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Desi Screen Time: TV & OTT Favourites

This Indian TV show quiz runs from Doordarshan's Ramayan, Hum Log and Malgudi Days to KBC, Panchayat and The Family Man, in 15 questions. A good fit for family nights when three generations share one screen.

15 questionsMedium~3 minNo timer

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About this Indian TV Show quiz

This Indian TV show quiz covers about forty years of what India watched at home: the Doordarshan years of Ramayan, Hum Log, Malgudi Days and Byomkesh Bakshi, the satellite era of KBC and the saas-bahu serials, and the streaming hits that followed, from Sacred Games to Panchayat. The 15 questions focus on the actors, places and moments people still talk about.

It is made for family nights and mixed groups. Grandparents tend to know the Doordarshan questions cold, parents remember the 2000s channels, and younger players usually know the web series. Played in teams, each generation ends up carrying the others for a few rounds.

Indian television grew from a single state channel, Doordarshan, into hundreds of private channels after the 1990s, and then into streaming platforms that now commission their own Indian shows. Some names have lasted through all three eras, which is why a few actors and shows turn up more than once in different forms.

Indian TV Show questions with answers

Show answers

  1. Big B sat out KBC's third season in 2007. Which Khan took the host's chair instead?

    • Akshay Kumar
    • Aamir Khan
    • Salman Khan
    • Shah Rukh Khan

    Answer: Shah Rukh Khan. Shah Rukh Khan hosted season 3 before Amitabh Bachchan returned.

  2. Mumbai's Film City in Goregaon, home to countless TV sets, was renamed in 2001 to honour which pioneer?

    A weathered black stone plaque set on a concrete base among dry trees, its gold lettering carrying a dedication.
    Photo: That Girl Over There, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Dadasaheb Phalke
    • V. Shantaram
    • Raj Kapoor
    • Bimal Roy

    Answer: Dadasaheb Phalke. It is officially Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari. V. Shantaram helped plan the complex when it opened in 1977.

  3. Kaleen Bhaiya, the carpet baron who runs guns and politics in Mirzapur, is played by whom?

    • Pankaj Tripathi
    • Ali Fazal
    • Divyenndu
    • Vijay Varma

    Answer: Pankaj Tripathi. Pankaj Tripathi plays Akhandanand 'Kaleen' Tripathi. The Prime Video series began in 2018 and reached cinemas as Mirzapur: The Movie in 2026.

  4. Mukesh Khanna was Bhishma first. Which 90s Doordarshan superhero did he play later?

    • Hatim
    • Shaktimaan
    • Captain Vyom
    • Shaka Laka Boom Boom

    Answer: Shaktimaan. Shaktimaan, the late-90s Doordarshan hero every kid tried to copy.

  5. An engineering graduate takes a ₹20,000 job as panchayat secretary. Name his village in Panchayat.

    A worn village office building with a tiled roof, blue door and windows, and notice boards in a regional script on the wall.
    Photo: KINNERA ARAVIND, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Malgudi
    • Mirzapur
    • Phulera
    • Chanderi

    Answer: Phulera. Phulera, a fictional village in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district.

  6. Ganesh Gaitonde's show was this platform's first Indian original, in 2018. Which platform?

    • Amazon Prime Video
    • SonyLIV
    • Disney+ Hotstar
    • Netflix

    Answer: Netflix. Sacred Games, with Nawazuddin as Gaitonde, was Netflix's first Indian original.

  7. Rainy Agumbe became Swami's Malgudi on Doordarshan. Who directed Malgudi Days?

    Mist drifting over a thickly forested valley and steep green hills seen from a viewpoint.
    Photo: Shashidhara halady, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Kamal Haasan
    • Girish Karnad
    • Shankar Nag
    • Anant Nag

    Answer: Shankar Nag. Shankar Nag, with his brother Anant Nag in the cast.

  8. Hum Log, often called India's first TV soap, closed each episode with a chat and a couplet from which film veteran?

    • Dilip Kumar
    • Raj Kapoor
    • Pran
    • Ashok Kumar

    Answer: Ashok Kumar. Ashok Kumar talked viewers through each episode's story. The show began on Doordarshan in July 1984 and drew audiences of around 50 million.

  9. Viewers garlanded their TV sets when he appeared as Ram in 1987. Who played him?

    Men in dhotis offer a lamp in front of a painted stage backdrop of a crowned royal couple and attendants.
    Photo: CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    • Nitish Bharadwaj
    • Arun Govil
    • Gajendra Chauhan
    • Sunil Lahri

    Answer: Arun Govil. Arun Govil. Sunil Lahri was Lakshman and Dara Singh played Hanuman.

  10. The Family Man's Srikant Tiwari is a spy hiding inside a dull middle-class desk job. Who plays him?

    • Sharib Hashmi
    • Manoj Bajpayee
    • Jaideep Ahlawat
    • Kay Kay Menon

    Answer: Manoj Bajpayee. Manoj Bajpayee, who returned for season 3 in November 2025. Sharib Hashmi plays his colleague JK.

  11. Doordarshan's 1993 Bengali detective in a dhoti, from Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay's stories, was played by whom?

    • Rajit Kapur
    • K. K. Raina
    • Pankaj Kapur
    • Om Puri

    Answer: Rajit Kapur. Rajit Kapur played Byomkesh Bakshi for director Basu Chatterjee. K. K. Raina was his friend Ajit.

  12. 'Main Samay hoon' opened every episode of B.R. Chopra's Mahabharat. Whose voice was it?

    • Amitabh Bachchan
    • Ameen Sayani
    • Harish Bhimani
    • Nitish Bharadwaj

    Answer: Harish Bhimani. Harish Bhimani voiced Samay, or Time, the show's narrator. Nitish Bharadwaj played Krishna.

  13. Panchayat's secretary is played by the same actor as the mentor in TVF's black-and-white show about IIT coaching. Name that mentor.

    • Sonu Bhaiya
    • Vicky Bhaiya
    • Raju Bhaiya
    • Jeetu Bhaiya

    Answer: Jeetu Bhaiya. Jitendra Kumar plays Abhishek in Panchayat and Jeetu Bhaiya in Kota Factory, the physics teacher who guides Vaibhav and his friends.

  14. Hansal Mehta's 2020 SonyLIV series briefly sat at No. 1 on IMDb's top TV list, ahead of Breaking Bad. Who played its stockbroker hero?

    • Pratik Gandhi
    • Abhishek Bachchan
    • Rajkummar Rao
    • Jim Sarbh

    Answer: Pratik Gandhi. Pratik Gandhi played Harshad Mehta in Scam 1992, a breakout role after years in Gujarati theatre.

  15. In July 2025, a quarter of a century after first playing her, Smriti Irani returned to Star Plus as which TV bahu?

    • Parvati
    • Tulsi Virani
    • Prerna
    • Anandi

    Answer: Tulsi Virani. Tulsi Virani, in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2, in the same 10.30 pm slot the original used.

Frequently asked questions

What was India's first TV soap opera?

Hum Log, which began on Doordarshan on 7 July 1984, is widely called India's first soap opera. It followed a middle-class family and drew audiences estimated at around 50 million.

What is Film City in Mumbai?

Film City is a large state-run studio complex in Goregaon East, set up by the Maharashtra government in 1977. Many Hindi TV serials and films are shot on its sets and outdoor locations.

Is this Indian TV quiz good for a family night?

Yes. It mixes Doordarshan classics, satellite-era favourites and streaming shows, so every age group gets questions it knows, and each answer has a short explanation to read out.