Sunday Quiz The essence of Indian film industry
1 / 10 |
On April 3, 1913, the first full-length Indian feature film was released. Based on the legend of Raja Harishchandra, it was a silent film with subtitles in English, Marathi and Hindi. The director completed 95 feature films over 19 years. Who was he in whose name an award for lifetime contribution to cinema in India has been instituted?
2 / 10 |
Bulbul-e-Paristan is a 1926 big-budget fantasy film with a lot of special effects. The screenplay was written by Fatma Begum who began her career in Urdu theatre. After playing many leading roles she started her own production company under which Bulbul-e-Paristan was made. What was special about her work in this movie?
3 / 10 |
Kisan Kanya was a 1937 film directed by Moti B. Gidwani which was based on a novel by Saadat Hasan Manto and focussed on the plight of poor farmers. It is in the record books because it was India’s first indigenously made film to have a certain attribute which we all now take for granted. What was Kisan Kanya the first of in India?
4 / 10 |
Alam Ara was a 1931 film directed by Ardeshir Irani which chronicles the love story between a prince and a gypsy girl and was based on a Parsi play. When it debuted the police had to be called to control the crowds as this was the first time a film had a certain attribute. What is Alam Ara’s claim to fame in the Indian film industry?
Answer : First Indian film to have talking and singing in the film, and not a silent film.
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5 / 10 |
Released the very next year in 1932, Indrasabha was a movie based on an Urdu opera/ play set in the celestial court of Indra. The original play had 31 ghazals, 8 thumri, 15 songs and many more dances. The movie made by J.J. Madan ran for 3.5 hours and holds a world record. What record?
6 / 10 |
Bhanu Athaiya is a costume designer who started her career as a freelance fashion illustrator for various women’s magazines in Bombay. In 1982, she and British costume designer John Mollo (who is renowned for his work in the Star Wars Universe) worked together on a film by Richard Attenborough, for which they won global acclaim. What’s the movie and what did Bhanu Athaiya become the first Indian to achieve because of her stellar work in that film?
Answer : Gandhi; first Indian to win an Academy Award (Oscar Award).
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7 / 10 |
Love and God was the directorial debut of K. Asif. It was the legendary love story of Laila Majnu. The film initially had Guru Dutt as the protagonist, but he passed away during the shoot. The film was restarted with Sanjeev Kumar playing the lead but then K. Asif passed away. Eventually his widow Akhtar Asif put together what she could and finally released it in 1986, a year after Sanjeev Kumar had passed away. What special, rather unfortunate, record does this film hold?
Answer : Longest time in production (23 years). When it was released, three playback singers of yesteryear came together onscreen in modern cinema after their death, Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh and Khan Mastana.
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8 / 10 |
Carnatic singer K.B. Sundarambal, who was referred to as the Queen of the Indian stage, made her onscreen debut in 1935 in the Tamil film Bhakta Nandanar. She was a fierce political activist during the Indian independence movement and recorded many songs to show her support and motivate the freedom fighters. After India gained independence she became the first film artist in India to enter another field. What did K.B. Sundarambal do?
Answer : In 1951, as a congress nominee for Madars state, she became the first film personality to enter the Legislative Council.
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9 / 10 |
Viswa Mohini, a Telugu romantic thriller by Y.V. Rao, follows a Mohan Rao who cheats his way to become the owner of a company; his father wants him to get married to the daughter of a lady who is into film production. He falls in love with a popular actress and eventually his ulterior motives are found out. Released in 1940, what did this film become the first to depict?
10 / 10 |
In the 1970s, India overtook America as the world’s largest film producer and a certain term was coined then to refer to the film industry. This refers to the city in India where the industry blossomed and a neighbourhood in Los Angeles. Likewise each regional film industry is also known by a variation of that name. What is the name of the industry and those for Bengali, Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu?
Answer : Bollywood (Bombay), Tollywood (Tollygunge), Sandalwood, Pollywood, Mollywood, Kollywood (Kodambakkam), Tollywood.
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