Overview
Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) is an Indian television game show broadcast on Sony Entertainment Television. It is the official Indian adaptation of the British quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, originally created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill, and Steven Knight. The show, hosted primarily by actor Amitabh Bachchan, has become one of the most influential and longest-running programmes in Indian television history.
Key Facts
| Original name | Kaun Banega Crorepati |
|---|---|
| Genre | Game show / Quiz |
| Based on | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? |
| Original network | Sony Entertainment Television (Star Plus for Season 3) |
| First aired | 3 July 2000 |
| Primary host | Amitabh Bachchan |
| Other hosts | Shah Rukh Khan (Season 3, 2007) |
| Language | Hindi |
| Production | Synergy Adlabs / Big Synergy |
| Country | India |
Background
The format is built around a single contestant attempting to answer a sequence of multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty, with each correct answer doubling or substantially raising the prize amount. The contestant may use a set of "lifelines" to assist when uncertain, and may quit at any milestone to retain the accumulated winnings. The show's name refers to the highest prize being one crore rupees, the goal that contestants seek to attain.
KBC was launched at a time when Indian satellite television was still consolidating its prime-time formats. Its premiere is widely credited with reviving Sony Entertainment Television's prime-time slot and reshaping the landscape of Hindi general entertainment programming.
Hosts
Amitabh Bachchan has been the face of the show since its first season in 2000. His association with KBC is regarded as a major moment in his career, coming at a period of professional uncertainty, and helped establish the show's appeal across age groups. Shah Rukh Khan hosted the third season in 2007, when the show briefly moved to Star Plus, before Bachchan returned as host from the fourth season onward.
Format and Lifelines
Contestants are selected through preliminary rounds, originally a telephone-based "Fastest Finger First" round and, in later seasons, mobile and internet-based registration involving daily questions. On the hot seat, contestants face a ladder of questions with safety thresholds at which the winnings are guaranteed.
- Fifty-Fifty: Two incorrect options are removed.
- Audience Poll: The studio audience votes on the answer.
- Phone-a-Friend: Used in earlier seasons; replaced over time.
- Expert Advice / Video-a-Friend: Introduced in later seasons.
- Flip the Question: Replaces a question with a new one of equal value.
Seasons and Chronology
- Season 1 (2000–2001): Premiered on 3 July 2000 on Sony Entertainment Television; top prize of ₹1 crore. Harshvardhan Nawathe became the first contestant to win the top prize.
- Season 2 (2005–2006): Continued on Sony with Amitabh Bachchan; format and lifelines retained.
- Season 3 (2007): Aired on Star Plus, hosted by Shah Rukh Khan, with the top prize raised to ₹2 crore.
- Season 4 (2010): Returned to Sony Entertainment Television with Bachchan as host; introduced revised question structure and a higher top prize.
- Subsequent seasons: The show has continued in near-annual seasons on Sony, with periodic increases to the top prize, themed weeks (such as those for women contestants and "Karamveer" episodes featuring social workers and changemakers), and the introduction of jackpot questions.
Notable Winners
- Harshvardhan Nawathe – first crorepati of the show, in Season 1.
- Sushil Kumar – a contestant from Bihar who won ₹5 crore in Season 5 (2011), then the highest amount in the show's history.
- Several later contestants have also won ₹7 crore in subsequent seasons after the top prize was further increased.
Significance
KBC is widely regarded as a landmark in Indian television. Its arrival popularised the high-stakes quiz format in India, contributed to the rise of interactive television via SMS and call-in participation, and demonstrated the commercial viability of large prize money on Hindi general entertainment channels. The show has featured contestants from a wide range of socio-economic and regional backgrounds, and its narrative emphasis on personal stories has been credited with shaping the tone of subsequent Indian reality and game shows.
The show has also had a notable cultural footprint: it inspired the central premise of the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup and the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), directed by Danny Boyle.
Production
The Indian version has been produced by Big Synergy (originally Synergy Adlabs), founded by Siddhartha Basu, who is regarded as a pioneer of the quiz-show format on Indian television. The show is recorded at studios in Mumbai, with set design and lighting modelled on the international format while incorporating Indian aesthetic elements.