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Extra Questions, Notes, Assignment and study material for Class 12th as Per CBSE Syllabus
Chapter- 6
Poets and Pancakes Class 12 Extra Questions and Answers
By- Asokamitran
Short and Simple Summary of the lesson in English– (‘Poets and Pancakes’)/ Summary in simple Words/ Critical appreciation of the lesson – (‘Poets and Pancakes’)
The article ‘Poets and Pancakes’ in the book gets its name from Pancake which was the brand name of the make-up material that was used in huge quantities in Gemini Studios. It was extensively used in the 1950s by well-known actresses such as Greta Garbo, Miss Gohar, and Vyjayantimala but the actresses of the 1980s, such as Rati Agnihotri may not have even heard of it.
The make-up department of the Gemini Studios was in one of the upper floors of a building that was supposed to have been Robert Clive’s stables. Robert Clive reportedly had stayed at a dozen other buildings in Madras. He had a short life of barely fifty years and even briefer was his stay in Madras. Besides establishing the military supremacy of the East India Company, Major General Clive married in St. Mary’s Church in Fort St. George in Madras.
The make-up room looked like a hair-cutting salon with lights at all angles around half a dozen large mirrors. The lights all around emitted so much heat that it was pathetic for those who were subjected to make-up. The head of the make-up department was first a Bengali, who became too well-known for a studio and left. He was succeeded by a Maharashtrian who was assisted by a person from Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and some local Tamils. Thus, there was a great deal of national integration. This group of make-up artists could transform any decent-looking person into an ugly monster with the help of pancake and other locally made p make-up products. Back then, about 95 per cent of the films were shot indoors. The sets and studio lights made the actors look presentable in the movie.
A strict chain of command was maintained in the make-up department. There was the chief make-up man followed by his senior assistant and then the junior assistant and so on. The group of actors that played the crowd was the responsibility of the office boy. This boy was often seen mixing his paint in a huge vessel and putting it on the crowds. However, he wasn’t exactly a ‘boy’; he was in his early forties and had joined the studios years ago in the hope of becoming famous.
In those days, the writer worked in a small partitioned room of which two whole sides were French windows. Anyone who saw him sitting and tearing up newspapers a day in and out felt that he was not doing anything. Perhaps his Boss thought the same too. So people often walked into his room and gave him a long lecture. Even the ‘boy’ in the make-up department often gave him long lectures on how his talent was being wasted. The writer was so tired of him that he prayed for crowd shooting all the time.
Whenever a person is irritated, the anger is directed towards one person in the organization and this case the ‘boy’ of the make-up department blamed Kothamangalam Subbu for his miserable plight. Subbu was the No. 2 at Gemini Studios. He began as a make-up boy and must have faced more uncertain and hard times because when he began his career there was no established film producing companies or studios. Subbu was not even better educated than the ‘boy’. The only advantage he had was that he was a Brahmin and hence had contacts with better situations and people. He could look cheerful at all times despite odds. He could never do things on his own and had some work for everybody. He was cut out for films. He could be motivated when ordered. Whenever the producer needed creative input, Subbu would come out with ideas. He was the man who gave direction and definition to Gemini Studios during its best years. Subbu was also a poet who was capable of higher forms of poetry but he purposely decided to cater to the masses. His enormous success in films caused his literary achievements to be less talked about. He composed several ‘story poems’ and also wrote a novel Thillana Mohanambal with skillfully defined characters. He was an amazing actor, who was content playing secondary roles where he performed better than the main players. He loved people and his house was a permanent abode for many relations and acquaintances. He was so charitable and carefree, yet he had enemies. It was either because he was close to the Boss or because his general behaviour was that of a fawning flatterer. It could also be because of his willingness to say nice things about everything. Whatever the reason, the ‘boy’ in the make-up department hated Subbu.
Subbu was always with the Boss, but in the attendance register, he was included in a department called the Story Department that included a lawyer and several writers and poets. The lawyer was the legal adviser, but he was known to be the opposite. Once, when a very talented actress threw a tantrum on the sets, all stood stunned except the lawyer who switched on the recording equipment. When the actress paused for breath, the lawyer played back the recording. The outburst against the producer was not too foul but when she heard her voice again through the recorder she was speechless. Since she was a girl from the countryside, she was so shocked that she never recovered from the terror she felt that day. That was the end of her brilliant acting career because of the legal adviser.
