Question

Read the following extract and answer the following questions:
The make-up room had the look of a hair-cutting salon with lights at
all angles around half a dozen large mirrors. They were all
incandescent lights, so you can imagine the fiery misery of those
subjected to make-up. The make-up department was first headed by
a Bengali who became too big for a studio and left. He was succeeded
by a Maharashtrian who was assisted by a Dharwar Kannadiga, an
Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and the
usual local Tamils. All this shows that there was a great deal of
national integration long before A.I.R. and Doordarshan began
broadcasting programmes on national integration. This gang of
nationally integrated make-up men could turn any decent-looking
person into a hideous crimson hued monster with the help of truck-
loads of pancake and a number of other locally made potions and
lotions.
(Poets and Pancakes)
(i) Why does the author compare the make-up room to a salon?
(ii) Select the correct option from those given in brackets to fill in the blank.
The term ‘crimson hued monster’ refers to the make-up applied to actors to make them look ugly so that they look \underline{\hspace{1.5cm}} (beautiful/terrified) on screen.
(iii) Complete the following sentence appropriately.
The make-up team’s ability to transform actors reveals two things about their skills:
First, their ___ and second, their use of ___.
(iv) Give textual evidence to prove that the make-up team reflected national integration.
(v) Explain the phrase ‘fiery misery’ with reference to the given extract.
(vi) What does the following line from the extract showcase?
“With the help of truck-loads of pancake and a number of other locally made potions and lotions.”
(A) creativity
(B) normalcy
(C) exaggeration
(D) simplicity

Hint:

Focus on figurative language like ‘crimson hued monster’ or ‘fiery misery’—these show exaggeration or emotion, not literal meanings. Also, connect character backgrounds with the theme of integration.

Answer 1

(i) Because it had many mirrors with lights around, just like salons, creating a similar setup.
(ii) terrified
(iii) First, their imagination and second, their use of technique.
(iv) The make-up team consisted of people from various parts of India—Bengali, Maharashtrian, Kannadiga, Andhra, Tamil, etc.
(v) The lights created unbearable heat for those wearing make-up, hence the term ‘fiery misery’.
(vi) (C) exaggeration