Kaun Banega Crorepati producer on why Shah Rukh Khan's season failed to create the Amitabh Bachchan impact

Kaun Banega Crorepati, hosted by Amitabh Bachchan, is one of the most popular game shows on small-screen. The quiz show completed 21 years on Saturday, 3 July. The name of Big B is synonymous with KBC but he was replaced by Shah Rukh Khan as the host in the third season. However, KBC 3 failed to get the desired response from the audience. On the 21st anniversary of the game show, producer Siddhartha Basu got candid and talked about why the show didn’t work with SRK. In an interview with The Indian Express, he said, “What didn’t work with SRK was the comparison with AB. I think SRK did KBC in his own way with charm and wit, and as far as I know, it garnered good ratings. We have done three shows with SRK, and I believe he is one of the most natural TV hosts who can think on his feet”. Amitabh Bachchan will always be the ABC of KBC and those are very big shoes to fill, he added. Addressing the show’s criticism over selling sob stories, Basu further shared that Kaun Banega Crorepati has never been just another quiz show. According to him, human stories have always mattered and if viewers get emotional, that’s was never engineered. “That’s natural on a life-changing show before a massive audience and a larger-than-life host," he said adding that KBC is a show that touches lives with the heart and mind. The show is set to make a comeback on the small screen with its thirteenth season this year. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the online registrations for KBC 13 took place earlier this year. However, the makers are yet to announce the premiere date of the upcoming season.