Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan's union at Kaun Banega Crorepati shows how far the show has come

Watching Amitabh Bachchan ’s tearful reaction to wife Jaya and son Abhishek’s appearance  on Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) for his birthday was a resplendent reminder of how far KBC and Mr Bachchan have come during the last 22 years.

KBC is Amitabh Bachchan’s most precious screen creation ever. When in January 2000, Star TV’s star-helmer Sameer Nair went to Mr Bachchan with the idea of an Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire , Mr B was agog.

Recalling the moment when Samer Nair put the plan forward, Mr Bachchan said, “Everyone was against me doing television. Jaya was opposed to it vehemently. During those times,  television meant a scaling-down of an actor’s career. But somehow, I didn’t see it that way. To me, it was a new beginning. My film career was at a transition. My reinvention on screen with Mohabbatein and on television with Kaun Banega Crorepati happened almost simultaneously.”

Sameer Nair recalls walking into Jalsa, Amitabh Bachchan’s home in Juhu, armed with a VHS of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, the original version of KBC. He wanted only Mr Bachchan  to host the show. To Sameer, only Mr Bachchan had the clout to enter every household.

At that point of time, nothing else was certain. Would the concept work in India? Mr Bachchan himself was advised by everyone not to get into television. Sameer left the VHS with him urging him to watch the original show. After three months of indecisiveness, Nair flew to London with Mr Bachchan to witness the shooting of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire  first hand. That clinched it. On the flight back, Mr Bachchan finally said yes and they were on. Star TV erected a set for KBC, identical to the one for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire .

KBC helped Mr Bachchan as well as Star TV. While it resurrected the Big B’s career, Star went on to become the number one channel in India.

Mr Bachchan never expected the show to be so popular. He believes that KBC has become a life-changing experience for many, particularly those that come from middle-class India. When contestants find their space on this KBC platform, it is a dream-like experience for them.

The format of KBC is unchanged over the years , and it cannot be altered. It is the worth, value and participation of the contestants that brings variety each year to this show. The contestants bring in the stories of their struggle, their challenges and their attitude toward it, their determination to bring a life-changing moment, their concerns towards morality and social impurities and of course, the joy and happiness in their victories.

The cheque given to them is a dream come true for the contestants. They first begin to count the number of zeros that the amount carries. They have never in their lives seen money of this value. Life for them changes within the course of an hour or less. It is an unbelievable moment for them.

22 years is a long time to be associated with one show. For Mr Bachchan, it’s a lifetime. He feels as excited about meeting different contestants today as he did on day one. There are many contestants that come to the game show with great aspirations and expectations. It gives him immense satisfaction if through the show and the game, Mr Bachchan can give them an opportunity to become a game-changer in their life.

For Mr Bachchan, every contestant matters. He considers each contestant that sits before him as a guest in his home. His emotional attachment to the show is such that when KBC goes  off the air, he gets restless and anxious. For the host, KBC is his lifeline.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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