QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–368

This probably won’t be too easy.

Connect Amitabh Bachchan’s dialogue in Amar Akbar Anthony: “Aisa to aadmi life mein do ich baar bhagta hai: Olympic ka race ho ya police ka case,” to the following film clip.

Slumdog Millionaire opening scene chase

In case you can’t see the video here, it’s the opening scene of Slumdog Millionaire, where the policeman chases Jamaal and his brother through the slums of Dharavi.

Mind you, I am looking for a very specific connect. Think of what inspired the film clip, and revisit the inspiration. There can’t be a bigger hint than that!

I will not accept answers like ‘Amitabh Bachchan hosted KBC, which was derived from Who Wants To Be a Millionaire’, or ‘Jamaal was a fan of Amitabh Bachchan, and had his photo..’.

This is a very specific connect, and you may want to look at a modern retelling of one of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s stories for a further hint.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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Just two replies, but none of them give me the exact connection between the chase and Amitabh Bachchan’s dialogue. Sure, the opening chase in Slumdog Millionaire was inspired by Black Friday’s loooooooooooong and brutally authentic chase scene, but where does Amitabh Bachchan fit in?

Black Friday chase scene

Listen carefully, when the constable is chasing the character of Imtiaz Gawathe through the slums. When both of them are tired, Imtiaz ducks into a small gali. Listen in from 4:40, and you will know what I mean! Roerich Bansal and Kushal Shah, you were there, but not quite!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–367

An easy one.

This country is known to be extremely devoted to a certain colour, so that not only are its football team’s jerseys of this colour, bit even their bandages and medical supplies reflect this colour!

As if that’s not all, the country is also responsible for the current colour of a certain vegetable, which used to be found in yellow, purple/violet and even white varieties. However, through selective breeding, they managed to make the vegetable of only one colour – and this colour exists even today!

Question: Identify the country and the vegetable.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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Nine replies, and most of you got The Netherlands correct. However, only Vaibhav Saraf and a certain Mr/Ms ‘expand’ got the vegetable, which was the carrot!

PS: Atharv Joshi got this one too!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–366

A slightly obtuse one for the day.

The protein called Titin, also referred to as connectin by some, is a large one, and is responsible for the passive elasticity of muscles. It is also considered to be a structural protein for chromosomes. The name Titin itself is derived from the Greek word Titan – a reference to something about it that is giant.

My question is, why is this protein of great significance to lexicographers?

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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Wow, 14 replies! But not all of them correct… The IUPAC name of Titin actually has the distinction of being the longest single world in the world, with more than 1.89 lakh alphabets! However, there is a debate as to whether it can be considered the longest word in the world, because many lexicographers – people who write dictionaries
– do not take into account scientific names and terms.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–365

So, going by the number of questions, this blog turns one-year-old! No big celebration planned for the moment, though. However, I do solemnly promise some goodies coming your way over the next one or two months.

Meanwhile, here’s the question of the day.

In many forms of Poker, the card game, there is a starting hand that comprises the King and the Ace, maybe of the same suit, or maybe of different suits. What very specific name is given to this hand, based on the initials of the denominations of the cards, and the observation that such hands ‘look good, but rarely win’?

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Four answers, of which three are correct. The hand is indeed called the Anna Kournikova, named after the initials of the cards – Ace and King – and also because it purportedly ‘looks good but rarely wins!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–364

Two quick questions about a certain mathematician for today.

First: Lewis Carroll, the creator of Alice In Wonderland, was actually a mathematician in real life, and had a real stutter. What character in the Alice series did he name after how he used to pronounce his name with a stutter?

And the second: As a mathematician, Carroll was famous for what he called nonsense logic. According to him, which of the two watches – one that slowed that by a minute every hour or one that had stopped altogether – was better? and Why?

Happy Quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: I have been writing quite a few things, the latest being a later-than-usual piece about the cartoons that irked our politicians, published in the New Delhi edition of The Financial World. You can find it here. If you have any opinion about it, please send an email to fwletters@gmail.com.

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Four replies, of which three give the correct answer to Question 1, while one nails Question Two. Great going!

The first answer is the Dodo bird. Lewis Carroll was his pet name, the real name being Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. His stutter, combined with his surname gave us the bird.

The answer to the second one is the watch that has stopped altogether. According to Mr Dodgson’s brand of logic, the other watch would take several days to show the correct time at least once, while the watch that had stopped showed the correct time at least twice a day!

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–363

A slightly difficult one.

Identify the gentleman. His biggest claim to fame till date is still the fact that he is a Bollywood superstar’s son. And the superstar died recently.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Thanks for the great response again, guys! 12 Answers, and all point to Sunil Anand, son of Dev Anand! And of course, all are correct.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–362

Here’s another connect.

1.

2.

3.

This inspiring connect, based on the films, should lead you to an actor who has made you laugh and cry with many of his roles. A single person, and that too not from Bollywood.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

***

Nine answers, and seven are SPOT ON! The connect I was looking for is indeed Robin Williams! However, As a certain Mr Raviteja points out in the comments, Munna Bhai was based on some Kamal Hassan Film, and even Mohabbatein has some Kama ‘k’onnect. My logic, however, was that all three films mentioned here are ‘inspired’ by Robin Williams films: Munna Bhai MBBS from Patch Adams, based on the real life story of Hunter ‘Patch’ Adams; Mohabbatein from Dead Poets’ Society; and Chachi 420 from Mrs Doubtifre.

However, I cannot accept the ninth answer I got. Robbie Williams, my friend, is the musician, not the actor.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–361

Straightforward, but may not be all that simple.

The photo above is a message generated due to the running of which computer program, and what is its significance in the history of computer software? Yes, I want both answers.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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Eight reply, and all on the correct lines. This is indeed the Elk Cloner, the first virus ever to attack home or personal computers. It was designed to affect only Apple’s Macintosh systems.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–360

A connect after quite some time.

1.

2.

3.

Connect to a single character.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

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!! answers, and all there, or almost there! The character is indeed Topshe, aka Tapesh Ranjan Mitra, who plays the sidekick to Feluda, aka Prodosh Chandra Mitra. Feluda is a very popular children’s character created by Satyajit Ray, who even made a couple of films featuring the character. Thereafter, his son Sandeep Ray has been making TV programmes, telefilms and full-length films featuring the character, based on Ray’s stories.

QR–Cure–Quizzing Realms–359

Simple one for another effort to get the ball rolling again for this blog.

Identify the gentleman.

Happy quizzing, and have a nice life, folks!

PS: Here’s something to whet your appetite for reading. My views on whether Sachin Tendulkar should or should not be in the Rajya Sabha. Bouquets and brickbats invited.

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Faith in quizzing world: Restored! 25 replies! Wow! And congrats all around, except may be just 1 answer… This indeed is Stephen Hawking!