How Rupert Murdoch set ‘crore’ because the KBC prize cash

In a current interview with indianexpress.com, Siddhartha Basu, who helmed the present through the launch, revealed the story behind the ultimate prize cash. Basu, who’s now a advisor on the truth present, shared that given the large cash at stake, it was positively irritating for him and the Star Plus group to ship.

When requested how did the group resolve to leap to crore from the pre-decided lakh, he mentioned, “Rupert Murdoch himself as it was then unprecedented on Indian TV and a game-changer, which he said was out of reach of the competitors.”
 

 
“KBC remains the most bountiful show ever in India with hitherto unmatched payouts. The prize money was one part of such a huge show — the open mass participation, the technology, the budget, the expectation — all were bigger than anything attempted till then, so yes, you bet it was ultra stressful, but then the challenge was far more exciting,” Siddhartha Basu additional mentioned.
While it’s a identified story immediately that how Sameer Nair, then VP, Star Plus Programming prompt Amitabh Bachchan’s title because the host. Back then, no megastar had hosted a TV present in India, or anyplace else for that matter. “The intention was to make the biggest bang possible,” Basu shared.

However, it wasn’t straightforward for the group as Big B took a while to make up his thoughts about getting into the small display screen as he was typically counselled not to take action. Basu shared how the group flew to London on the unique set of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? earlier than the senior actor gave his nod to the challenge.

 
“However, he (Amitabh Bachchan) decided to see the recording of the original show in London before making up his mind. Once he saw it, he decided to do KBC with one rider that we replicate the conditions and discipline of that show. There was no looking back, and the scale and scope of shows on Indian TV expanded exponentially,” he shared.

And in case you are questioning if Big B had an extended checklist of don’ts, he didn’t, as Siddharth Basu shared, “Initially, he had reservations about talking about himself and getting personal with contestants. He opened up slowly and now thoroughly enjoys interacting with people from all walks of life.”
Starting August 23, Kaun Banega Crorepati 13 will air Monday-Friday, 9 pm on Sony TV.