What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected

to make-up’?
Ans: The actors in the make-up room were very uncomfortable due to the
heat produced by the lights in the make-up room. As a result, this pain is
mentioned by the author. Trouble is described as a state of 'flaming misery.'
3. What is the example of national integration that the author refers
to?
Ans: The make-up branch of Gemini Studios was an example of national
integration. This is because people from many areas and religious groups
worked together in the same department, according to the author. A Bengali
led the department until he was succeeded by a Maharashtrian. A Dharwar
Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese, and
local Tamils were among the other aids.
What work did the ‘office boy’ do in the Gemini Studios? Why did he
join the studios? Why was he disappointed?
Ans: The office boy applies make-up to the players who acted in front of the
audience. He mixed his paint in a large pot on crowd shooting days and
applied it fast and noisily on the players' faces. He had gone to the studios
hoping to become a famous actor, screenwriter, director, or lyricist. He was
dissatisfied because he had failed and remained a 'boy.'
5. Why did the author appear to be doing nothing at the studios?
Ans: The author's job entailed cutting out newspaper clippings on a wide
range of topics and filing them away. Many of these have to be scribbled by
hand. Onlookers saw him simply ripping up newspapers. As a result, he
appeared to be doing nothing to them.
6. Why was the office boy frustrated? Who did he show his anger on?
Ans: Despite having a nice opening, the office boy was disappointed because
he was still only an office boy. He had received a decent education and would
also write poetry. His immense writing gift, on the other hand, was being
squandered. He vented his rage on Gemini Studios' No. 2 Kothamangalam
Subbu.
7. Who was Subbu’s principal?
Ans: Subbu's principal was Mr S.S Vasan, the founder of Gemini Studios.
8. Subbu is described as a many-sided genius. List four of his special
abilities.
Ans: Subbu possessed four unique abilities:
(i) Subbu could maintain a pleasant demeanour at all times.
(ii) His sense of commitment led him to devote all of his talents to his
principal's benefit: filmmaking was a breeze with Subbu around.
(iii) He was also a poet and novelist. He was a fantastic actor.
(iv) He was a generous and loving person.
9. Why was the legal adviser referred to as the opposite by others?
Ans: The lawyer worked in the Story Division. Officially, he was referred to as
the legal adviser. His acts, on the other hand, did no one any good. He had
accidentally put a bright young actress's career on hold. As a result, he was
dubbed "the polar opposite" by others.
10. What made the lawyer stand out from the others at Gemini
Studios?
Ans: He stood out from the crowd because of his lawyer's attire. He wore a
trouser, a tie, and a coat on occasion. Others dressed in a khadi dhoti with a
badly fitted white khaki shirt, which appeared to be everyone's uniform.
11. Did the people at Gemini Studios have any particular political
affiliations?
Ans: The majority of the people at Gemini Studios were Gandhiji devotees
who wore khadi. Aside from khadi and the wearing of khadi, they had no
political connections. They were all, however, opposed to communism.
12. Why was the Moral Rearmament Army welcomed at the Studios?
Ans: The Moral Rearmament Army was a sort of anti-communist counter-
movement.
Mr Vasan and the other Madras Big Bosses simply played into their hands. As
a result, the Moral Rearmament Army was warmly received at Gemini
Studios.
13. Name one example to show that Gemini Studios was influenced
by the plays staged by MRA.
Ans: The MRA's productions had a significant impact on the Madras and
Tamil drama communities. For a few years, practically all Tamil plays featured
a sunrise and sunset scenario in the style of ‘Jotham Valley,' complete with a
bare stage, a white background curtain, and a flute song.
14. Who was the Boss of Gemini Studios?
Ans: Gemini Studios' boss was Mr S.S Vasan.
15. What caused the lack of communication between the Englishman
and the people at Gemini Studios?
Ans: The majority of the 600 or so people at Gemini Studios spoke Tamil. The
Englishman addressed them in his native tongue. He spoke with an unusual
accent. As a result, there was a communication gap between the Englishman
and those who couldn't understand what he was saying.
16. Why is the Englishman’s visit referred to as an unexplained
mystery?
Ans: Because no one could figure out whether the Englishman was a poet or
an editor, his visit to the Gemini Studios is referred to as an unexplained
enigma. Furthermore, no one in the studio understood what he was trying to
say because his accent was too thick for them to understand.
17. Who was the English visitor to the studios?
Ans: Stephen Spender, an Englishman, paid a visit to the Gemini Studios. He
was the editor of The Encounter, a British periodical, as well as a well-known
twentieth-century English poet, essayist, and novelist.
18. How did the author discover who the English visitor to the
studios was?
Ans: Before spending money on a short story contest sponsored by the
English periodical The Encounter, the author did some research on the
publication. He went to the British Council Library, where he discovered that
Stephen Spender, the poet who had earlier visited the studio, was the editor
of that journal.
19. What does ‘The God that Failed’ refer to?
Ans: Six famous writers, including Andre Gide, Richard Wright, Ignazio Silone,
Arthur Koestler, Louis Fischer, and Stephen Spender, contributed six articles
to 'The God That Failed.' The authors of each piece discussed “their
adventures into Communism and
their disillusioned return” in their unique essays.
20. The author has used gentle humour to point out human foibles.
Pick out instances of this to show how this serves to make the piece
interesting.
Ans: The author's use of comedy highlights the peculiarities and
idiosyncrasies without making any direct or unpleasant remarks about
anyone. For example, the author depicts make-up artists and the use of
pancakes in an intriguing manner. Even Subbus caricature is amusing. It's
interesting how he attempts to help his principal by suggesting quick
solutions to his difficulties. Another example is the situation in which a legal
adviser mistakenly puts an actress's career on hold. The author has injected
light humour into the dissatisfaction of the office boy, the shallow praising of
Gandhi, hate of Communism, and the "mystery" surrounding Stephen
Spender, to name a few examples.
21. Why was Kothamangalam Subbu considered No. 2 in Gemini
Studios?
Ans: Through flattery, Kothamangalam Subbu was able to secure the position
closest to The Boss. He wasn't bright, but he was a happy guy who was
fiercely loyal to The Boss. When The Boss was in a pickle, he gave solutions.
As a result, the other Gemini Studios employees regarded him as No. 2.
22. How does the author describe the incongruity of an English poet
addressing the audience at Gemini Studios?
Ans: In English with a typical provincial accent, the English poet addressed
the Tamil audience at Gemini Studios. He was speaking to a disoriented and
silent audience about the joys and sorrows of being an English poet. This was
an oddity because his listeners had no idea what he was saying.
1. Why did the legal adviser lose his job in the Gemini Studios?
Answer:
The legal adviser worked in the story department of the Gemini Studios which
was later closed by the boss. So, in this way, the legal adviser lost his job.

