his MBBS from R.G.Kar Medical College and Hospital, Calcutta. He started his footballing career with Maharana Club of Guwahati and subsequently shifted to Mohun Bagan. He was the Captain of the Indian National Team that took part in the London Olympics of 1948.
Identify him.
gap


Click to Enlarge.
Q.13.
Q.13. Born on 4th October 1937 in a remote village near Secundrabad, he joined the football division of Army Combined Force in 1955. The legendary coach, Rahim Saab saw his potential and included him in Hyderabad’s Santosh Trophy team that same year. His on field exploits led to a call to attend the training camp of Indian team for 1956 Melbourne Olympics. In a scene straight out of Chak De India, a match was organized between Hyderabad and Bengal to settle the dispute between coach Rahim Saab and AIFF president M Dutta Roy on which state will have a bigger representation in the final team bound for Melbourne. He played for his state in this match and led them to a comfortable 3-0 victory and was promptly selected for the 1956 Olympics, where India attained the 4th position, by far their best finish till date. A year later he was brought to East Bengal by J.C. Guha. In the photo, he is seen in an East Bengal shirt and is shaking hands with Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
Identify this great striker.
gap
Q.14. A truly world class footballer, he won the Best Striker of Asia award in 1962. In the same year, he made his first class debut in the Ranji Trophy. He was a Right Handed Batsman and a Right Arm Medium Pacer. He led his state's cricket team to the Ranji Trophy final twice. during his cricket career, which spanned up to 1972/73 season. He played in a total of 46 first class matches, scoring 1592 runs including one century and also took 47 wickets.
Identify this versatile sportsman.
gap
Q.15. The first African footballer to have excelled in Indian football was a Nigerian footballer, named David Williams. He plied his trade in India during late 1970s and early 1980s and has played for the Kolkata biggie East Bengal Club. However, he is more famous for a unique footballing achievement, that has not been replicated till date. What is this "achievement" that I am talking about?
gap
Please send in your answers to shovon76[at]gmail[dot]com.
The answers, along with the name of the persons with the right answer, will be published on 6th June 2012, Wednesday.
Cheers!
shovon chakraborty
Its time for the Answers to the questions. Along with the answers, the name of the persons who have tried the quiz, are also given below. The number within the parenthesis signifies the number of correct entries for the person.
gap
Answer Q.1. Shinji Kagawa, who is rumored to be moving to Manchester United for the new season.
gap
Answer Q.2. Majid Bishkar (also spelled Bashkar in Indian media). Majid played at Calcutta, for East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting, only for a handful of seasons before losing his way to the bottle. But his impact on the maidan has been immense.
gap
Answer Q.3. Ali Daei, the Iranian goal machine.
gap
Answer Q.4. Kevin Davies. For a long time, he had remained one of those handful players who, at some point of time in their career, commanded a transfer price of GBP 7 million or above, but never made a senior appearance for the England team.
gap
Answer Q.5. Gary Cole and Karim Bagheri jointly held the record for scoring the most number of goals in an international match, 7 goals, before Thompson broke the record in 2001, when he scored 13 goals in Australia's 32-0 thrashing of American Samoa.
gap
Answer Q.6. Ali Dia.
gap
Answer Q.7. These five teams have been unbeaten but not the champions in the same World Cup finals. Scotland in 1974 (1 win, 2 draws), Brazil in 1978 (4 wins, 3 draws), England in 1982 (3 wins, 2 draws), Cameroon in 1982 (3 draws), Belgium in 1998 (3 draws).
gap
Answer Q.8. Gianluca Vialli. The player, who had replaced him in the first match was Salvatore "Toto" Schilacci.
gap
Answer Q.9. The two competing countries were El Salvador and Honduras. In 1982 FIFA World Cup, Hungary thrashed El Salvador by a margin of 10-1, which remains the highest margin of win in a match at the world cup proper.
gap
Answer Q.10. Sailen Manna. He was also declared Footballer of the Century by AIFF.
gap
Answer Q.11. Gostha Pal, nicknamed as the "Great Wall of China".
gap
Answer Q.12. Dr. Talimeran Ao.
gap
Answer Q.13. Tulsidas Balaram.
gap
Answer Q.14. Chuni Goswami.
gap
Answer Q.15. David Williams, a Nigerian, is the only foreigner to have played in Santosh Trophy, the inter state football tournament of India, held every year. He represented Tamil Nadu in 1976, 1977, 1978 and Bengal in 1979 and scored 7 goals.

Share