Moreover, while every other member of the Department wore a khadi dhoti with a little oversized white khadi shirt, the legal adviser wore a formal suit. He generally looked lonely and helpless. He seemed to be a man of calculated thinking in a crowd of dreamers. He was one of those who were allowed to produce a film by the Boss, but the film did not do well despite the investment. Strangely, he lost his job because all the poets were asked to go home.
Poets like S.D.S.Yogiar, Sangu Subramanyam, Krishna Sastry, and Harindranath Chattopadhyaya frequently sat together in the Gemini Studios, sipping coffee. Those days everyone, except the office boys and a couple of clerks at the Studios, seemed to have free time, a basic requirement for writing poetry. Most of the people were apolitical but worshipped Gandhiji. They hated the term ‘Communism’ because to them a Communist was a godless man, incapable of love; and was always out to spread unrest and violence among innocent and ignorant people. The khadi-clad poets of Gemini Studios, too, felt the same.
The confirmation of this was seen when Frank Buchman’s Moral Re-Armament army visited Madras sometime in 1952. They were given a warm welcome in India by Gemini Studios. They presented two plays in a professional way lotham Valley and The Forgotten Factor. They ran several shows in Madras. The people working in the Gemini Studio,*600 of them, along with people of the city saw the plays again and again. The moral message of the plays was simple but the sets and costumes were superb. Madras and the Tamil drama community were so affected that for a few years almost all Tamil plays had a scene similar to that of /wham Valley. It was some years later that the writer got to know that the Moral Re-Armament Army was a counter-movement to international Communism and the important people of Madras like Mr Vasan had been taken advantage of. However, the features and the activities of these important film people remained unaffected. But, the staff of Gemini Studios had a nice time entertaining 200 people of twenty nationalities.
A few months later, Gemini Studios was set to welcome another visitor—a poet from England. The only poets from England that they had heard of were Wordsworth and Tennyson. The more literate ones knew of Keats, Shelley, and Byron; and perhaps just one or two of Eliot. But Vasan clarified that it was not a poet, but an editor, who was arriving. Vasan, being the editor of the popular Tamil weekly Ananda Vikatan, had decided to give him a warm welcome.
He wasn’t the editor of any well-known British publications in Madras. Since the top men of The Hindu were also planning the welcome, it was concluded that the poet was the editor of one of the dailies. At last, the poet (or the editor) arrived. He was a tall English man, but unknown to all of them. The Boss read out a long speech but it was clear that he too knew little about the poet (or the editor). The speech was in the most general terms but enlivened with words like ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’. Then the poet spoke for an hour but none understood him because of his accent. This left all of them wondering as to what an English poet was doing in a film studio which made Tamil films for the simplest sort of people, who had no taste for English poetry. The poet also looked very confused as he too must have felt the strangeness of his talk. His reason for visit remained unknown.
Asokamitran was convinced that prose writing could not be the true hobby of a genius. On the contrary, prose-writing was meant for the people who were patient and determined with a heart so shrunken that nothing could break it. People discarding their work would not affect him. Once rejected, he wrote another long prose piece and sent it on to another editor. He was forever prepared for the return of his article.
Asokamitran once read an announcement in The Hindu about a short story contest organized by a British periodical, The Encounter. He had never heard of The Encounter so he wanted to get an idea of the periodical before he spent a substantial sum in postage for sending a manuscript to England. He went to the British Council Library to find out. There, he saw copies of The Encounter lying about almost untouched by readers. When he read the editor’s name, all at once he realized that it was the poet who had visited Gemini Studios. He was happy as he sealed the envelope with the article. He felt that the poet, too, would be as happy. His name was Stephen Spender.
Years later, when he no longer worked for Gemini Studios, the writer had a lot of time but not much money. So, on the footpath in front of the Madras Mount Road Post Office, a pile of brand new books for fifty paise each caught his attention. He paid fifty paise and picked up a copy of the book, The God That Failed. It had six essays by six eminent men about their disillusionment with Communism. The writers were Andre Gide, Richard Wright, Ignazio Silone, Arthur Koestler, Louis Fischer, and Stephen Spender. The name Stephen Spender arrested his attention since he was the poet who had visited Gemini Studios. In a moment, he realized the reason for his visit. The Boss of Gemini Studios had not been interested in Spender’s poetry, but Communism.
Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow.
1.‘…..The make-up department of the Gemini Studios was in the upstairs of a building that was believed to have been Robert Clive’s stables. A dozen other buildings in the city are said to have been his residence. For his brief life and an even briefer stay in Madras, Robert Clive seems to have done a lot of moving, besides fighting some impossible battles in remote corners of India and marrying a maiden in St. Mary’s Church in Fort St. George in Madras … ”
(a) Who was Robert Clive?
Ans: Major-General Robert Clive was the commander who established the military supremacy of the East India Company in Southern India and Bengal.
(b) What was his connection with the Gemini Studios?
Ans: Gemini Studios was in a building that was believed to have been Robert Clive’s stables.
(c) What was his connection with Madras?
Ans: He had lived in many buildings in the city and also married in St. Mary’s Church in Fort St. George in Madras.
2. ‘… This gang of nationally integrated make-up men could turn any decent-looking person into a hideous crimson-hued monster with the help of truck-loads of pancake and several other locally made potions and lotions … ”
(a) What is implied by ‘gang of nationally integrated make-up men’?
Ans: People in the make-up department were from different parts of the country.
(b) What was the job of the make-up artists?
Ans: Their job was to beautify the actors and make them look presentable.
(c) Bring out the irony in these lines.
Ans: The job was to beautify the actors but they turned any decent-looking person into a tedious monster because they overdid the make-up to make them look presentable in films.
3. ‘…..On the days when there was a crowd-shooting, you could see him mixing his paint in a giant vessel and slapping it on the crowd players. The idea was to close every pore on the surface of the face in the process of applying make-up. He wasn’t exactly a ‘boy; he was in his early forties, having entered the studios years ago in the hope of becoming a star actor or a top screenwriter, director or lyrics writer. He was a bit of a poet …”
(a) Who is the ‘him’ in these lines?
Ans: ‘Him’ is the office boy. He was junior-most in the hierarchy of people in the make-up department.
(b) What was his job?
Ans: He had to put the make-up on the crowd players when a crowd scene was to be shot.
(c) Why was he ‘a bit of a poet’?
Ans: His ambitions of becoming a star actor or a top screenwriter, director or lyrics writer had been thwarted so the circumstances had turned him into a poet.
4. ‘…..The “boy” in the make-up department had decided I should be enlightened on how great literary talent was being allowed to go waste in a department fit only for barbers and perverts. Soon I was praying for crowd shooting all the time. Nothing short of it could save me from his epics … ”
(a) Who is the ‘I’? What was his job?
Ans: He is the narrator/ writer. His job was to extract the relevant newspaper clippings and file them.
(b) What did the ‘boy’ talk to him about?
Ans: He told him how his ‘great literary talent’ was being allowed to go waste.
(c) Why did ‘I’ wish for crowd shooting?
Ans: That was the only time that the ‘boy’ was occupied and so the writer was saved from his lectures.
5. ‘….He could look cheerful at all times even after having had a hand in a flop film. He always had worked for somebody—he could never do things on his own—but his sense of loyalty made him identify himself with his principal completely and turn his entire creativity to his principal’s advantage. He was tailor-made for films. Here was a man who could be inspired when commanded …”
(a) Who is the person being talked about?
Ans: Kothamangalam Subbu.
(b) How was he viewed by the others employed in the studio?
Ans: They were generally angry with him and blamed him for all their woes and humiliation.
(c) What were the strengths that endeared him to his seniors?
Ans: He was a Brahmin and had exposure to more affluent situations and people. He looked cheerful and was creative. Moreover, he could be inspired when required. He was loyal to his seniors and assisted them when they had a problem. He could suggest fourteen alternative ways of shooting a scene. He was also a great actor.
6. ‘… Often he looked alone and helpless—a man of cold logic in a crowd of dreamers—a neutral man in an assembly of Gandhiites and khadiites. Like so many of those who were close to The Boss, he was allowed to produce a film and though a lot of raw stock and pancake were used on it, not much came of the film. Then one day The Boss closed down the Story Department and this was perhaps the only instance in all human history where a lawyer lost his job because the poets were asked to go home …”
(a) Who is the person being talked about?
