FLQ: The Frontline Quiz

Time for some light-hearted fun.

1. Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s Short Notes is a series of short videos in which he performs an example of a raga at a time. How does he create a popular reference at the end of each video?

2. Who is Tovino Thomas portraying in the upcoming Malayalam film Neelavelicham (poster shown above). This person is also the writer of the short story on which the movie is based.

3. Holsten’s, a candy shop and restaurant in New Jersey, found a sudden spurt in orders for onion rings starting in 2007 and a further spike starting in 2013. Who is the famous fictional figure whose family has a table reserved at the restaurant?

4. This person (below) has signed up for an unscripted TV series on Netflix, in which she will host and chat with famous people in her New York City apartment. Who is she?

Steven Hirsch/New York Post/AP

5. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was a former princely state ruled by the Abbasi family of Nawabs and was one of the first states to accede to Pakistan after Partition, leaving behind a rich architectural legacy. In 1975, Bahawalpur House became home to an institute that would have an outsized impact on Indian entertainment. Which institute is this?

6. Abbott Elementary is a popular sitcom set in a Philadelphia school. The poster shown here includes something that the Philadelphia school system removed from its curriculum because it was deemed to be obsolete in the modern world. What is this?

7. Ashley Johnson is the actress who played the role of Ellie in the video game series The Last of Us. When the television adaptation was being cast, she was specifically chosen to play which role because of her history with the franchise?

8. Raja Joginder Sen Bahadur was the last ruler of an Indian princely state. His estate at a prime location was sold in the 1970s, and an old palace was demolished to make way for an office complex that continues to be known by the name of the princely state. An office housed in this complex was known for pioneering an era in Indian entertainment. Name the office complex.

9. In 2022, as a commemoration of 30 years of cultural relations with India, a country’s embassy unveiled a mural titled “Shalom Namaste”, which featured the actors of yesteryear Pramila, Sulochana, and Nadira. Which country’s embassy is this?

10. Which song was the most played on British television during the month of December 2020? While appropriate for the impending Brexit deadline, the context also made this choice somewhat ironic.

Sumant Srivathsan has a day job as a digital marketer, but his true calling is disambiguating football and soccer on the Internet.

Answers:

1. He sings the opening notes of a popular Ilayaraaja song.
2. Vaikom Muhammad Basheer
3. Tony Soprano, the lead character of The Sopranos. In 2013, actor James Gandolfini, who played Tony, also passed away.
4. Anna Sorokin, the con artist on whom the Netflix series Inventing Anna is based.
5. The National School of Drama
6. Cursive writing
7. Ashley Johnson plays Anna, Ellie’s mother. She was chosen as she was the one who “gave birth” to the character of Ellie.
8. Mandi House, aka Doordarshan Bhavan
9. Israel. Pramila (Esther Abraham), Sulochana (Ruby Myers), and Nadira (Florence Ezekiel) were all of Jewish origin.
10. “The Final Countdown” by Europe