Kaun Banega Crorepati
| Kaun Banega Crorepati | |
|---|---|
| File:Kaun Banega Crorepati logo.png Logo used beginning in Season 4 in 2010, incorporating the new Indian rupee sign unveiled in the same year. | |
| Created by | David Briggs |
| Presented by | Amitabh Bachchan (2000, 2005, 2010) Shahrukh Khan (2007) |
| Composers | Keith Strachan Matthew Strachan |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original languages | Hindi, English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Big Synergy Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | STAR Plus (2000-2007) Sony TV (2010-present) |
| Release | 3 July 2000 – Present |
Kaun Banega Crorepati (Hindi: कौन बनेगा करोड़पति Kaun Banegā Karoṛpati; popularly known as KBC) is an Indian reality/game show based on the UK game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? which offers a maximum cash prize of £1 million. 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 Bachchan on Indian television. The show was hugely [peacock prose] popular in India[citation needed].
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.[1] 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 Television 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 Limited.
The fourth season (called KBC4) was hosted by Amitabh Bachchan and started on October 11, 2010, on Bachchan's 68th birthday. According to online news sources, over five million (50 Lakh) people participated in KBC 4 auditions.[2] The prize money was decreased to ₹ 1 crore, however a jackpot question for ₹ 5 crore (approx. USD 1 million) was added. The fourth season of the show was highly successful due to the return of former host Amitabh Bachhan.[3] The season ended on 9 December 2010.
Rules
As in the UK version, the contestants must undergo an initial round of "Fastest Finger First", in which the host introduces the ten contestants of the episode and asks them all the same question. The contestants must then arrange the answers in the order described in the question. The contestant that places the four options in the correct order in the fastest time gets the chance to go on the "hotseat".
All contestants must be over the age of 18 and a citizen of India in order to be eligible. The person must not be a former "Kaun Banega Crorepati" contestant and, as defined in the Income Tax Act, 1961, must also be a resident of India.
At the hotseat, the contestant is asked a series of general knowledge questions consistently rising in difficulty with every question. Each question has four options with only one correct answer. The contestant wins a certain amount of money with each correct answer, and may choose to give up and retain the money they have already won if they decide not to answer the currently shown question.
The money won after each question is roughly doubled from the previous amount won, exponentially increasing the amount won after each correct answer until the contestant reaches the final question, after which they win the maximum prize (currently 5 crores in KBC 4). The current sequence of prize amounts on KBC are as follows (Western digit grouping in parentheses):
KBC1
| No. | Right Answer Value | Missed Answer Value | Walk Away Value | Wrong Answer Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹ 1,000 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 0 |
| 2 | ₹ 2,000 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 1,000 | ₹ 1,000 |
| 3 | ₹ 3,000 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 2,000 | ₹ 2,000 |
| 4 | ₹ 5,000 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 3,000 | ₹ 3,000 |
| 5 | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 5,000 | ₹ 5,000 |
| 6 | ₹ 20,000 | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 0 |
| 7 | ₹ 40,000 | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 20,000 | ₹ 10,000 |
| 8 | ₹ 80,000 | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 40,000 | ₹ 30,000 |
| 9 | ₹ 1,60,000 (160,000) | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 80,000 | ₹ 70,000 |
| 10 | ₹ 3,20,000 (320,000) | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 1,60,000 | ₹ 1,50,000 |
| 11 | ₹ 6,40,000 (640,000) | ₹ 320,000 | ₹ 320,000 | ₹ 0 |
| 12 | ₹ 12,50,000 (1,250,000) | ₹ 320,000 | ₹ 640,000 | ₹ 320,000 |
| 13 | ₹ 25,00,000 (2,500,000) | ₹ 320,000 | ₹ 1,250,000 | ₹ 930,000 |
| 14 | ₹ 50,00,000 (5,000,000) | ₹ 320,000 | ₹ 2,500,000 | ₹ 2,180,000 |
| 15 | ₹ 1,00,00,000 (10,000,000) | ₹ 320,000 | ₹ 5,000,000 | ₹ 4,680,000 |
KBC 2 and 3
