Q 01/05

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

A) Calcutta

B) Madras

C) Bombay

D) Bangalore

Answer · why

C) Bombay

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

Q 02/05

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

A) Raja Harishchandra

B) Shakuntala (1920)

C) Kismet (1943)

D) Achhut Kanya

Answer · why

A) 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 03/05

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

A) Satyajit Ray

B) Ardeshir Irani

C) Himanshu Rai

D) Dadasaheb Phalke

Answer · why

D) Dadasaheb Phalke

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

Q 04/05

Which 1931 film was India's first with sound?

A) Alam Ara

B) Devdas

C) Kismet

D) Achhut Kanya

Answer · why

A) 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 05/05

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

A) Kismet

B) Achhut Kanya

C) Anmol Ghadi

D) Shaheed

Answer · why

A) Kismet

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