The pairing of KBC and Amitabh Bachchan is unmatched.
Hindi film megastar Amitabh Bachchan had a film in the eighties – Kaalia, its popular dialogue was – Wherever I stand, the line starts from there. Believe me, this line has a unique imprint on Big B’s career too. Amitabh Bachchan started the angry young man character in cinema, after which this trend was used on many stars. During the Covid period, Amitabh’s film Gulabo Sitabo was the first to be released on OTT, after which many films were queued up. Similarly, twenty-five years ago, he started a game show for the first time on TV – Kaun Banega Crorepati, after which a long line of game shows also started on the small screen. It would not be wrong to say that neither there was another angry young man like Amitabh Bachchan on the big screen nor was there another successful game show host like him on the small screen. KBC, which started in the year 2000, became associated with Amitabh Bachchan like Zanjeer or Deewaar. Just like the contribution of these films in establishing them in Bollywood, KBC has played an important role in overcoming the economic crisis and re-establishing them in the industry. KBC should be given importance in this form.
Like Mohabbatein, Kaun Banega Crorepati is also the second series of Amitabh Bachchan’s life. This show is celebrating its silver jubilee these days. The special thing is that even after twenty-five years, Amitabh Bachchan presents the show in the same style as he used to do earlier. Neither his enthusiasm diminished nor his sense of humor changed. By putting ‘Mahashay’ and ‘Ji’ in front of the computer, he started a new trend. It became part of people’s conversation. When the game show started, Amitabh was 58 years old, today he has crossed 82. But even at this age, his style of conversing with the contestants sitting on the hot seat, boosting their morale, narrating poems and stories of his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan and joking in between is like that of eternal youth. No matter what age the contestants are – no matter what state or language they speak – they gel with ease and make the game show entertaining.
Second generation came to the hot seat in 25 years
In fact, KBC was not just a show to win money but became a living opera of meeting Amitabh Bachchan, talking to him, taking selfies with him. Today, when we watch this show after two and a half decades, the words of the contestants coming here seem surprising. Someone says – he was waiting to come here for twenty years, someone says – he was just born when this show started, someone says – he got married that year, today the children have grown up etc etc… That is, one generation has passed and another generation has come, but smiling, laughing and clapping Amitabh Bachchan still fills the enthusiasm of people on the host’s seat. Raise new hope. When he asks questions for fastest finger first, the enthusiasm of this 82-year-old man is worth seeing. He runs to the podium and then with full promptness makes the contestant sit on the hot seat. If it is a woman then she holds the chair. First of all, he removes the contestant’s nervousness and then, making that emotional moment light-hearted, he starts the process of asking ‘questions’.
Meaning of being Amitabh Bachchan in KBC
We know very well the meaning of Amitabh Bachchan’s presence in films. Amitabh Bachchan is famous for making his roles larger than life. Like the Angry Young Man, Larger than Life’s impact on the film screen is also linked to the uniqueness of his personality. Creating thrill and shaking the hearts and minds of the audience with his impressive dialogue delivery in a heavy but melodious voice is the biggest contribution of his acting skills. Such performance has been seen once again in his most recent film Kalki. The audience became convinced of him. It is no surprise that even on the stage of KBC, Amitabh Bachchan brings out the full colors of his personality.
The special thing is that no fixed script was written for the presentation of KBC as to what Amitabh Bachchan had to talk about with the contestants. Only the concept of the show was written. He has used words like Computer sir, Computer sir, Computer ji, Tala laga diya jaye or Tiktiki ji, Bajjarbattu on his own. This was not part of the script. When Amitabh Bachchan pronounces these words in his special voice, he creates the effect of film dialogues on the big screen. It is the specialty of Amitabh that even after 25 years, these repeated words sound fresh on his tongue and do not create boredom. Amitabh makes it new every time.
When 1 crore outweighed 10 crores
Interestingly, when KBC started in the year 2000, many other game shows were also telecasted on TV to compete with that show. But Anupam Kher and Manisha Koirala’s game show ‘Sawaal Dus Crore Ka’ proved to be pale in comparison to Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Ek Crore’. Whereas Salman Khan achieved success as the host of Bigg Boss but could not prolong ‘Dus Ka Dum’. Even Shahrukh Khan hosted a season of KBC and achieved his popularity, but soon the show got stuck with Amitabh’s personality. This means that there can be a remake of Don but it was not only difficult but impossible to catch the original Don. Gradually KBC entered the silver jubilee year. Even though KBC gives four options to the contestants to answer, KBC itself has no other option except Amitabh Bachchan who can take it further.
Amitabh also got a new lifeline from KBC
In the background of this story, there is a lot of discussion about the World Beauty Pageant organized in the year 1996. Miss World competition was held in Bangalore under the banner of Amitabh Bachchan’s company ABCL. There were so many protests across the country that Amitabh became dejected and his company went bankrupt. Amitabh incurred a total debt of Rs 90 crore. He was proving incapable of carrying it off. There was no money even to pay the car driver. Amitabh Bachchan had said in one of his interviews that that was the most difficult phase of his life. Firstly, a loan of Rs 90 crores, secondly, there are a total of 55 types of legal cases against him. According to Amitabh, from 1997 to 1999, he had a lot of trouble with debt collectors. Kept being harassed also. Couldn’t sleep the whole night. He used to get restless when extortionists came to the door and asked for money.
But a miracle happened in his life as it happened after getting the chain in 1973. Amitabh Bachchan got Yash Chopra’s film – Mohabbatein and also got the support of veteran TV show producer like Siddharth Basu, who had achieved success by doing many quiz shows on TV. Siddharth Basu first started the show Kaun Banega Crorepati with Amitabh Bachchan for Star Plus in the year 2000. For this, he took license from the English game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and started its Hindi version.
KBC frenzy was seen across the country
The very first episode of KBC created a frenzy in the country overnight. This show became so popular that long queues of people dialing were formed at the telephone booths. At that time not everyone had smart mobile phones in their hands like today. In those times, is it still considered a sign of good fortune to get a call from KBC and get an invitation from there? At that time, KBC was being discussed everywhere. As soon as people reach office, school, college, they get busy discussing the episode shown last night. Waking up, roaming around was the hottest topic of KBC gossip. In fact, KBC had such an intoxicating effect on the hearts and minds of people, which continues till today. This addiction has not subsided even today.
A glimpse of India’s diversity is seen in KBC
Surely KBC changed the lives of many. Someone’s hut turned into a palace, someone’s debt worth lakhs was paid off, someone could get treatment for a serious illness, someone could marry their daughter with pomp, someone’s unemployment was cured, someone fulfilled their mother’s dreams and who knows how many NGOs. Got financial help. How large is the number of lower middle class in a developing country like India – and how much sorrow is there, who is so needy, what kind of dreams and aspirations each has, who is so poor and how rich – to be telecast today on Sony Channel. KBC show represents it. And Amitabh Bachchan is a unique narrator who presents the image of this diversity of India. Let us hope that this glimpse of diversity continues.