| No. | Right Answer Value | Missed Answer Value | Walk Away Value | Wrong Answer Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹ 1,000 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 0 |
| 2 | ₹ 3,000 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 1,000 | ₹ 1,000 |
| 3 | ₹ 5,000 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 3,000 | ₹ 3,000 |
| 4 | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 5,000 | ₹ 5,000 |
| 5 | ₹ 20,000 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 10,000 |
| 6 | ₹ 40,000 | ₹ 20,000 | ₹ 20,000 | ₹ 0 |
| 7 | ₹ 80,000 | ₹ 20,000 | ₹ 40,000 | ₹ 20,000 |
| 8 | ₹ 1,60,000 (160,000) | ₹ 20,000 | ₹ 80,000 | ₹ 60,000 |
| 9 | ₹ 3,20,000 (320,000) | ₹ 20,000 | ₹ 1,60,000 | ₹ 1,40,000 |
| 10 | ₹ 6,40,000 (640,000) | ₹ 20,000 | ₹ 3,20,000 | ₹ 3,00,000 |
| 11 | ₹ 12,50,000 (1,250,000) | ₹ 6,40,000 | ₹ 6,40,000 | ₹ 0 |
| 12 | ₹ 25,00,000 (2,500,000) | ₹ 6,40,000 | ₹ 12,50,000 | ₹ 6,10,000 |
| 13 | ₹ 50,00,000 (5,000,000) | ₹ 6,40,000 | ₹ 25,00,000 | ₹ 18,60,000 |
| 14 | ₹ 1,00,00,000 (10,000,000) | ₹ 6,40,000 | ₹ 50,00,000 | ₹ 43,60,000 |
| 15 | ₹ 2,00,00,000 (20,000,000) | ₹ 6,40,000 | ₹ 1,00,00,000 | ₹ 93,60,000 |
KBC 4
There will be only 13 questions[4], with the following money values.
| No. | Right Answer Value | Missed Answer Value | Walk Away Value | Wrong Answer Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹ 5,000 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 0 |
| 2 | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 0 | ₹ 5,000 | ₹ 5,000 |
| 3 | ₹ 20,000 | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 10,000 |
| 4 | ₹ 40,000 | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 20,000 | ₹ 10,000 |
| 5 | ₹ 80,000 | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 40,000 | ₹ 30,000 |
| 6 | ₹ 1,60,000 (160,000) | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 80,000 | ₹ 70,000 |
| 7 | ₹ 3,20,000 (320,000) | ₹ 10,000 | ₹ 1,60,000 | ₹ 1,50,000 |
| 8 | ₹ 6,40,000 (640,000) | ₹ 3,20,000 | ₹ 3,20,000 | ₹ 3,20,000 |
| 9 | ₹ 12,50,000 (1,250,000) | ₹ 3,20,000 | ₹ 6,40,000 | ₹ 3,20,000 |
| 10 | ₹ 25,00,000 (2,500,000) | ₹ 3,20,000 | ₹ 12,50,000 | ₹ 9,30,000 |
| 11 | ₹ 50,00,000 (5,000,000) | ₹ 3,20,000 | ₹ 25,00,000 | ₹ 21,80,000 |
| 12 | ₹ 1,00,00,000 (10,000,000) | ₹ 3,20,000 | ₹ 50,00,000 | ₹ 46,80,000 |
| 13 | ₹ 5,00,00,000 (50,000,000) | ₹ 3,20,000 | ₹ 1,00,00,000 | ₹ 96,80,000 |
Lifelines
A contestant can use a lifeline when he/she is undecided about which answer is correct. A lifeline can only be used once. The current lifelines in KBC4 are the same as KBC3 with the only difference being the "Fifty-Fifty" lifeline replaced by "Double Dip" and "Flip The Question" lifeline replaced by "Expert Advice".
- Audience Poll: If the contestant uses this lifeline, it will result in the host repeating the question to the audience. The studio audience get 10 seconds to answer the question. Audience members use touch pads to designate what they believe the correct answer to be. After the audience have chosen their choices, the results are displayed to the contestant in percentages in bar-graph format and also shown on the monitors screens of the host and contestant, as well as the TV viewers.
- Phone a Friend: If the contestant uses this lifeline, the contestant is allowed to call one of the three pre-arranged friends, who all have to provide their phone numbers in advance. The host usually starts off by talking to the contestant's friend and introduces him/her to the viewers. After the introduction, the host hands the phone call over to the contestant who then immediately has 30 seconds to ask and hope for a reply from their friend.
- Ask an Expert: This lifeline allows the contestant to ask an expert via live face-to-face audio and video connection. The expert could be anyone from a celebrity to a previous Millionaire contestant. Ask the Expert is available throughout the game. There is no set time limit, and the contestant and expert are allowed to discuss the question.
- Double Dip: This lifeline allows the contestant to make two guesses at a question. This lifeline is available after the contestant correctly answers the seventh question. A second incorrect answer results in a loss and the contestant's winnings dropping back down to the last milestone achieved. This lifeline differs from others in that - once the player has chosen to use this lifeline, he/she has to answer the question. There's no way the player can leave the seat without answering the question.
