UAE | Leisure

Blockbusters need speed to succeed, says winner

Speedy reflexes, stage fright and some obscure questions - participants taking part in Blockbusters are going through it all.

  • By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:28 September 6, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Gulf News Blockbusters Friday night's quarter final winner Stanley D'Cunha and quizmaster Geeta Menon at the Dubai Community Theatre and Art Centre.
  • Image Credit: Vazhisojan/Gulf News

Dubai: Speedy reflexes, stage fright and some obscure questions - participants taking part in Blockbusters are going through it all.

Friday's quarter final winner Stanley D'Cunha, 61, said some of the questions are not as hard as expected but his rivals were so fast on the button he thought he might lose it, he told Gulf News.

D'Cunha is not new to Blockbusters as he took part in the original Dubai tournament 14 years ago. His daughter also took part in the junior competition.

The quiz is held in the Kilachand Theatre at the Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre.

"I was afraid of my two opponents because they were so fast and super confident. One of them didn't care if he won or lost but mostly he was winning and he knew a lot of the answers," said D'Cunha.

A Sharjah resident for the past 30 years, D'Cunha said he does not train or work on his memory. Books are his main interest and he reads as many of them as he can "except romance books". An avid spy novel and James Bond fan, D'Cunha has built up his general knowledge and trivia over the years.

Stage fright conquered

In his previous participation in the quiz 14 years ago, he did not do as well. "I found it easier this time. Last time I had stage fright and I couldn't hit the button," he said.

The questions were a mixture of completely obscure and relatively easy. "One thing which foxed me was: 'What 'i' is an impelling force' and of course the audience got it - impetus, but I just couldn't work it out," he said.

The quiz was very social as old contestants met up with new contestants and the event was something of a reunion between participants.

"My wife came with me and we met people that took part 14 years ago. Bob Holness himself was there then and he was very friendly and lively. The questions are quite easy but you need to be quick on the button. If some questions are too obscure then another one is read out," he said.

"There are some audience members that whisper the answers among themselves but it doesn't really help if you hear them because you do need to be so fast," he added.

Next time D'Cunha is up on stage with his finger on the buzzer is for the team round in which he has been reunited with people he met over a decade ago as participants in the last Blockbusters. "We haven't met up or trained together. I'll be seeing them for the first time in 14 years! My memory is a as good as the next guy but some of the trivia is easy to get and there are some very intelligent questions," he said.

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