Kaun Banega Crorepati (Hindi: कौन बनेगा करोड़पति Kaun Banegā Karoṛpati; popularly known as KBC) is a television game show in India. It is based on the UK game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. KBC first aired in 2000 and was hosted by Amitabh Bachchan, his first appearance Indian television. KBC initially offered contestants the chance to win
up to one crore Rupees, but doubled this in 2001 to two crore Rupees,
further adjusted from the fourth season to include a jackpot of 5 crore
rupees. The show was well received from the very first season.
On 5 August 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. 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 recruited Shahrukh Khan to host the third season of the show. Khan was at peak of his career and was considered an ideal replacement for Amitabh Bachchan. The grand prize remained 2 crore Rupees (approx. $430,000 USD). The third season of the show began airing on 22 January 2007. The show ended on 19 April 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 11 October 2010, on Bachchan's 68th birthday. According to online news sources, over five million (50 Lakh) people participated in KBC 4 auditions. 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.
The season ended on 9 December 2010. The fifth season started on 15
August 2011 on the Independence Day of India with the same format and
ended on 17 November 2011. The show became a massive hit with audiences
and broke many TRP Records. CNN IBN awarded Indian Of The Year-
Entertainment to Team KBC and Amitabh Bachan.
On 5 August 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. 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 recruited Shahrukh Khan to host the third season of the show. Khan was at peak of his career and was considered an ideal replacement for Amitabh Bachchan. The grand prize remained 2 crore Rupees (approx. $430,000 USD). The third season of the show began airing on 22 January 2007. The show ended on 19 April 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 11 October 2010, on Bachchan's 68th birthday. According to online news sources, over five million (50 Lakh) people participated in KBC 4 auditions. 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.
The season ended on 9 December 2010. The fifth season started on 15
August 2011 on the Independence Day of India with the same format and
ended on 17 November 2011. The show became a massive hit with audiences
and broke many TRP Records. CNN IBN awarded Indian Of The Year-
Entertainment to Team KBC and Amitabh Bachan.