Former lifelines
- Fifty-Fifty (50/50): If the contestant uses this lifeline, the host will ask the computer to randomly remove and eliminate two of the "wrong" answers. This will leave one right answer and one wrong answer, resulting in a situation of eliminating 50% of the choices as well as having a 50% chance of getting the answer right if the contestant is in a situation of making a guess. In 2010, 50/50 was replaced by Double Dip.
- Flip the Question: The contestant earned this lifeline upon answering the fifth question. The computer replaced, at the contestant's request, one question with another of the same monetary value. Any lifelines used on the original question prior to the switching were not reinstated.
The fourth season
Amitabh Bachchan was roped in once again to host the fourth season in 2010. The show was shifted from Star Plus to Sony Television, but the faces behind the curtain will be the same such as Siddhartha Basu remains the director and creative head. The new logo designed for the fourth season incorporated the new Indian Rupee symbol, which was unveiled the same year. The phone lines for the fourth season opened on August 2, 2010 at 9 PM (IST).[5] Sony TV announced that the fourth season will go on air from October 11, 2010; which also happens to be Bachchan's birthday.
The Indian version adopted the clock format from the US version and is the fourth country's version to do (the others being Japan and the UK; although the US version no longer uses the clock), although the time limits were more similar to the UK version. There was a 30-second time limit for questions 1 and 2, and a 45 second time limit for questions 3–6, but questions 7–13 were not timed.[6][7]
The clock stops whenever a lifeline is used. There were four lifelines: Ask the Audience and Phone a Friend will make a return, along with the addition of two new lifelines Ask the Expert and Double Dip. The show finished on December 9, 2010.
Notable celebrity guests
Apart from Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan being renowned stars who have hosted the show, these are the following celebrities that have played Kaun Banega Crorepati.
Season 1
| Guest(s) | Year | Amount won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aamir Khan | 2000 | ₹ 50,00,000 | First celebrity guest to play the game |
| Sonali Bendre | 2000 | ₹ 25,00,000 | Played during Diwali Special |
| Shahrukh Khan | 2000 | ₹ 50,00,000 | Played during New Year Special, than later Khan replaced Bachchan in 2007 due to Amitabh's illness |
| Rani Mukerji | 2000 | ₹ 25,00,000 | Played before Khan during New Year Special and later appeared on KBC3 with Khan as host |
| Sanjay Dutt | 2001 | ₹ 50,00,000 | |
| Anil Kapoor | 2001 | ₹ 50,00,000 | Played KBC host in Slumdog Millionaire |
| Sachin Tendulkar Madhuri Dixit |
2001 | ₹ 50,00,000 | Won ₹ 50,00,000 each in Special episode to raise funds for helping victims of a natural disaster |
| Smriti Irani Amar Upadhyay |
2001 | ₹ 50,00,000 | To celebrate the first anniversary of the show |
| Sakshi Tanwar Shweta Kawatra |
2001 | ₹ 12,50,000 |
Season 2
| Guest(s) | Year | Amount won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Abraham Bipasha Basu |
2005 | ₹ 50,00,000 | |
| Kajol Ajay Devgn |
2005 | ₹ 1,00,00,000 | Biggest celebrity winners on KBC with Bachchan |
| Lara Dutta Sania Mirza |
2005 | ₹ 50,00,000 | |
| Saif Ali Khan Preity Zinta |
2005 | ₹ 50,00,000 | To promote their film "Salaam Namaste" |
| Smriti Irani Saakshi Tanwar |
2005 | ₹ 6,40,000 | They appeared for Diwali Special |
Season 3
| Guest(s) | Date | Episode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arbaaz Khan Malaika Arora Khan |
February 14 | Valentine's Day | |
| Farhan & Zoya Akhtar | February 14 | Valentine's Day | |
| Karan Johar Farah Khan |
February 14 | Valentine's Day | Johar before appeared in the audience with Bachchan in 2000 to support Shahrukh Khan |
| Preity Zinta Rani Mukerji |
February 27 | Holi Special | Both Zinta and Mukerji's second time on the show |
| Sanjay Dutt Boman Irani |
March 29 | Dutt's second time on the show | |
| Kareena Kapoor Priyanka Chopra |
April 19 | Series Finale | |
| Salman Khan Katrina Kaif |
April 19 | Series Finale |
Season 4
| Guest(s) | Year | Amount won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akshay Kumar Aditya Roy Kapoor Vipul Shah Neha Dhupia Rannvijay Singh Shefali Shah |
2010 | ₹ 50,00,000 | For the promotion of Action Replayy |
| Leander Paes S. Sreesanth Manoj Kumar Sushil Kumar Jwala Gutta Ashwini Ponnappa |
2010 | ₹ 25,00,000 | Diwali Special |
| Disha Vakani Ragini Khanna Pooja Gor Aashka Goradia Bharti Singh Aishwarya Sakhuja |
2010 | ₹ 12,50,000 | Diwali Special |
| Ajay Devgan Arshad Warsi Shreyas Talpade Rohit Shetty Tusshar Kapoor Kunal Khemu |
2010 | ₹ 25,00,000 | For the promotion of Golmaal 3 |
| Madhuri Dixit Deepika Padukone Sanjay Dutt Anil Kapoor Dharmendra |
2010 | Appeared in the Grand Finale and Dutt's and Dixit's third and second time on show |
Winners
So far, there have been a few notable winners of KBC that have left with an amount of ₹ 1,00,00,000 or 1 Crore:
- Harshvardhan Nawathe — 1st winner of KBC in 2000.
