50 Fun Facts About Bollywood

The word 'Bollywood' is a blend of 'Hollywood' and the former name of which Indian city?

The city officially became Mumbai in 1995, but the industry kept the older nickname.

Which 1913 silent film is regarded as India's first full-length feature?

Its maker was inspired after seeing a film about the life of Christ in 1911 and spent two weeks in London learning the craft.

India's highest award in cinema is named after which pioneer?

He made 94 features and 27 shorts between 1913 and 1937, including Mohini Bhasmasur and Lanka Dahan.

Which 1931 film was India's first with sound?

Director Ardeshir Irani was inspired by the 1929 American part-talkie Show Boat and shot the whole thing in four months in Bombay.

Which 1943 film was Indian cinema's first 'blockbuster', crossing one crore rupees at the box office?

The 1940s expanded Bombay cinema's reach even as the country lived through the war, the independence movement and Partition.

Which 1957 epic was the country's first Oscar submission and made the final five for the foreign-language prize?

Nargis played the village mother Radha, and star Sunil Dutt later married her after saving her from a fire on set.

Mughal-e-Azam (1960) tells the love story of Prince Salim and which courtesan?

The film held the record as India's highest-grossing movie for 15 years, and one reel including 'Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya' was shot in Technicolor.

Which 1951 Raj Kapoor film and its title song became a sensation in the Soviet Union?

Kapoor starred opposite Nargis and his own father Prithviraj, and the film's socialist themes travelled well behind the Iron Curtain.

Which 1959 Guru Dutt film was the first Indian production shot in CinemaScope?

It flopped so badly that Dutt never officially directed again, though it is now a cult classic.

Which 1975 film's dacoit villain Gabbar Singh terrorises the village of Ramgarh?

Danny Denzongpa was first choice for Gabbar but was busy; Amjad Khan prepared for the role by reading a book about Chambal bandits.

Which 1975 blockbuster ran continuously for more than five years at the Minerva theatre in Mumbai?

Its 286-week record stood as the longest theatrical run in India until DDLJ overtook it in 2001.

Which 1973 film established Amitabh Bachchan as Bollywood's 'angry young man'?

Before it he was seen as a failed newcomer with only two hits by the age of 30; the writers Salim-Javed picked him for it.

Which game show, India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, has Amitabh Bachchan long hosted?

The premise of a 2008 Oscar-winning film turns on the same show; Anil Kapoor plays its host in it.

Which theatre has shown Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge continuously since its 1995 release?

The same theatre once ran Mughal-e-Azam for three years; DDLJ was Aditya Chopra's directing debut at 23.

Which pair of characters do Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol play in DDLJ?

Rahul and Anjali are their names in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Karan Johar's 1998 debut, which reunited the pair.

Which sport is at the centre of Lagaan (2001)?

Villagers wager their land tax on a match against the British; Aamir Khan was initially sceptical about starring in a sports film.

Lagaan was nominated for which Oscar?

It was the most expensive Indian film at the time; A. R. Rahman's soundtrack was among the elements critics singled out.

Which nickname does the media give Aamir Khan?

King Khan is Shah Rukh, Bhai is Salman and Big B is Amitabh Bachchan.

Which two 1993 villain roles first made Shah Rukh Khan famous?

In one he murders his girlfriend, in the other he is an obsessive stalker; the roles broke the rule that a hero must be a hero.

Which IPL team does Shah Rukh Khan co-own?

He also co-owns the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean and the production house Red Chillies Entertainment.

Which 1989 film gave Salman Khan his breakthrough leading role?

Sooraj Barjatya's romance won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut; his charity is called Being Human.

Which reality show has Salman Khan hosted since 2010?

It is the Indian version of Big Brother, and his tenure has coincided with his biggest box-office decade.

Lata Mangeshkar became only the second singer to receive which honour, India's highest civilian award?

She once held the Guinness record as the most recorded artist in history, until her sister Asha overtook her.

Which playback singer replaced her older sister Lata as Guinness's most recorded artist?

The Mangeshkar siblings, Lata, Meena, Asha, Usha and Hridaynath, were all accomplished singers or musicians.

Which singer, born Abhas Ganguly in Khandwa, holds a record eight Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer?

He was born in Khandwa and was famous for yodelling in his songs; he was nominated 28 times in the category.