Question 2.
What do you understand by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make up?
Answer:
The makeup room was glowed by many incandescent lights which produced very
fiery heat. Artists had to face that extreme heat as they had to sit there for makeup.
They were pitiful and could not do anything in this regard.

Question 3.
What was the poet’s preconceived idea about communism?
Answer:
The poet opined that the communists were heart-less and godless persons. They did
not love their wife, children as well as relatives. They were always ready for violence
and to tease the innocent people.

What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’

of those subjected to make-up?

Ans: The writer means the misery caused by the

incandescent lights that poured out intense heat. The make-
up room of the Gemini Studios had bright bulbs in the room
full of large mirrors that reflected the glowing lights. Under
such blazing heat make-up was done.

Q2. What is the example of national integration

that the author refers to?
Ans: The make-up team and also those who came and went
were from different states. It was headed by a Bengali and
next in hierarchy was a Maharashtrian, assisted by an
Andhraite, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and
other local Tamils. It was truly a gang of nationally integrated
make-up men.

Q3. What work did the ‘office boy’ do in the

Gemini Studios? Why did he join the studios?
Why was he disappointed?

Ans: The office boy applied make-up to the crowds, mixing

his paint in a giant vessel and slapping it on the crowd
players. He had joined the studios in the hope of becoming a
star actor or a top screen writer, director or lyrics writer. He
was a bit of a poet. He was disappointed as he was placed
low even in the hierarchy of make-up men.

Q4. Why did the author appear to be doing

nothing at the studios?

Ans: The author’s job was to cut out newspaper clippings on

a wide variety of subjects and store them in files. Many of
these had to be written out in hand. Seeing him sitting at his
desk and tearing up newspapers most people thought he had
nothing to do at the studios.

Q5. Why was the office boy frustrated? Who did

he show his anger on?

Ans: The office boy was frustrated because his hopes of

making big in the movie world failed. He vent his anger and
frustration on Kothamangalam Subbu, the No. 2 in the
studios, whom he held responsible for his dishonour and
neglect.
Q6. Who was Subbu’s principal?