Ans: The legal adviser is being talked about.
(b) Why was he a misfit in the studio?
Ans: Unlike the rest, he was logical, while the others were poets/dreamers. He wore a pant, coat, and a tie in an assembly of Gandhiites and khadiites.
(c) Why did he lose his job?
Ans: He lost his job because the Boss decided to close down the story department.
7. ‘…..A Communist was a godless man—he had no filial or conjugal love; he had no compunction about killing his parents or his children; he was always out to cause and spread unrest and violence among innocent and ignorant people. Such notions which prevailed everywhere else in South India at that time also, naturally, floated about vaguely among the khadi-clad poets of Gemini Studios. Evidence of it was soon forthcoming …”
(a) What ideology did the people in the Gemini Studios align with?
Ans: Most of them wore khadi and worshipped Gandhiji but beyond that, they had not the faintest appreciation for the political thought of any kind.
(b) What did they think about Communism?
Ans: They felt that the Communist was a godless man with no love and was always out to cause and spread unrest and violence among innocent and ignorant people.
(c) What was the ‘evidence’?
Ans: Years later, it was found out that MRA was a kind of counter-movement to international Communism and the big bosses of Madras, like Mr Vasan, had played into their hands.
8.‘….. At last, around four in the afternoon, the poet (or the editor) arrived. He was a tall man, very English, very serious and of course very unknown to all of us. Battling with half a dozen pedestal fans on the shooting stage, The Boss read out a long speech. it was obvious that he too knew precious little about the poet (or the editor). The speech was all in the most general terms but here and there it was peppered with words like ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ …”
(a) Who was the mystery guest?
Ans: Stephen Spender.
(b) What were the conjunctures of the people working in Gemini Studio?
Ans: They knew he was neither a poet nor an editor of the British publications known in Madras. The surmise was that the poet was the editor of a daily.
(c) What was the reaction of the people to his speech?
Ans: They neither understood the content nor the accent.
9. ‘… Stephen Spender, the poet who had visited Gemini Studios! In a moment I felt a dark chamber of my mind lit up by a hazy illumination. The reaction to Stephen Spender at Gemini Studios was no longer a mystery. The Boss of the Gemini Studios may not have much to do with Spender’s poetry. But not with his god that failed …”
(a) What is meant by ‘a dark chamber of my mind lit up by a hazy illumination’?
Ans: The author was able to place the guest fact appropriately now as to the identity of the guest and the purpose of his visit.
(b) How did the narrator realize the identity of the poet who had visited Gemini Studios?
Ans: In the British Council Library, he saw copies of The Encounter and read the editor’s name.
(c) Explain the reference ‘god that failed’.
Ans: Here, it refers to Communism, the idea that had seemed so promising initially but had disillusioned many. The Boss had known about and shared in Stephen Spender’s disillusionment with Communism. The God That Failed was a compilation of essays by six eminent men, including the author, as a sojourn into communism and their disillusioned return.
Short Answer Type Questions (30 to 40 words)
1.What is the significance of the words ‘poet’ and ‘pancake’?
Ans: ‘Pancake’ was the brand name of the make-up material that Gemini Studios bought in large quantities. It was used as a make-up base for the actors shooting in the studio. Thus this chapter deals with the people working in Gemini Studios, most of them in the make-up department. The word ‘Poets’ comes from the fact that Gemini Studios was the favourite haunt of poets, who had influenced the thinking of the employees of the Studios. It was also visited by the English poet Stephen Spender.
2. What is the writer’s view of Robert Clive?
Ans: The make-up department of the Gemini Studios was in a building that was believed to have been Robert Clive’s stables. Various other buildings in Madras were said to have been his residence. The writer says that Clive’s stay in India and specifically Madras, was for a very short period, though he married in St. Mary’s Church in Madras. But during this brief stay, he seemed to have done a lot of moving, besides fighting some tough battles in far-flung areas of India.
