ABC of KBC: I too want to be a millionaire

When ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ was launched in India as ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, I was excited. An avid newspaper reader and follower of current affairs on television, I was a member of school and college quiz teams. I also love to discuss all these things in social and professional gatherings.

In the first edition, I sent out an SMS to be a participant. Not receiving the call, I told myself that as it was a lotterybased selection system and I was never going to get a chance to be in the hot seat at the KBC. I never called up in the following seasons. However, I did play along as a viewer in every season.

In the initial seasons, there were a few intelligent participants who would reach the level of Rs 1 crore or just below that.

Later, the number of such participants fell away.

The show’s host, Amitabh Bachchan, comes out in an advertisement to taunt a Sikh gentleman ‘If you know all the answers, why don’t you play along’. I have always thought that he was taunting me. I usually have answers to all the questions but the ones on Hindu religion and mythology stump me. With the quality of participants going down season after season, it no longer looks like a test of knowledge.

This time, Amitabh Bachchan had to explain the selection criteria. He said, “We receive lakhs of calls every year. Of these, the computer randomly picks out thousands. We call them for a telephonic question-answer sessions. After this short-listing, we call hundreds to Mumbai for the final selection. These participants go through several rounds of selection before being the lucky final 120 who get to participate in a season”

I believe every word of that, but my take on this is different. The true criterion for selection is to shortlist participants from across all states. Having at least 50% female participants is also important.

Every participant has to have a story, otherwise a good video shoot is not possible. The idea of any TV serial or a show is to earn money and get good Television Rating Points (TRPs). Keeping that in mind, chatting with participants, getting their life story is as important as asking them questions. We squirm in our chairs when the participants fail to answer even stupid questions and start using their lifelines for the Rs 1,000 question.

All this belies the claim that there are several rounds of selection.

Thankfully, we had ‘Bournvita Quiz Contest’ for several years and now there is News Wiz Quiz on India Today to whet our appetite for quality quiz.

However, the KBC has its captive audience and a great host in Amitabh Bachchan, so we will have to make peace with both. It is far better than the usual staple that channels dish out.

The same stories and characters are repeated several times in these never-ending serials. Ridiculous storylines are propagated. This show, at least, ignites inquisitiveness in viewers and enhances their general knowledge. It also exhorts them to take interest in current affairs.

I LOVE KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI AND ITS HOT SEAT. BUT WITH THE QUALITY OF PARTICIPANTS GOING DOWN SEASON AFTER SEASON, IT NO LONGER LOOKS LIKE A TEST OF KNOWLEDGE