Bollywood Movies for Pictionary: 45 Hindi Films You Can Actually Draw
A Bollywood movie works for Pictionary when its title holds something you can put on paper. A moon, a motorbike, a hockey stick. It stops working when the title is a feeling, because a feeling takes the whole ninety seconds to draw badly and the room still has nothing to shout.
The 45 films below are grouped by what you actually end up drawing. Every one of them sits in the pool the Bollywood Pictionary generator deals from, so the list and the tool will never send your room in two different directions.
What makes a Bollywood movie good for Pictionary?
A good Pictionary film has a noun in it. Titles built around an object, a place, a number or one famous image give the drawer somewhere to start inside the first five seconds, which is when most turns are won or lost.
The opposite is a title made of abstractions. Love, fate, longing, destiny. The drawer knows the film perfectly well and still has nothing to put on the page, so they draw a heart, then another heart, then a question mark, and the buzzer goes.
Fame matters less here than it does in charades. A film everybody has seen is useless if its title is a mood, and a half remembered film is fine if its title is a bicycle.
Bollywood movies for Pictionary with one object in the title
These are the fastest turns in the game, because the title is already a picture. Draw the object, sit back, wait.
Chandni (1989). A full moon, and very little else.
Dil (1990). A heart. The one title where the obvious drawing is also the correct one.
Border (1997). A line in the sand with a soldier standing on each side of it.
Raincoat (2004). A coat, and rain falling on it.
Koyla (1997). Lumps of coal, drawn heavy and black.
Tirangaa (1993). Three stripes, which is legal, because stripes are shapes and not letters.
Khakee (2004). A uniform and a cap.
Aankhen (2002). Two eyes, wide open, nothing around them.
Agneepath (1990). A path with fire down both sides of it.
Pictionary movie names from Bollywood that are already a place
A place title works because the room is guessing a location rather than a sentence, and locations have skylines. These are the safest picks for a group that has never played before.
New York (2009). A skyline. Almost everyone gets this inside ten seconds.
Namastey London (2007). A clock tower and two folded hands.
Chandni Chowk to China (2009). A market stall, an arrow, a pagoda.
Salaam Bombay! (1988). A raised hand in front of a crowded street.
Mission Kashmir (2000). Mountains, and a small boat on flat water.
Chandni Bar (2001). A moon above a counter with glasses on it.
Life in a Metro (2007). A train underground with people packed inside it.
Swades (2004). A plane, and a small village under it.
Pardes (1997). A suitcase, a passport, a plane leaving.
Pictionary Bollywood movies with a number in the title
Numbers are the trap, because you are not allowed to write one down. The whole group below turns on the same problem, which is how to draw a digit without drawing a digit, and a room that solves it once solves it every time after.
3 Idiots (2009). Three stick figures. Do not write the digit.
Coolie No. 1 (1995). A porter with a bag, then one finger held up.
Hero No. 1 (1997). A cape, then the same one finger.
Biwi No.1 (1999). A bride, then the finger again, which is usually when the room works out the pattern.
Jodi No. 1 (2001). Two figures holding hands, one finger.
Ab Tak Chhappan (2004). Fifty six tallies, drawn in rows. Slow, and worth agreeing on before somebody objects.
Ek Aur Ek Gyarah (2003). One finger, one finger, then two fingers held side by side.
Chachi 420 (1997). A man in a sari, then four fingers, a fist, two fingers.
Taxi No. 9211 (2006). A taxi, and then a long unhappy negotiation with your own hands.
Hindi movies for Pictionary that are one famous scene
These titles are not drawable, but the films are. The room is not reading your picture, it is recognizing a scene it already carries, which is why these land faster than their word counts suggest.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). A hand reaching out of a moving train door.
Lagaan (2001). A cricket bat under a rain cloud.
Chak De! India (2007). A hockey stick, drawn on its own.
Taare Zameen Par (2007). Stars, but low down, near the ground.
Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003). A stethoscope, and two people hugging.
Krrish (2006). A mask with a long coat behind it.
Ghajini (2008). A body covered in squiggles standing in for tattoos, since the writing itself is not allowed.
Jab We Met (2007). A train pulling away, one person left on the platform.
Dhoom (2004). A motorbike, drawn fast, leaning over.
Movies for Pictionary Bollywood beginners can open with
Open the game with a one word title. A short title asks for one idea instead of a sentence, so the first drawer of the night has somewhere obvious to put the pen while the room is still settling.
Don (2006). A hat and a cigar.