3. What does the writer say about national integration in the Studio?
Ans: The writer says that the make-up department did not have people belonging to the same geographical region. It was first headed by a Bengali who was succeeded by a Maharashtrian who was assisted by a Dharwar Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and the usual local Tamils. All this shows that people from all over the country worked together. So, in a light-hearted manner, he refers to this as national integration.
4. Bring out the humour in the job done by the make-up men.
Ans: The writer says that the ‘gang’ (not group) of men from all corners could transform any decent-looking person into a repulsive crimson coloured fiend because of the enormous amount of make-up they used on the actor. The chief make-up man-made the chief actors and actresses ugly. According to the writer, they used ‘truck-loads of pancake’. Other than the pancake, they used locally manufactured ‘potion and lotions’. He feels with so much make-up, they looked uglier than in real life. This was required to make them look acceptable in the movie.
5. What was the hierarchy that was maintained in the make-up department?
Ans: The authoritarian chain of command in the make-up department spelled the duties of the employees by their position in the hierarchy. The chief make-up man did the makeup for the main actors and actresses; his senior assistant worked on the ‘second hero and heroine’, the junior assistant on the ‘main comedian’, and so on. The players who played the crowd were the responsibility of the office boy, who was the junior-most. Because the office boy was the junior-most in the hierarchy, he was only required when a crowd scene was to be shot as he applied make-up on the crowd players.
6. Why was the ‘office boy’ disgruntled in the Studios?
Ans: The job of the ‘office boy’ was to paint the faces of the crowd on the days when there was an outdoor shooting. Such occasions in those days were rare as only 5 per cent of the film was shot outdoors. Moreover, he wasn’t a ‘boy’ but a man in his early forties, who had joined the studios years ago in the hope of becoming a star actor or a top screenwriter, director or lyrics writer. He felt that his literary talent was being allowed to go waste in a department that was suitable only for ‘barbers and perverts’.
7. What was the writer’s job? How was it viewed by the others in the Studio?
Ans: The duty of Asokamitran in the Studios was to cut out relevant newspaper clippings on a wide variety of subjects and store them in files. People who saw him at work felt that he was doing next to nothing.
They saw him sitting at his desk tearing up newspapers the whole day long. So anyone, who felt he should be given some occupation, would barge into his cubicle anytime and deliver an extended lecture. More often than not, it was the ‘boy’ in the make-up department who pushed his way in to enlighten him on how his great literary talent was being allowed to go waste in a department fit only for barbers and perverts.
8. Why was the anger directed at Kothamangalam Subbu?
Ans: According to the writer, whenever people are frustrated, their anger gets directed towards one person, openly or clandestinely. At Gemini Studios, this man was Kothamangalam Subbu.
He had begun his career as a ‘boy’ in the make-up department. All were convinced that all their sorrow, humiliation, and neglect were due to him. Subbu was the No. 2 at the Studio and was a generous man. It could have been because he seemed so close and intimate with the Boss or because his general conduct resembled that of a flatterer. He was quick to say nice things about everyone.
9. Subbu had made tremendous progress at the Studios. What does the writer feel about Subbu’s talent?
Ans: Subbu began as an office boy and had risen to the position of being No. 2 at Gemini Studios. It was even more commendable in his case as he began his career at a time when there was no firmly established film producing companies or studios.
Although he barely had any formal education, Subbu was cut-out for films. He could be inspired when desired. When asked by the producer, he would come up with ideas. He gave direction and definition to Gemini Studios. He was capable of higher forms of poetry but he purposely chose to address it to the masses. His success in films eclipsed his literary achievements. He was an amazing actor and whatever role he played, he performed better than the main players.
10. Why was the legal adviser referred to as the ‘opposite’?
Ans: The lawyer was also officially known as the legal adviser, but everybody referred to him as the opposite because he did not give legal but illegal and destructive advice. He marred the career of an extremely talented actress. Once, when that actress threw a tantrum on the sets, the lawyer switched on the recording equipment and when she paused for breath he replayed it. It was an outburst against the producer. When she heard her voice again, she was struck dumb. A girl from the countryside, she never recovered from the terror she felt that day.
11. How did the legal adviser look different from the rest in the department?
Ans: While every other member of the department wore a khadi dhoti with a slightly oversized and clumsily tailored white khadi shirt, the legal adviser wore pants and a tie and sometimes a coat that looked like a coat of mail.
