Trivial Pursuit 110

Kundan Shah’s original script for “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro” (1983) , had a scene where Vinod and Sudhir get locked in a cement godown where they have been sent by Shobha to take photographs of Tarneja’s black-marketing operations.

In the godown, Vinod and Sudhir encounter a Gorilla that has just escaped from the circus. This is no ordinary Gorilla as he has the ability to talk !! The Gorilla talks about his various encounters with different kinds of people.


The warehouse scene ends with these words :

“The partners escape the warehouse with the help of the Gorilla who breaks open the window locked by Ashok. All three of them disappear in the darkness of the night. All that remains are the haunting, penetrating insights of the Gorilla. Fade Out.”

The film’s Dialogue Writer Ranjit Kapoor connected so well with the scene that Kundan Shah suggested that he play the Gorilla’s role himself.


However, a costume was required for the role and Kundan Shah did not have the required budget to buy a new one. Mr. Shah thought about it and remembered a vaguely Gorilla-like costume that was used in another film.


Pawan Malhotra, one of JBDY’s Production Assistants, was asked to go and get the costume required for the Gorilla scene.



Which film did Kundan Shah have in mind for the ‘Gorilla’ costume ?

Trivial Pursuit 109

‘X’ is a Hebrew word meaning ’please save’ or ’save now.’

In the customary public worship done by specific religious groups, the word ‘X’ refers to a shout of praise, worship and salvation.

A song composed for the 2010 Tamil movie 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya' ( Will you Cross the Skies and Come ? ), used the word ‘X’ as an exclamation of joy when a man sees his beloved.

'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya' was simultaneously shot in Telugu as 'Ye Maaya Chesave' ( What Magic Have You Done to me ? )

The Catholic Christian Secular Forum (CSF) objected to the trivialising of ‘X’ - the Hebrew word referring to salvation, and asked the makers Fox Star Studios to remove it from the Hindi remake of the film.


Identify ‘X’, the word used in a song composed by A. R. Rahman.

Trivial Pursuit 108

HMV released an LP Record of two very rare English songs in 1969-70. The songs were sung by Mohd. Rafi and were composed by Shankar-Jaikishan.

One side featured a song called 'The World Is One' and the other side had the song 'The She I Love'.

Identify the original Hindi versions on which the two English songs were based, as well as the films which featured both the Hindi songs.

Trivial Pursuit 107

Producer (Late) Mr. Ravi was Rishi Kapoor’s Secretary.

He also worked as a Production Controller in R.K. Films.

He then turned Producer and went on to Produce four Rishi Kapoor delights, the super-hit

“Khel Khel Mein” (1975), the successful “Jhoota Kahin Ka” (1979), the immensely enjoyable

“Rahi Badal Gaye” (1985) and the entertaining “Hum Dono” (1995).

His son made his debut with a 2012 film.



Name his son and the film.

Trivial Pursuit 106

This clip from the yesteryear Doordarshan serial 'Fauji', features the character of Thakur Varuneshwar Singh Ji Parmeshwar Singh Ji Chauhan a.k.a. Varun (Vikram) a.k.a. the

‘I say chaps’ guy.

He played Abhimanyu Rai’s (Shahrukh Khan) friend and fellow soldier in the serial.


Vikram played some domestic cricket before becoming a television actor. He then turned his focus to Double trap shooting. He, along with Ronjan Sodhi and Vikram Bhatnagar, was a part of the Indian Gold Medal winning team at the recently concluded Asian Clay Shooting Championship held at Kazakhstan.

Vikram’s father Harinder is a former sportsman who has represented India and captained and coached the Services Volleyball team. He was one of the Olympic torch bearers when it passed through Delhi in 1964.

Vikram’s real life brother ‘X’ is a former cricketer who has represented India in International cricket. He was a part of the Indian team at the 1999 World Cup.

As a child, ‘X’ appeared with Kapil Dev in a television commercial for ‘Boost’.


Identify ‘X’.

Trivial Pursuit 105

The bungalow used in the film ‘Chupke Chupke’ (1975), belonged to the film’s Producer
Mr. N. C. Sippy.

Mr. Sippy sold the bungalow after the release of his film ’Inkaar’ in 1977.

Just after the release of ‘Inkaar’ (which dealt with the subject of kidnapping),

Mr. Sippy sold the house, as a kidnapping attempt was made on his son Romu Sippy.

The place where Mr. N. C. Sippy’s house once existed, is today considered a famous
Mumbai landmark.


What is it famous as ?

Trivial Pursuit 104

Question Courtesy : Mr. Devendra Prabhune

An album titled ‘Bhav Muke’ was released at the Mumbai Cricket Association on 25th January, 2011.

The album features the voice of singers like Suresh Wadkar, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, Swapnil Bandodkar, Mandar Apte & Dr. Ajit Deval.

The idea of the album was suggested by noted sports writer-commentator Dwarkanath Sanzgiri.

The songs in the album are about various moods -- happy, sad and also about nature. Composed by Music Director Ashok Patki, the songs are the work of someone who was a professor at Kirti College and a well known literary figure.


Identify him.

Trivial Pursuit 103

Identify the lead Actor shown on the cover of this film poster.

Even IMDB/Wikipedia do not show this film in his Filmography as an Actor.

He’s someone we’ve all heard of !!

Trivial Pursuit 102

Question Courtesy : Mr. Devendra Prabhune

“Kahin Ek Gaon” was a 13 part Television serial aired on Doordarshan.

Ram Singh (Pankaj Kapur), a truck driver in the army, returns to his village after 20 years. His village ‘Bihad Lateri’ is located on the border of Haryana and Rajasthan.

On arriving at the village, Ram Singh encounters Lahiri (Rajendra Gupta) a good hearted drunk and Ganga (Neena Gupta), who had become a widow on her wedding night.

Through them Ram Singh discovers that the old forest has disappeared, the land has become barren and the whole village has been taken over by the liquor business.

Ram Singh remembers an incident during his career in the army. The convoy of which he was a part, was attacked by the enemy’s air force and he was one of the few survivors. It was at this point that he had decided to dedicate his life to the service of others starting with his own village.

He dedicates his life to the people and ultimately, over the years, is begun to be called Baba Ram Singh.


On whose life was the serial based ?