Ans: S.S. Vasan, the founder of Gemini Studios, was the boss
and Subbu’s Principal in the studios. Subbu had a great
loyalty to him. This made him identify himself with his
principal completely. He turned his entire creativity to his
principal’s advantage.

Q7. Subbu is described as a many-sided genius.

List four of his special abilities.

Ans: Subbu was a many-sided genius. He was born a

Brahmin. It is a virtue in itself as it exposed him to more
affluent situations and people. Second, he had the ability to
look cheerful at all times. Third, he always had work for
somebody. Fourth, he had great loyalty to his principal, S.S.
Vasan, the Boss.

Q8. Why was the legal adviser referred to as the

opposite by others?

Ans: The lawyer was the only one at the studios who wore
pants, tie and sometimes a coat, unlike others who wore
khadi dhoti and shirt. His job was to give support and advise
on problems, but in fact he created problems. He brought the
career of a brilliant actress to an end by terrorizing her. He
was rightly called an illegal adviser.

Q9. What made the lawyer stand out from the

others at Gemini Studios?

Ans: The lawyer wore pants, a tie and sometimes a coat,

while all wore khadi dhoti and white khadi shirt. He looked
alone and helpless. He was a man of cold logic in a crowd of
dreamers. He was a neutral man among Gandhiites and
Khadiites.
Q10. Did the people at Gemini Studios have any
particular political affiliations?

Ans: The people at Gemini Studios wore Khadi and

worshipped Gandhi, but beyond that they had no particular
political interests or understanding. They only had opinions
on communism, which they loathed and looked down on
communists. They considered communists as heartless
atheists who are devoid of emotions. They went about letting
loose anarchy in the society.

Q11. Why was the Moral Re-Armament Army

welcomed at Gemini Studios?

Ans: The Moral Re-Armament Army was invited to stage two

plays, which were more like plain homilies ‘
(sermons/lectures) for the Gemini family. It was discovered
only later that the group was part of the movement
countering international communism and Vasan had invited
them under the influence of his political interests.

Q12. Name one example to show that Gemini

Studios was influenced by the plays staged by
MRA?

Ans: MRA staged two plays ‘Jotham Valley’ and ‘The

Forgotten Factor’. Their high quality costumes and
well made sets earned a lot of admiration. Their sunrise and
sunset scene impressed them so much that all Tamil plays
started reproducing the scene with a bare stage, a white
background curtain and a tune playing on the flute.

Q13. Who was the Boss of Gemini Studios?

Ans: Mr. S.S. Vasan, the founder of Gemini Studios was the
Boss. Apart from producing films, he was an editor of a
popular Tamil weekly ‘Ananda Vikatan’. He was a great
admirer of scholarly people. Subbu seemed to enjoy an
intimate relationship with him. Mr. Vasan is projected as a bit
of showman here.

Q14. What caused the lack of communication

between the Englishman and the people at
Gemini Studios?

Ans: The Englishman’s speech was peppered with words like

‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ and the Gemini
family had no political interests, so they were dazed and a
silent audience. Also, the Englishman’s accent was difficult to
understand, because of which all communication had failed.
He was basically a poet and that made no sense to the
people whose life centered around a film studio.

Q15. Why was the Englishman’s visit referred to

as unexplained mystery?

Ans: The Englishman was a poet whose name was not

familiar. In his speech he talked about the thrills and travails
of an English poet, which made no sense for the simple
people at Gemini Studios who had had no exposure other
than films and so they were not interested. These simple
people had neither taste for English poetry nor political
interests. Hence, his visit is referred to as an unexplained
mystery.

Q16. Who was the English visitor to the studios?

Ans: The English visitor to the studios was poet Stephen

Spender, editor of British periodical ‘The Encounter’.

Q17. How did the author discover who the

English visitor to the studio was?
Ans: The author discovered his identity by reading his name
on the pages of ‘The Encounter’ in the British Council Library.
He also knew about him from the paperback edition of the
book The God That Failed.

Q18. What does The God That Failed refer to?

Ans: The God That Failed refers to a book that was a

compilation of six essays by six eminent men. It was a low-
priced student edition released to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the Russian Revolution. It dealt with the
author’s disillusionment with communism.

MCQ:
Question 1.
Who was heading the make-up department?
(a) a Madrasi
(b) A tamilian
(c) A bengali
(d) A Bengali and later was succeeded by a Maharashtrian

Question 2.
Why was Subbu a trouble shooter?
(a) because of his gossip style
(b) because of his flattery
(c) ability to mix up with everyone
(d) because of his problem resolving quality