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Question
Discuss the following question in detail and write the answer in your notebook :
Why does Patol Babu walk away before he can be paid for his role? What does this reveal about his character?
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Solution
Patol Babu was surprised to get his dialogue for it was only a single syllable ‘Oh’. He felt very discouraged. He thought he would be made fun of. Things were much better on the stage. A faint memory was stirred up in his mind.
The words of his mentor Gogon Pakrashi rang in his ears, “Each word of the dialogue is like a fruit on a tree. As an artist one should make the best of his opportunity. However small a part maybe, never consider it below your dignity.” This small single syllable if spoken in different ways would carry different meanings. A true actor could make the best of it. Now he completely got over his apathy. All he felt was a keen anticipation and excitement.
He performed his part well. He had put all his labour in this one act. It was the satisfaction of doing it with perfection. Money did not matter though he needed it. So he went off without being paid. This showed that he was not only talented but a diligent, passionate actor.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Why did the dialogue given to him disappoint Patol Babu?
How do we know that Patol Babu was a dedicated actor?
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
'Were these people pulling his leg? Was the whole thing a gigantic hoax ? A meek harmless man like him and they had to drag him into the middle of the city to make a laughing stock out of him.'
(a) Who is the speaker?
(b) Why does he think that he is being made a 'laughing stock'?
(c) What does the word 'hoax' mean?
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
Patol Babu suddenly felt that he could write a whole thesis on that monosyllabic exclamation. Why had he felt so disheartened when this single word contained a gold-mine of meaning?
(a) Why was Patol Babu disheartened?
(b) Which was the word that contained a 'gold-mine'?
(c) What does the word 'monosyllabic' mean?
Answer the following question briefly :
What was the news that Nishikanto Ghosh gave Patol Babu?
Answer the following question briefly :
How did Patol Babu react? Why?
Answer the following question briefly :
Why did Patol Babu lose his first job in Calcutta*?
Answer the following question briefly :
Who was Mr. Pakrashi? How do his words help Patol Babu in enacting his role?
Answer the following question briefly :
What were the special touches that Patol Babu gave to his role to make it more
authentic?
Discuss the following question in detail and write the answer in your notebook :
'I hope the part calls for some dialogue?' Who says this? Why does he /she ask this
question?
Discuss the following question in detail and write the answer in your notebook :
'Were these people pulling his leg? Was the whole thing a gigantic hoax? A meek, harmless man like him, and they had to drag him into the middle of the city to make a laughing stock out of him. How could anyone be so cruel?' Why does Patol Babu have these thoughts?
Discuss the following question in detail and write the answer in your notebook :
Patol Babu is an amateur actor for whom walk-on part in a movie turns into an ultimate challenge. Discuss.
Here are some lines from the lesson. What do they tell us about Patol Babu's character? You may take help from the words given in the table below or find some of your own from the dictionary. The first one has been done for you:
| passionate actor diligent unassuming talented genial mercenary short-tempered introvert meticulous modest humble arrogant |
(a) That an offer to act in a film could come to a 52-year-old nonentity like him was
beyond his wildest dreams unassuming; modest
(b) Indeed, there was a time when people bought tickets especially to see
him…………….
(c) 'I was with Hudson and Kimberley for nine years and wasn't late for a single day.'
…………………………………….
(d) It didn't matter if the part was small, but, if he had to make the most of it, he had to learn his lines beforehand. How small he would feel if he muffed in the presence of
so many people………………………….
(e) Patol Babu cleared his throat and started enunciating the syllable in various ways. Along with that he worked out how he would react physically when the collision took place--how his features would be twisted in pain, how he would fling out his arms, how his body would crouch to express both pain and surprise--all these he performed in various ways in front of a large glass window. …………………….
(f) It is true that he needed money very badly, but what was twenty rupees when measured against the intense satisfaction of a small job done with perfection and dedication?...............................................................
Here are some lines from the lesson. Match the meanings of the underlined words with their meanings listed below
| (a) Then he had a job in a Bengali firm which he gave up in disgust when his boss began to treat him in too high-handed a fashion | stimulate the imagination |
| (b) A faint memory was stirred up in Patol Babu's mind. | to surrender or relinquish |
| (c) At first he opened a variety store which he had to wind up after five years. |
staged |
| (d) In Jatras, in amateur theatricals, in plays put up by the club in his neighbourhood, Patol Babu was always in demand | to gain control over one's actions |
| (e) Patol Babu was about to step forward when he was pulled up short by a voice shouting 'Silence!' |
shut down |
| (f) Patol Babu pulled himself together | stopped |
Patol Babu writes a letter to Nishikanto Ghosh to thank him for being instrumental in his getting a role in a film. He also shares his experience at the film shoot including the excitement and deep satisfaction that he derived from the same. Write the letter in about 200 words.
Listen to your teacher read out from page no. 193, the passage on character actors and complete the exercise as directed.
After the age of forty, the actors most likely to get less work are (Tick the right choice)
Ten minutes or so later Naresh Dutt went looking for Patol Babu near the paan shop and found that he was not there. “That’s odd the man hadn’t been paid yet. What a strange fellow !”
(a) Where had Patol Babu gone ?
(b) Why did Patol Babu leave without informing anyone ?
(c) Why was Naresh Dutt looking for Patol Babu ?
(d) What does the incident tell us about Patol Babu ?
