Tamil Cinema Quiz Answers

Thank you for the enthusiastic response to the quiz (I did get a few more emails than I expected). One of the pleasant surprises was getting responses from people who I didn't know read my blog. I enjoyed reading the answers and have individually responded to everybody who sent me an email. So do let me know if you sent me the answers but did not get a reply.

Now for the answers...

1. Thillu Mullu is said to be the film in which these two actors shared the screen for the last time. Since then, films of the two actors releasing on the same day is the closest we’ve come to seeing them in action together (after a long gap, that happened in 2005). But the two actors did appear together on the screen in one movie as late as 1999. Name the two actors and the film.

The actors are Rajnikanth and Kamalhassan(Kamal had a cameo as a lawyer in Thillu Mullu). The 1999 film in which they appeared together on the screen was Suyamvaram. This was the film that was shot in 24 hours and both Rajni and Kamal lighted the kuthuvilakku to signal its start. This was shown during the credits :)

2. The heroes of Tamil cinema get to be young forever while the heroines quickly graduate to playing roles even beyond their ages. Consider this actor-actress pair for instance. Over the span of 16 years (1975 to 1991), the actress has played the actor’s wife, sister, mother-in-law and mother. Name the actor, actress and atleast one of the movies each of those relationships was portrayed in.

The actor is Rajnikanth and the actress is Srividya. The two played husband & wife in Aboorva Raagangal, brother & sister in Manidhan, mother-in-law & son-in-law in Maappillai and mother & son in Thalapathi.

One of the popular answers for this question was Rajni and Sujatha. While I know she has acted as Rajni's wife(Avargal) and as his mother(Uzhaippaali), I'm not aware of any movies where she has played his mother-in-law or his sister.

3. This young actor actor debuted in a fairly successful 1996 movie (the heroine was a newcomer too and went on to become famous for her physical assets rather than her acting prowess) but is still struggling to find a foothold in the industry. He could take tips from his father, who has been around for more than 2 decades playing many different roles – hero, villain, supporting actor, etc. The actor and his father have appeared in only 1 film together so far. Name the actor, his father and the film.

The actor is Arunkumar, son of Vijayakumar. The two acted together in Paandavar Bhoomi.

As for the other trivia in the question, the "fairly successful 1996 movie" was Priyam and the heroine in that was Manthra.

4. This director is now the king of masala in Tamil cinema, having delivered 3 huge box-office hits in the last 4 years. But he entered the industry rather quietly in 1999, directing a political thriller under his original name. The film, which never made it to the theaters, could be classified as a political thriller and was distinctly unlike his subsequent 3 movies. Name the director, his original name and that first film.

The director is Dharani, the man behind Dhill, Dhool and Gilli. The political thriller he directed in 1999, under his original name V.C.Ramani, was the Napoleon-Mammootty starrer Edhirum Pudhirum.

A few of the emails mentioned that Edhirum Pudhirum was released. I thought it never made it to the theaters since I didn't read a single review of the film at the time that I saw it on VCD. This article also says "unreleased debut". But if it was indeed released, then yes, that was an error in the question. My apologies...

5. All it takes is a single film to turn one’s image around. Consider these 2 actresses. The first went unnoticed in a deglamorized role in a 1993 flop while the second was introduced in a glamorous role and even did a vampish dance number in a Satyaraj starrer. But both underwent image makeovers in 1996. While the former became a sex symbol by letting her skirt fly high a la Marilyn Monroe in a big hit, the latter became the epitome of the homely heroine after a superhit. The new images of the actresses were clear when they played sisters in love with the same man in a 1998 film. Name the two actresses and the film they appeared together in.

The two actresses are Devayani and Rambha. The film they appeared together in was Ninaithen Vandhaai, where they played sisters in love with Vijay.

As for the rest of the trivia, Rambha appeared in the '93 flop Uzhavan while Devayani showed no signs of her homely side in movies like Thottachinungi and Sivasakthi, the Satyaraj-starrer. Rambha turned sex symbol in Ullathai Alli Thaa while Devayani adopted a homely image in Kaadhal Koattai, both of which were released in 1996.

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Karthik, Bart, Sandya and Ram got all the answers correct...

Hope answering this was as much fun for u all as creating it was for me :)