As a consequence, often he looked alone and helpless. He was a man of logic in a crowd of dreamers; a dispassionate man in a group of Gandhiites and khadiites. Then the Boss closed down the Story Department and this was perhaps the only instance in all human history when a lawyer lost his job because the poets were asked to go home.
12. Why was the legal adviser dismissed?
Ans: The legal adviser was close to the Boss. As a consequence, like others who were close to the Boss, he was allowed to produce a film. A lot of investment had gone into the production of this film but not much came from the film. The lawyer was a member of the Story Department. Then, one day, the Boss closed down the Story Department and this was perhaps the only example where a lawyer lost his job because the poets were asked to go home.
13. What does the writer say about the political leanings of the people at Gemini Studios?
Ans: Barring the office boys and a couple of clerks, everybody else at the Gemini Studios radiated leisure and was a lover of poetry. Most of them wore khadi and worshipped Gandhiji but beyond that, they had no political leanings at Gemini Studios. Since most of the employees were apolitical and worshipped Gandhiji, they wore khadi. However, all of them disliked the term ‘Communism’.
To them, a Communist was a godless man who had no love and could kill his own family. He was always out to cause and spread unrest and violence among innocent and ignorant people.
14. What impact did Frank Buchman have on the Gemini Studios?
Ans: When Frank Buchman’s Moral Re-Armament army visited Madras, it was given a very warm welcome. They presented two plays most professionally. Their Jotham Valley and The Forgotten Factor ran several shows and the Gemini family saw the plays over and over again.
The message of the plays was usually plain and simple, but the sets and costumes were first-rate. Madras and the Tamil drama community were so impressed that for some years, almost all Tamil plays had a scene in the style of Jotham Valley.
15. What truth about the Moral Re-Armament army disillusioned the writer?
Ans: Initially, when the writer saw the plays staged by the Moral Re-Armament army he was impressed by the message of the plays. Their sets and costumes were first-rate. Madras and the entire Tamil drama community were so impressed that for some years almost all Tamil plays had a scene in the style of Jotham Valley.
Years after the Moral Re-Armament army had come and gone, the writer learnt that it was a kind of counter-movement to international Communism and the big bosses of Madras, like Mr Vasan, had been led into believing them.
16. Stephen Spender’s visit to the Gemini Studios baffled one and all. Why?
Ans: When the Gemini Studios prepared to welcome Stephen Spender, no one knew who he was. They tried guessing whether he was a poet or an editor. Certainly, he was not so well known that his fame had travelled to India from The Manchester Guardian or the London Times. When he arrived, the Boss introduced him but the speech was ambiguous. Then the poet spoke, which confused the audience even more. No one knew what he was talking about and his accent could not be understood. The poet, too, looked equally baffled.
17. How did the writer discover Spender’s identity?
Ans: The writer read an announcement in The Hindu for a short story contest organized by a British periodical by the name ‘The Encounter’. The writer wanted to get an idea of The Encounter before he sent his manuscript to England. So, he went to the British Council Library and saw copies of The Encounter almost untouched by readers. He read the editor’s name. It was Stephen Spender. The name was familiar and he recalled that this was the man who had visited the Studios.
18. Why did the book, The God That Failed to assume great importance for the writer?
Ans: The writer paid fifty paise and bought the book, The God That Failed. It had six separate essays by six eminent men. They had described their journeys into Communism and their disillusioned return. One of them was Stephen Spender. Just then, the book became very important as this very poet had visited Gemini Studios. The purpose of his visit at once became clear. The Boss of the Gemini Studios had nothing to do with Spender’s poetry but his dislike for Communism he shared.
Important Long/ Detailed Answer Type Questions- to be answered in about 100 -150 words each
1.Describe the make-up department in Gemini Studios.
Ans: The make-up department of Gemini Studios was on the upper floor of a building that was supposed to have been Robert Clive’s stables. The make-up room had the look of its hair salon with lights at all angles around half a dozen huge mirrors. They were all glowing lights that made the place so warm that the person on whom make-up was being done, had to undergo a great deal of inconvenience. The make-up department had people from various parts of the country, who were adept at painting faces. The chain of command in the make-up department, distributed the duties of the employees, by their position in the hierarchy. The chief make-up man did the makeup for the main actors and actresses; his senior assistant worked on the second hero and heroine, the junior assistant on the main comedian, and so on. The players who played the crowd were the responsibility of the office boy, who was the junior-most.