A. R. Rahman won two Academy Awards for the music of which 2008 film?

'Jai Ho' won Best Original Song, and his film career had begun with the Tamil film Roja in the early 1990s.

How many Oscars did Danny Boyle's 2008 Mumbai-set film win in 2009?

Its co-director Loveleen Tandan called the film a homage to Hindi cinema, and Danny Boyle cited several Bollywood influences.

The Filmfare Awards began in 1954 under what original name?

They were named after Times of India critic Clare Mendonca; Gregory Peck was invited as guest of honour but his flight from Colombo was delayed.

Which 1988 film, with the song 'Ek Do Teen', made Madhuri Dixit a star?

She played Mohini, a woman forced to dance for money, opposite Anil Kapoor.

Deepika Padukone is the daughter of a champion in which sport?

She was born in Copenhagen, played badminton at national level as a teenager, then switched to modelling before her 2007 debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan.

Which beauty pageant did Priyanka Chopra win in 2000 before entering films?

Her acting debut was actually in a Tamil film, Thamizhan, before her Bollywood debut in The Hero.

Which 2016 film about the wrestling Phogat sisters became the highest-grossing Indian film ever?

Aamir Khan had interviewed the sisters on his talk show Satyamev Jayate before the script reached him.

3 Idiots (2009) is loosely adapted from which Chetan Bhagat novel?

Rajkumar Hirani's film was one of the first Indian releases to succeed in East Asian markets like China and Japan.

'Naatu Naatu' from RRR was the first Indian song to win which prize?

The catch for Bollywood quizzes: RRR is a Telugu film, not Hindi, though it was dubbed into Hindi and swept the country.

Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), a huge hit across India, was originally made in which language?

S. S. Rajamouli's film premiered on more than 9,000 screens worldwide, then a record for an Indian release.

In Indian cinema, what is an 'item number'?

The performer, often a rising star, is called an item girl; the songs are used heavily in promotion.

Which production house did the director of Deewaar and Kabhi Kabhie found in 1970?

Yash Chopra's son Aditya has run it since 2012 and made DDLJ as his directing debut; the company now also runs the Spy Universe with Pathaan.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) was the directing debut of which future Dharma Productions head?

He was inspired to direct after assisting on DDLJ, and Dharma was founded by his father Yash Johar in 1976.

Who was the first member of Bollywood's most famous four-generation acting dynasty to act in films?

He played Emperor Akbar in Mughal-e-Azam; his sons Raj, Shammi and Shashi all followed him into the industry.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas (2002) starred Shah Rukh Khan alongside which two actresses?

It was the most expensive Indian film ever made at the time and screened out of competition at Cannes.

Which 2011 road movie follows three friends on a bachelor trip across Spain?

Zoya Akhtar directed and her brother Farhan produced and starred; the film boosted Spanish tourism from India.

Which 1955 debut film by Satyajit Ray won the inaugural Best Human Document award at Cannes?

It is Bengali rather than Hindi cinema, but Ray's Apu Trilogy is the Indian work most often cited in world-cinema lists.

Which 2023 Shah Rukh Khan comeback film, released on Republic Day weekend, grossed over 1,000 crore worldwide?

Jawan followed later the same year; both were among the highest-grossing Indian films ever.

What is the Hindi-derived name for Bollywood film music?

Songs are pre-recorded by playback singers and lip-synced by the actors, a tradition that began with Alam Ara in 1931.

By what nickname is the Lahore film industry known?

Before Partition it was closely linked to Bombay, with both making films in Hindustani, the lingua franca of northern India.

What phrase, literally meaning 'money's worth', do Indian audiences use for a good film?

Songs, dances, love triangles, comedy and thrills packed into three hours with an intermission is the classic masala recipe.

Which screenwriting duo launched the 'angry young man' genre in the early 1970s?

Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar's gritty Bombay underworld scripts revitalised an industry that had gone stale on musical romances.

Which 1950s star modelled his suave screen persona on Gregory Peck and Cary Grant?

Of the era's big three, Kapoor borrowed Chaplin's tramp and Kumar pioneered a form of method acting.

Which 1952 Mehboob Khan film was the first Indian release to win mainstream attention in the West?

Subtitled in 17 languages and released in 28 countries, it drew praise from British critics and comparisons with Hollywood.

Which Hindi social-realist film won the Palme d'Or at the very first Cannes festival in 1946?

Hindi films then competed regularly for the top prize at Cannes through the 1950s and early 1960s.