- Ravi Saini — Winner of the equally popular series KBC Junior (₹ 1,00,00,000) that featured children under the age of 18 as contestants in 2001.
- Vijay and Arundhati Raul — Winner of KBC Jodi (₹ 1,00,00,000) in 2001.[8]
- Ajay Devgan and Kajol — Winner of ₹ 1,00,00,000 in 2005.
- Brajesh Dubey — Winner of KBC 2 leaving with ₹ 1,00,00,000 when the top prize was ₹ 2,00,00,000.
- Rahat Taslim — Winner of ₹ 1 crore in Season 4. She quit at the jackpot question (for ₹ 5 crore).[9]
Phraseology
Since its launch in the year 2000, KBC has inspired thousands with Amitabh's catchy phrases like "Lock kiya jaye?" which has been used in the media a countless number of times, an example being in the 2001 film Nayak: The Real Hero starring Anil Kapoor and Rani Mukerji. With the new series that is hosted by Shahrukh Khan, wordage such as "Lock kiya jaye?" have been changed to "Freeze it!". Additional expressions have been introduced in KBC3 like "Kuch sawaal aapki zindagi badal sakte hain!" which is the official motto of the third season and "Kachcha Kachcha? Pakka Pakka?" that figuratively means "Are you sure or are you not sure?". "Tez Teekha Tabadtor" as well as "Koi Sawaal Chota Nahi Hota" in the current season have become immensely popular.
The show plays a major role in the movie Slumdog Millionaire, with Anil Kapoor playing Prem Kumar, the game show host, though Shah Rukh Khan was asked to play). The movie is an adaptation of the Vikas Swarup novel Q & A (although the novel depicted a fictional quiz show called Who Will Win a Billion?), and is also loosely connected to a real-life cheating incident on the UK version of the show.
Awards
Winners
In 2001
- Best Show of the Year 2000
- Best Marketing Activity of the Year 2000
- TV Personality of the Year 2000 — Amitabh Bachchan
In 2002
- Best Anchor — Amitabh Bachchan
- Game Show Of The Year
In 2005
- Best Game Show
- Best Anchor — Amitabh Bachchan
In 2007
- Best Game Show
- Best Anchor — Shahrukh Khan
References
- ^ "India scraps millionaire TV show". BBC News. January 25, 2006. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
- ^ KBC4 news - India-Forums
- ^ "KBC 4 beats Bigg Boss 4 in its final episode". One India. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ "KBC to give away Rs 50 mn in 60 minutes". Business Standard. September 28, 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ^ Amitabh Bachchan-hosted KBC 4 to go on air from Oct 11
- ^ "KBC 4 Will Be Presented In A Changed Format". indiaserver.com. July 14, 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "KBC: Waiting for a facelift". Business Standard. July 26, 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "Orissa couple strikes big on KBC". Rediff. April 27, 2001.
- ^ "Female tailor from Jharkhand winner in 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' game show". Sify. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
External links
- Kaun Banega Crorepati at IMDb
- KBC Auditions on Sony Entertainment Television kick Started from 1st September
- Kaun Banega Crorepati (2007 series) Official Website (Note: The KBC2 Official Website has been merged into this website and redirects to it when clicked)
- Kaun Banega Crorepati 4 (2010 series) Website
- KBC Quiz questions
- KBC online interactive simulation