2. The ‘office boy’ of the Gemini Studios was not as blessed as Subbu. Explain.
Ans: In the make-up room, as per the hierarchy, the ‘office boy’ was the junior-most and hence, was responsible for the make-up of the players who played the crowd. He wasn’t exactly a ‘boy’; he was in his early forties and had entered the studios years ago in the hope of becoming a star actor or a top screenwriter, director, or lyrics writer. The ‘boy’ felt that his great literary talent was being allowed to go waste in a department fit only for barbers and perverts.
On the other hand, Subbu had risen to the position of No. 2 at Gemini Studios only by his being a Brahmin. He had joined the films as a make-up boy. He must have had to face more uncertain and difficult times because when he began his career, there was no well-established film producing companies or studios.
3. Write a brief character sketch of Kothamangalam Subbu.
Ans: Kothamangalam Subbu was universally hated by all in the make-up department. He had a modest beginning as an office boy and had now reached to the position of No. 2 at Gemini Studios. He was a Brahmin and hence, had contacts with affluent people. He looked cheerful at all times. He could never do things on his own but his loyalty endeared him to the Boss. His creativity surfaced when commanded. He could come out with various alternatives for enacting a scene. He gave direction and definition to Gemini Studios during its golden years. Subbu was also a poet and capable of complex and higher forms of poetry but he purposely addressed it to the masses. His success in films overshadowed his literary achievements. He composed several ‘story poems’ and also wrote a novel, Thillana Mohanambal. He was an amazing actor and performed better than the main players. He loved people and his house was a permanent residence for guests. Despite this, he had enemies. It could be because he seemed so close to the Boss or because he seemed like a sycophant.
4. The Gemini Studios was the haunt of poets and it had its due effect on the employees of the Studios. justify.
Ans: Gemini Studios was the favourite hang-out place of poets like S.D.S. Yogiar, Sangu Subramanyam, Krishna Sastry and Harindranath Chattopadhyaya. The employees wore a khadi dhoti with a clumsily tailored white khadi shirt. It was a crowd of dreamers and an assembly of Gandhiites and khadiites. Then, Congress rule meant prohibition and most employees worshipped Gandhiji but beyond that, they had no admiration for the political thought of any kind. They disliked a Communist and to them, he was a godless man with no love. He could kill his parents or his children and he was always out to cause and spread unrest and violence among innocent and ignorant people. Such notions which prevailed everywhere else in South India at that time also, naturally, floated about vaguely among the khadi-clad poets of Gemini Studios.
5. What was the reaction of Gemini Studios to Frank Buchman’s Moral Re-Armament army? What was the anti-climax?
Ans: Frank Buchman’s Moral Re-Armament army of about 200 visited Madras in 1952, and they were given a warm welcome in the Studios. The staff of Gemini Studios had a nice time hosting 200 people of all hues and sizes of at least twenty nationalities. They presented two plays, Jotham Valley and The Forgotten Factor, in a very professional manner. The employees of the Studios saw the plays many times. The message of the plays was plain but the sets and costumes were excellent. Madras and the Tamil drama community were so impressed, that for years almost all Tamil plays had a scene in the manner of Jotham Valley.
Later, they learnt that the MRA was a counter-movement to international Communism and the big bosses of Madras like Mr Vasan simply played into their hands.
6. How did the writer discover Spender’s identity?
Ans: When Gemini Studios prepared to welcome Spender, they did not have any clue about the identity of the visitor. All they knew was that he was a poet from England. However, he was not one of the poets from England that they had heard of. Later, they heard that he was an editor. But again, he wasn’t the editor of any of the known British publications. When the gentleman arrived, the mystery of his identity deepened. He spoke but none understood because of the British accent.
Much later, when The Encounter, a relatively unknown periodical, announced a short story contest through The Hindu, the writer went to the British Council Library to find out more about the periodical. When he read the editor’s name, it sounded familiar. It was the poet who had visited the Gemini Studios. His name was Stephen Spender.