Black (2005). Fill the page in. It reads as nothing, which is the point, and somebody always shouts it.
Paa (2009). A father and a son, with the son drawn older than the father.
Guru (2007). A man at a desk with a graph climbing behind him.
Omkara (2006). A waistband with a knife in it, or a crown if the room is quick.
Kaminey (2009). Two identical faces, one of them talking crookedly.
Fashion (2008). A runway with a single figure walking down it.
Wanted (2009). A poster with a face on it and no words on it.
Race (2008). A finish line and two cars.
How do you play Pictionary with Bollywood movies?
One person draws the film while the rest of the room shouts guesses, with no talking, no gestures and nothing written on the page. Everything else is a setting you agree before the first turn rather than during it.
Pick a turn length and keep it. Ninety seconds suits most Bollywood titles. Sixty keeps a big room moving. Two minutes is kinder to a group that has only just sat down.
Go around the room in order. It is the simplest system and it stops the same confident person drawing every round. In teams, alternate teams each turn so nobody sits out for long.
Above sixteen players, split into three teams and seat them apart, because guesses carry and half the room will hear the answer before it has been drawn. A bigger room also wants a shorter timer, since thirty people shouting at once get there faster than five do.
Newer pictionary movies Bollywood rooms will ask for
The generator has an era switch with three settings: all films, 90s and 2000s, and 2010s onwards. This list leans on the older two, because those are the titles a mixed age room recognizes fastest and nobody has to explain.
Set it to 2010s onwards when the room is younger than the films. You can also hand the same night over to charades if the group would rather act than draw, which happens roughly the moment somebody is given a title made of feelings.
Bollywood Pictionary questions people actually ask
What are the best Bollywood movies for Pictionary?
The best Bollywood movies for Pictionary are the ones whose titles are already objects. Chandni (1989), Dhoom (2004), Koyla (1997), Border (1997) and Raincoat (2004) all give the drawer something to put down in the first five seconds. After that, films built on one famous image work almost as well, because the room is guessing the picture rather than the words. Lagaan (2001), Chak De! India (2007) and Taare Zameen Par (2007) all land that way. Avoid titles made out of feelings, however famous the film is.
How do you play Pictionary with Bollywood movie names?
One person takes the film and draws it while everyone else shouts guesses. No talking, no gestures, and nothing written on the page. Set a turn length before you start, ninety seconds is the standard, then go around the room in order so the same confident person does not draw every round. If you are playing in teams, alternate teams each turn. The drawer stops when somebody gets it or when the time runs out, and the film is revealed either way so the room can argue about it.
Can you write letters or numbers when drawing a Bollywood film?
No. No letters, no numbers, no arrows pointing at a written word. This is the rule most rooms get wrong and it matters most with titles like 3 Idiots (2009) or Coolie No. 1 (1995), where the obvious move is to write the digit. Draw three stick figures instead, or a single raised finger. You can draw a symbol that happens to contain a shape, but the moment you spell anything out the turn is over. Agree on this before the first turn rather than during somebody else's.
How long should each Pictionary turn be?
Ninety seconds is the usual turn and it suits most Bollywood titles. Sixty seconds keeps a big room moving and punishes overdrawing, which is the most common way a turn is lost. Two minutes is kinder to a group that has only just sat down, or to a drawer who has been handed a whole film rather than a single object. Pick one length and keep it for the whole game, because changing it halfway turns every close round into an argument about the clock.
What are good Pictionary movie names for Bollywood beginners?
Short one word titles. Don (2006), Black (2005), Paa (2009), Guru (2007), Omkara (2006), Fashion (2008), Race (2008) and Wanted (2009) all ask for one idea instead of a sentence, so a nervous first drawer has somewhere obvious to start. They also fail gracefully. A beginner who draws the wrong thing for a one word title has still only lost one guess, while a beginner who starts a four word title in the wrong place spends the rest of the turn undoing it.
Are there Hindi movies for Pictionary that work when children are playing?
Yes, and the test is whether the title is a thing rather than a plot. Taare Zameen Par (2007) is stars near the ground. Krrish (2006) is a mask. Dhoom (2004) is a motorbike. Chak De! India (2007) is a hockey stick. Children draw objects far more confidently than adults do, because they are not trying to be clever about it. Keep the turn at two minutes for younger players and let somebody sit with them for the first round.
Play a round now
Hand the phone to whoever is drawing first and let the generator pick the film. It runs a three second countdown before the title appears, so the rest of the room has time to look away, and the turn timer starts on its own.