Kaun Banega Crorepati

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Kaun Banega Crorepati
Shahrukh Khan hosts "Kaun Banega Crorepati"
Format	Game show, reality show
Presented by	Amitabh Bachchan (2000-2006; 2010-) Shahrukh Khan (2007)
Composer(s)	Keith Strachan Matthew Strachan
Country of origin	India
Language(s)	Hindi, English
Production
Running time	approx. 43 minutes/episode
Broadcast
Original channel	STAR Plus
Picture format	SDTV
External links
Official website

Logo Kaun Banega Crorepati 4

Fragment of the show; Kajol's and Ajay Devgan's 10 million rupees question

Kaun Banega Crorepati (Hindi: कौन बनेगा करोड़पति Kaun Banegā Karoṛpati; popularly known as KBC) was an Indian reality/game show based on the UK gameshow Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? This version's title literally translates to "Who will be a ten-millionaire?". The show first aired in 2000 and was hosted by Amitabh Bachchan. This was the first appearance of Amitabh Bachchan on Indian television. The show was hugely popular and attracted audiences from all age groups. Not only did it help Amitabh Bachchan revive his Bollywood career but also made Star Plus into India's #1 network. Dinner time at most homes was changed to either before or after Kaun Banega Crorepati went on air. Mondays to Thursdays, cinema halls reported a slump in night show bookings because everybody was busy watching Kaun Banega Crorepati in their homes. Reportedly, a theatre owner in Delhi, who knew Bachchan, had even written to him to change the timing of the show. ^[1]
On August 5, 2005, the show was restarted after a four-year hiatus, and renamed Kaun Banega Crorepati Dwitiya (Kaun Banega Crorepati the Second, or KBC2) in which the final prize amount was doubled to 2 crore rupees. It was abruptly ended by STAR Plus after the host Amitabh Bachchan fell ill in 2006.^[2] Mr Bachchan had shot 61 of the 85 episodes when he fell ill. He announced he would return after he recovered, but when his health prevented him filming the remaining 24 episodes, Star TV took the decision to axe it.
Star roped in Shahrukh Khan to host the third season of the show. Khan was at peak of his career then and was considered an ideal replacement for Amitabh Bachchan as the host of the show. The grand prize amount of 2 crore rupees (approx. $430,000 USD) was still used in KBC3. The third season of the show began airing on January 22, 2007. But all the hysteria receded soon after and its TRP went down. The third season did not receive good reviews from audiences. The show ended on April 19, 2007 with a special finale. The key sponsors of the third season were AirTel, Unit Trust of India (UTI Mutual Funds) and ITC.
KBC has, hitherto, featured 3 seasons out of which the first two were shouldered by Amitabh Bachchan. Shahrukh Khan was handed over the mettle for the third season. Mumbai Mirror reports, “Both, Bachchan and Shah Rukh, respectively brought their distinct individuality on the table, but frankly speaking, Shah Rukh’s histrionics did not do go down well with the audience. There was a vast difference in the TRPs between the two seasons hosted by Bachchan and the third season hosted by Shah Rukh.” The hysteria, which prevailed during Amitabh’s stint in Kaun Banega Crorepati, remains unparalleled on Indian television.