50 free Bollywood trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
43 free Bollywood trivia questions with answers. Bollywood is the world's most prolific film industry, and this quiz treats its 110-year history with the respect it deserves. Forty-three questions run from India's first feature film in 1913 and the first talkie in 1931, through Mother India, Mughal-e-Azam and Sholay, to the era of the three Khans, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge's record-breaking run, Lagaan's Oscar nomination, Dangal's China success and the night Naatu Naatu won an Academy Award. There are questions on the stars (Amitabh, Madhuri, Deepika, Priyanka, Sridevi), the playback legends (Lata, Asha, Kishore), the composers, the studios and dynasties (Yash Raj, Dharma, the Kapoors), the Filmfare Awards and the words themselves, from the origin of 'Bollywood' to what an item number is. A few deliberately test whether you know which blockbusters are not Hindi films at all. Every answer was checked against the Wikipedia articles on the films, people and institutions involved, and each question carries its source. No recycled listicle errors.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The word 'Bollywood' is a blend of 'Hollywood' and the former name of which Indian city?
Bombay
The city officially became Mumbai in 1995, but the industry kept the older nickname.
Q 02Which 1913 silent film is regarded as India's first full-length feature?
Raja Harishchandra
Its maker was inspired after seeing a film about the life of Christ in 1911 and spent two weeks in London learning the craft.
Q 03India's highest award in cinema is named after which pioneer?
Dadasaheb Phalke
He made 94 features and 27 shorts between 1913 and 1937, including Mohini Bhasmasur and Lanka Dahan.
Q 04Which 1931 film was India's first with sound?
Alam Ara
Director Ardeshir Irani was inspired by the 1929 American part-talkie Show Boat and shot the whole thing in four months in Bombay.
Q 05Which 1943 film was Indian cinema's first 'blockbuster', crossing one crore rupees at the box office?
Kismet
The 1940s expanded Bombay cinema's reach even as the country lived through the war, the independence movement and Partition.
Q 06Which 1957 epic was the country's first Oscar submission and made the final five for the foreign-language prize?
Mother India
Nargis played the village mother Radha, and star Sunil Dutt later married her after saving her from a fire on set.
Q 07Mughal-e-Azam (1960) tells the love story of Prince Salim and which courtesan?
Anarkali
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.
Q 08Which 1951 Raj Kapoor film and its title song became a sensation in the Soviet Union?
Awaara
Kapoor starred opposite Nargis and his own father Prithviraj, and the film's socialist themes travelled well behind the Iron Curtain.
Q 09Which 1959 Guru Dutt film was the first Indian production shot in CinemaScope?
Kaagaz Ke Phool
It flopped so badly that Dutt never officially directed again, though it is now a cult classic.
Q 10Which 1975 film's dacoit villain Gabbar Singh terrorises the village of Ramgarh?
Sholay
Danny Denzongpa was first choice for Gabbar but was busy; Amjad Khan prepared for the role by reading a book about Chambal bandits.
Q 11Which 1975 blockbuster ran continuously for more than five years at the Minerva theatre in Mumbai?
Sholay
Its 286-week record stood as the longest theatrical run in India until DDLJ overtook it in 2001.
Q 12Which 1973 film established Amitabh Bachchan as Bollywood's 'angry young man'?
Zanjeer
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.
Q 13Which game show, India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, has Amitabh Bachchan long hosted?
Kaun Banega Crorepati
The premise of a 2008 Oscar-winning film turns on the same show; Anil Kapoor plays its host in it.
Q 21Which 1989 film gave Salman Khan his breakthrough leading role?
Maine Pyar Kiya
Sooraj Barjatya's romance won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut; his charity is called Being Human.
Q 22Which reality show has Salman Khan hosted since 2010?
Bigg Boss
It is the Indian version of Big Brother, and his tenure has coincided with his biggest box-office decade.
Q 23Lata Mangeshkar became only the second singer to receive which honour, India's highest civilian award?
Bharat Ratna
She once held the Guinness record as the most recorded artist in history, until her sister Asha overtook her.
Q 14Which theatre has shown Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge continuously since its 1995 release?
Maratha Mandir, Mumbai
The same theatre once ran Mughal-e-Azam for three years; DDLJ was Aditya Chopra's directing debut at 23.
Q 15Which pair of characters do Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol play in DDLJ?
Raj and Simran
Rahul and Anjali are their names in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Karan Johar's 1998 debut, which reunited the pair.
Q 16Which sport is at the centre of Lagaan (2001)?
Cricket
Villagers wager their land tax on a match against the British; Aamir Khan was initially sceptical about starring in a sports film.
Q 17Lagaan was nominated for which Oscar?
Best Foreign Language Film
It was the most expensive Indian film at the time; A. R. Rahman's soundtrack was among the elements critics singled out.
Q 18Which nickname does the media give Aamir Khan?
Mr. Perfectionist
King Khan is Shah Rukh, Bhai is Salman and Big B is Amitabh Bachchan.
Q 19Which two 1993 villain roles first made Shah Rukh Khan famous?
Baazigar and Darr
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.
Q 20Which IPL team does Shah Rukh Khan co-own?
Kolkata Knight Riders
He also co-owns the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean and the production house Red Chillies Entertainment.
Q 24Which playback singer replaced her older sister Lata as Guinness's most recorded artist?
Asha Bhosle
The Mangeshkar siblings, Lata, Meena, Asha, Usha and Hridaynath, were all accomplished singers or musicians.
Q 25Which singer, born Abhas Ganguly in Khandwa, holds a record eight Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer?
Kishore Kumar
He was born in Khandwa and was famous for yodelling in his songs; he was nominated 28 times in the category.
Q 26A. R. Rahman won two Academy Awards for the music of which 2008 film?
Slumdog Millionaire
'Jai Ho' won Best Original Song, and his film career had begun with the Tamil film Roja in the early 1990s.
Q 27How many Oscars did Danny Boyle's 2008 Mumbai-set film win in 2009?
Eight
Its co-director Loveleen Tandan called the film a homage to Hindi cinema, and Danny Boyle cited several Bollywood influences.
Q 28The Filmfare Awards began in 1954 under what original name?
The Clares
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.
Q 29Which 1988 film, with the song 'Ek Do Teen', made Madhuri Dixit a star?
Tezaab
She played Mohini, a woman forced to dance for money, opposite Anil Kapoor.
Q 30Deepika Padukone is the daughter of a champion in which sport?
Badminton
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.