Bollywood Dumb Charades: 12 Movie Names That Work
Bollywood dumb charades falls apart at the same point every time. Somebody has to think of a film, out loud, while eleven people watch them do it. The names that arrive under that kind of pressure are the same four the room used last year.
The twelve titles below are the ones worth having ready, each with the specific thing it costs the person acting it out. When the list runs dry, the Bollywood Charades generator deals a fresh film in a second, which is quicker than any argument about whose turn it is.
How do you play Bollywood dumb charades?
Bollywood dumb charades is played in two teams, with one person silently miming a Hindi film title while their own team tries to guess it inside a fixed time limit. No speaking, no mouthing words, no pointing at objects in the room.
The opposing team chooses the title and whispers it to the actor. That is the part that makes it a game rather than a performance, because a team that picks its own films will always pick softly.
A correct guess inside the time scores a point. Most rooms play first to five, or simply play until people start drifting toward the food.
Bollywood dumb charades movie list: names that go fast
These six are the openers, the titles a room usually solves inside a minute, which is what you want while everyone is still working out how tonight's version runs.
Sholay (1975)
Sholay (1975) is one word, and half the room shouts it at the first gesture for fire. Spend it on a warm-up round rather than a real one.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) is five words and none of them has to be mimed separately. One hand held out of a moving train door delivers the whole title.
3 Idiots (2009)
3 Idiots (2009) starts with three fingers, which finishes a third of the job before the actor has moved. The second word is the only real work, and it lands quickly, because everyone in the room has already decided who it refers to.
Hera Pheri (2000)
Hera Pheri (2000) is two rhyming words, so the moment a team has the first they stumble into the second. Miming the phone call gets there faster than miming either word.
Om Shanti Om (2007)
Om Shanti Om (2007) has three words and the first and third are identical. Act it once, point back at it, and the round is effectively finished.
Dhoom (2004)
Dhoom (2004) is one word and one sound, carried by a set of bike gestures anybody can read. If the room stalls, holding up two fingers for the sequel is a legitimate route in.
If your regulars have memorized all six by the third round, that is the point to hand the picking over to the tool instead of the person sitting nearest the snacks.
Dumb charades movie list: names that stall a room
These six take longer, and that is the point once both teams are warm. Each one holds something that resists being mimed, so the round turns into a negotiation rather than a shout.
Newton (2017)
Newton (2017) is one short word, which sounds generous until the actor realizes the only picture in it is an apple falling on a man who is not in the film.
Tumhari Sulu (2017)
Tumhari Sulu (2017) is a possessive and a name, and neither has a gesture attached. Pointing at the guessing team gets you the first word, and after that the actor is on their own.
Bhavesh Joshi Superhero (2018)
Bhavesh Joshi Superhero (2018) hands you the third word immediately and then leaves you with two names. Teams tend to solve it backwards and still spend a full minute on the middle.
Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017)
Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017) is a town, a joining word and a sweet. The sweet is easy. The town is not, and a team will work through a dozen other place names before it lands.
Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018)
Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018) is three names in a row, joined by two words that carry no picture at all. Whoever draws it should start at the end, since Sweety is the only piece a team can guess cold.
Tees Maar Khan (2010)
Tees Maar Khan (2010) opens with a number that nobody expects to be a number. Teams spend the whole turn on the last word and never come back for the first two.
Dumb charades bollywood: questions people ask
How many people do you need for Bollywood dumb charades?
Four is the working minimum, two teams of two, and the game runs best between six and fourteen players. Below four there is nobody left to guess once the actor and the title-picker are out of the count. Above about sixteen, split into three teams and rotate which two are playing, otherwise most of the room spends the evening as an audience. Uneven teams are fine. The limiting factor is how many people are willing to stand up in front of everyone, not how many are sitting there.
How long should each turn be in dumb charades?
Ninety seconds is the standard turn and it suits most rooms. Sixty seconds works for a group that plays often and wants the pressure. Two minutes is kinder to a mixed group with grandparents and children on the same team, which is the situation this game is best at. Agree the length before the first turn rather than during the third one. Keep it identical for both teams, because the argument at the end of the night is always about the turn somebody let run long.
What are the rules for gestures in dumb charades?
The actor cannot speak, mouth words, or point at any object in the room. Everything else is allowed. The standard openers are holding up fingers for the number of words in the title, then fingers again for which word is being acted, and a tug at the ear for a word that sounds like something else. Splitting a word into syllables is legal, and it is how most long Hindi titles eventually get solved. Nodding and shaking the head at guesses is legal too, and that is where most turns are actually won.
Is it spelled dumb charades or damsharas?
Dumb Charades (damsharas) is the correct spelling, and damsharas is the phonetic version people type after only ever hearing the name said out loud. Both point at the same game. You will also see it written as one word, and as dumsharaz. None of the variants changes anything about how the game is played, and nobody at the table has ever corrected anyone mid-round. If you searched one of the spellings, the longer film list is worth a look as well.
Where can I get a random Bollywood dumb charades movie list?
The charades generator on Desi Mauj deals a random Hindi film title each time you press it, which removes the one job nobody at the party wants. It runs in a browser with nothing to install, so one person can hold a phone and deal titles for both teams. It also fixes the deeper problem with any written list, which is that a fixed set of twelve gets memorized after two evenings and a generator does not.
Play a round now
Pick two teams, agree the turn length out loud, and let the generator deal the first title. The room only needs one rule enforced from the start, which is that the actor stays silent even when the guesses get insulting.
