'Kaun Banega Crorepati' Was Cancelled By Star After SRK's Season, Was Saved By Amitabh's Loyalty

Sameer Nair became the head of programming at StarPlus when the channel had just begun its journey as a Hindi-language entertainment channel. After eight long years of broadcasting international shows, the channel had finally decided to enter a new chapter, becoming a Hindi General Entertainment Channel (GEC) and competing with its hitherto Hindi counterpart, Zee TV. However, during that journey, a show came and became the heart of the Star Network.

Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan were unsure about him hosting Kaun Banega Crorepati 

Sameer Nair recently sat for a candid conversation with SCREEN, where he talked about the origin and journey of Kaun Banega Crorepati. Sameer revealed that to battle the growing TRP of its competition, StarPlus decided to acquire the adaptation rights of the popular British show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? However, they were unsure about who to select as a host. At the same time, Amitabh Bachchan was in a slump, delivering films such as Lal Baadshah, Sooryavansham, Hindustan Ki Kasam, and others. So, the show decided to approach the then-58-year-old star to host the quiz show.  

Amitabh Bachchan was not sure about hosting a game show. Amitabh's wife and veteran actress, Jaya Bachchan, was also not in favour of her husband shrinking himself to a TV screen. Nonetheless, Amitabh agreed to visit the set of the original show in London before making any final decision, and luckily, the shoe fit just right for the actor. Sameer further shared details of how the show came into existence and stated:

"Once he took to the show, he stayed loyal to it. Mr. Bachchan is the only one who has been doing it since then, up to now. The audience's love for Mr. Bachchan has been truly enduring. When we first did KBC, there was no Google, which means you had to really wait through the break to get the correct answer. But even now, when he asks the question, you can Google it, yet you don't. Because you want to watch the show, the drama, and the playout the way it’s intended."

Kaun Banega Crorepati rebooted Amitabh Bachchan's career

Kaun Banega Crorepati had a historic inaugural season, resulting in stellar ratings for the show. However, that was not all; the show also reignited Amitabh Bachchan's fading career. He went on to star in several hits, including Mohabbatein, Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham, Aankhen, Baghban, Veer-Zaara, Black and Sarkar, among others. While Amitabh remained grateful and loyal to KBC by returning to the show for the second season, his unfortunate illness in 2006 halted production, as he was unable to shoot for the remainder of the episodes. 

Shah Rukh Khan was approached as Amitabh Bachchan's replacement, but he failed to garner the same love as the legendary actor

After Amitabh Bachchan declined the show for the third season, StarPlus reached out to the 'King of Bollywood', Shah Rukh Khan, who had already reprised Amitabh's character from Don in the 2006 remake. However, SRK could not garner the same level of interest as Big B, and the show's ratings dropped significantly. This resulted in StarPlus pulling the plug on the show for three years. Nonetheless, the wait finally came to an end when Sony Entertainment Television revived the quiz show for its fourth season with Amitabh Bachchan as the host once again, and the rest has been history.

Sameer Nair, whose tenure at StarPlus ended with the discontinuation of KBC in 2007, is now the Chief Executive Officer of Applause Entertainment. He lauds his then-competitor for keeping KBC alive at a time when its original home (Star Network) had given up on it. He was quoted as saying:

"The credit also goes to Sony for reviving it. We worked with Mr. Bachchan for two seasons and one with Shah Rukh, and then we parted ways. They took it forward and really built it in the last 10 years so that we could get to the 25th anniversary."

What are your thoughts on Sameer Nair's revelation about Kaun Banega Crorepati?

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