Bollywood Quiz

Bollywood is the everyday name for the Hindi language film industry based in Mumbai, and this quiz asks 15 questions about how those films were made rather than about the private lives of the people in them. The ground runs from the silent era to the 1990s, with one stop in 2004 to put an old film into colour: the 1913 feature that opened Indian cinema, the 1931 film that first carried sound, the writing pair behind the angry young man of the 1970s, and the trade words most fans half know, like playback singer and picturisation. Every question gives four options and 15 seconds, and every answer comes with a one line explanation that adds a fact instead of repeating the option you just tapped. One question asks what the Filmfare statuette is nicknamed. Another asks where the story of Devdas began, long before any camera was pointed at it.

All 15 questions

Which 1913 film is counted as India's first full-length feature?
- Raja Harishchandra
- Shri Krishna Janma
- Kaliya Mardan
- Lanka Dahan
Show answer

Raja Harishchandra Dadasaheb Phalke made it as a silent film, and India's highest film honour now carries his name.
Which 1931 film was the first Indian feature with sound?
- Achhut Kanya
- Alam Ara
- Devdas
- Sant Tukaram
Show answer

Alam Ara It carried seven songs, and Hindi films have treated songs as part of the storytelling ever since.
The name Bollywood joins Hollywood with which city's older name?
- Baroda
- Bangalore
- Bombay
- Bhopal
Show answer

Bombay The Hindi film trade grew up in the city now called Mumbai, and Tamil cinema is nicknamed Kollywood after the Chennai suburb of Kodambakkam.
What is the trade name for a Hindi film mixing action, romance and songs?
- A thali picture
- A chaat reel
- A tiffin film
- A masala film
Show answer

A masala film The word borrows from the spice blend, because the film serves several genres in one helping instead of picking a lane.
What do you call a singer whose recording an actor mimes on screen?
- A playback singer
- A rehearsal singer
- A session singer
- A chorus lead
Show answer

A playback singer The song is recorded before the scene is shot, so the actor works to a track that is already finished.
In Hindi cinema, what is the filming and staging of a song called?
- Storyboarding
- Picturisation
- Blocking
- Framing
Show answer

Picturisation Because the tune is locked first, the visuals are built to fit music that cannot be changed on set.
Pyaasa (1957) was directed by its leading man. Who was he?
- Raj Kapoor
- Dev Anand
- Guru Dutt
- Bimal Roy
Show answer

Guru Dutt He directed and starred again in Kaagaz Ke Phool, the first Indian film shot in CinemaScope.
Mughal-e-Azam opened in 1960 mostly in black and white. What came in 2004?
- A Tamil dub
- A radio serial
- A sequel
- A colour release
Show answer

A colour release K. Asif had shot only a few sequences in colour, and the 2004 version colourised the whole film digitally.
Which writing pair shaped the angry young man hero of the 1970s?
- Salim-Javed
- Jatin-Lalit
- Anand-Milind
- Nadeem-Shravan
Show answer

Salim-Javed Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar wrote Zanjeer and Deewaar, the films that made Amitabh Bachchan a star. The other three pairs are composers.
Which 1975 film gave Hindi cinema the bandit Gabbar Singh?
- Deewaar
- Sholay
- Zanjeer
- Don
Show answer

Sholay Ramesh Sippy directed it, and its dialogue sold on gramophone records as briskly as its tickets sold at the door.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) was whose first film as director?
- Sooraj Barjatya
- Karan Johar
- Aditya Chopra
- Yash Chopra
Show answer

Aditya Chopra His father Yash Chopra produced it, and a good part of the story plays out on a rail trip across Europe.
A. R. Rahman first scored a Hindi film in 1995. Which one?
- Dil Se
- Lagaan
- Dil To Pagal Hai
- Rangeela
Show answer

Rangeela He had already made his name in Tamil cinema with Roja in 1992, three years before Hindi producers came calling.
Which 1957 film was the first from India nominated for a foreign-language Oscar?
- Mother India
- Do Bigha Zamin
- Naya Daur
- Madhumati
Show answer

Mother India Mehboob Khan directed it, and Lagaan earned the same nomination more than forty years later.
The Filmfare award statuette is popularly known as which figure?
- The Golden Peacock
- The Black Lady
- The Silver Lotus
- The Bronze Deer
Show answer

The Black Lady Filmfare gave out its first awards in 1954. The Golden Peacock is the top prize at India's international film festival instead.
Devdas has been filmed again and again. Where did the story start?
- A Marathi stage play
- A radio serial
- A Bengali novel
- A folk song
Show answer

A Bengali novel Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay published it in 1917, and Hindi versions followed in 1936, 1955 and 2002.

What your result means

New To The Balcony

0 to 4 of 15 correct

A rough first run, and that is fine: this pack rewards a second go. Read the explanation under each answer, because most of them hand you the fact that unlocks a later question.

Weekend Viewer

5 to 8 of 15 correct

You know the famous films and the famous names. What slowed you down was the making of them: who wrote what, which decade brought which change, and the words the trade uses for its own work.

Matinee Regular

9 to 12 of 15 correct

Strong. You are past the titles and into the craft, which is where Hindi cinema gets genuinely interesting. The rows that catch people at this level are the earliest ones, from the silent and early sound years.

Front Row Expert

13 to 15 of 15 correct

Excellent. You cleared the history, the vocabulary and the awards trivia in one run, which very few players manage. Try it again for a faster time, since quick answers build a bigger combo.