Project Tiger - Chapter Questions and Answers

Paragraph 1

1. Identify the topic sentence in the first paragraph.

The topic sentence is: "No one can beat Hollywood when it comes to making films with animals in them."

How many examples are given to support the topic sentence? What are they?

Two examples are given:

• Films with an Alsatian called Rin-tin-tin
• Three or four films with a collie called Lassie

Paragraph 2-4

2. Does the second paragraph introduce a new topic sentence? If not, what supporting detail about the animal actors of Hollywood do you get from this paragraph?

No, it doesn't introduce a new topic sentence. The supporting detail is that animal-actors were treated reverently, as shown by the author's experience at Disney Studio twenty years ago.

What additional information do you get about stand-ins?

A stand-in is usually a person who is physically similar to the real star. They do the preliminary work when lights are being arranged, showing the cameraman how the star will walk or where they'll stand. The actual stars arrive only when the lights are ready for shooting.

What is the puzzling incident described in Paragraph 3?

The puzzling incident was that when the cameraman shouted for everyone to take their positions, the dog (the protagonist) remained where it was, making the author wonder if it wasn't required in the next shot.

Which incident shows that the animal-actors in Hollywood were treated with reverence?

The incident where a dwarf was hired to be the dog's stand-in - he went down on all fours on a chalk mark and had a dog-skin draped over him to crawl from mark to mark while the cameraman arranged the lights.

Paragraph 5-6

3. What were the difficulties Alfred Hitchcock had to face while making the film 'Birds'?

Hitchcock needed a variety of birds, especially a large number of trained ravens (nearly a hundred of them) for his film where birds attack humans. Finding such a large number of trained ravens was the main difficulty.

4. How did Hitchcock manage to get a large number of ravens for his film?

He placed notices in the press all over the United States, asking people to contact the filmmaker if they knew how to get hold of trained ravens. Someone responded within a few days and brought almost a hundred trained ravens.

5. What is described as 'pretty impressive'?

The ability of fifty ravens to perch quietly in a row on a specified spot and obey this command instantly is described as 'pretty impressive.'

Paragraph 8

6. Identify the main topic of the article from Para 8.

The main topic is the challenge of using a tiger in filming, specifically for the movie "Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne."

7. What other details are given about the topic in the paragraph?

The paragraph describes the scene where Goopy (banished by the king) wanders in the forest, meets Bagha (also banished), they see a tiger and freeze, but the tiger simply walks about in the forest without paying them any attention.

Paragraph 9-11

8. How did Ray manage to get a tiger?

Ray looked for a circus since they were likely to have trained animals. He found Bharat Circus visiting Calcutta at the time and approached their Tamil manager, who introduced them to Mr. Thorat, the ringmaster.

9. What is the role of a ringmaster in a circus?

A ringmaster manages and controls the circus performances and animals. Mr. Thorat was described as very well built, with features like those of a Nepali, and had an old scar on his forearm caused by a tiger.

10. What were the difficulties faced in bringing the tiger before the camera?

The main difficulty was that Mr. Thorat had never let the tiger out of its cage on his own, so he didn't know how it would behave. They couldn't have the trainer visible with the tiger as it would spoil the effect of Goopy and Bagha being petrified with fear.

11. What does the expression 'to go down the drain' mean?

The expression means to be wasted or ruined completely - all their plans would be destroyed or come to nothing.

Paragraph 12-14

12. What was Mr Thorat's suggestion to control the tiger?

Mr. Thorat suggested tying a thin but strong wire around the tiger's neck to control it.

13. What made Ray think of a collar made of tiger skin?

Ray was concerned that the wire would flatten the hair on the tiger's neck and be visible to the camera, giving away the trick. So he suggested using a collar made of tiger skin with the wire fixed to it.

14. Why did Mr Thorat bring two tigers instead of one?

Mr. Thorat explained, "I decided to play it safe. If one doesn't get it right, we can use the other."

Paragraph 15-18

15. Why was Mr Thorat taken aback?

Mr. Thorat was taken aback because instead of walking sedately in a dignified manner as expected, the tiger started prancing around with tremendous enthusiasm, leaping, jumping, and rolling about.

16. What might be the reason for the tiger's unexpected behaviour?

The tiger was probably excited to be out of its cage and in the open space, showing natural playful behavior after being confined.

17. How does Ray describe the situation humorously?

Ray humorously describes watching "a new and strange kind of circus which we were getting to see for free" while the tiger dragged its poor trainer around, and mentions the camera "staring into the wood" while the tiger showed no sign of going there.

18. What did Ray mean when he said, 'This should have been the end of the story'?

Ray meant that normally, after successfully taking the required shots, the filming would be complete and the story would end there.

19. Why was Mr Thorat asked to 'give it another go'?

When they returned to Calcutta and viewed the scenes, they realized the camera had failed to work properly. The shots were too dark, and the tiger was merging almost completely with the background of trees and leaves.

20. What was the 'magic' performed by the tiger?

The 'magic' was that when the tiger emerged with a loud roar and charged straight at the villagers, the crowd of about 150 people "melted away as if by magic" - they all scattered and disappeared instantly.

21. What was really required of the tiger in that scene?

The tiger was required to come out of the bamboo grove into an open space, pace gently for a while, look at the camera if possible, and then go back.

22. What did Ray and his team realise two days later?

Two days later, when they returned to Calcutta and saw the scenes they had shot, they realized that this time the camera had behaved properly and the shots had come out well.