Class 12 English — Chapter 6: Poets and Pancakes

What you'll learn

• ▸The Make-up Department at Gemini Studios
• ▸Character Analysis of Kothamangalam Subbu
• ▸The 'Office Boy' and Unfulfilled Ambitions
• ▸National Integration at the Studio
• ▸The Author's Role and Perspective
• ▸The Enigmatic Legal Adviser and the Story Department
• ▸Hierarchy in the Film World
• ▸Satire and Humor in the Narrative

Chapter Summary

--- PAGE 1 --- 12074CH06 6 Poets and Pancakes About the author Asokamitran (1931–2017), a Tamil writer, recounts his years at Gemini Studios in his book My Years with Boss which talks of the influence of movies on every aspect of life in India. The Gemini Studios, located in Chennai, was set up in 1940. It was one of the most influential film-producing organisations of India in the early days of Indian film-making. Its founder was S.S. Vasan. The duty of Asokamitran in Gemini Studios 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 by hand. Although he performed an insignificant function he was the most well- informed of all the members of the Gemini family. The following is an excerpt from his book My Years with Boss. Notice these words and expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the context. * blew over * was struck dumb * catapulted into *…

Practice Questions from this Chapter

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1. Research film make-up through history. Get Solution →
2. Explain early Indian film studios. Get Solution →
3. Imagine a job in a film studio. Get Solution →
4. What was the brand name of the make-up material that Gemini Studios bought in truck-loads? Get Solution →
5. Who was the founder of Gemini Studios? Get Solution →
6. What was the author Asokamitran's primary job at Gemini Studios? Get Solution →
7. The make-up department was located in a building believed to have once been whose stables? Get Solution →
8. In the make-up department's hierarchy, who was responsible for the crowd players? Get Solution →

Did you know?

• 💡 Early film actors applied thick, grease-based make-up to show up on black-and-white film.
• 💡 The first movie sets used extremely hot carbon arc lamps that could even cause fires.
• 💡 Many early Hollywood screenwriters started as poets or playwrights before movies existed.
• 💡 Prosthetic make-up for movies began with theatre masks and elaborate stage disguises.
• 💡 India produces the most films globally, making thousands of movies in various languages yearly.

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