“A rare cine actor who has mastered anchoring”
Iknow of no other 80-year-old who goes through the grind of recording an elaborate, high-intensity show like Kaun Banega Crorepati with such zest. Whatever his health issues, tiredness from long hours, stresses and strains of being an uber public figure, they all get set aside once Amitabh Bachchan gears up to get into the ‘zone’. He routinely clocks in 12-14 hours on the sets daily, turning around an average of two episodes of 90 minutes each day.
Last year, typically, he’d clock in at 9 am. Make-up done, contestants brief pored through, opening pitch revised, instructions from the creative team soaked in, he’d bound out to the set, invariably greeted with roaring applause and a standing ovation from an excited studio audience overwhelmed to be in his presence. He has often said that’s what fuels his energy and drive, the adoration and responsiveness of viewers and fans. To that, I’d add the love of his art, the passion to excel at what he does each time.
He’s one of the very few cine actors I’ve worked with who has mastered the art of hosting a show in which little is scripted. And he’s done that with painstaking preparation and constant evolution. He prepped as much for the 1,000th show as he did for his first, with attention to the littlest of details.
He’s always had his singular height and voice, a mastery over both Hindi and English and the charisma of mega stardom. What’s grown over the years is the successful switch from cinema to mastery over an intimate medium like real-time TV, where you have to think on your feet. The empathy with the contestants is genuine, the one-on-one rapport he builds with the viewer at home as much as with the player on the hot seat is rare. This is the hallmark of the finest TV hosts—he talks to you, not at you, and he listens, unspooling the human story through a knowledge game with finesse.
Before the first season of KBC, he was typically withdrawn, laconic, monosyllabic and guarded. He wasn’t certain about the switch from the big screen to the small, from shooting scripted takes in bits and pieces, to turning round an episode in real-time
Amitabh on the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati
with a natural dramatic graph, without the benefit of re-takes. In the first few seasons, he was superb, but mainly business-like. While he would be warm to overawed contestants and put them at ease, he was reluctant to get even remotely personal, leave alone talk about himself. That’s where the sea change has come about, the way the show and the star have warmed up and been humanised. Mr Bachchan thawed steadily into the role of an empathetic host, till he began enjoying it thoroughly.
Twenty-two years on, he’s still going strong with the show. Having had a ringside seat, I can only say it’s been a privilege to work with a master of his art, whose work ethic should be an example to all.
He’s embarrassed by the fuss of birthday celebrations. So I’ll wind up by saying, “Pranam sir, sneh aur samman ke saath, aapko janamdin ki hardik shubhkaamnaayein!” ■
“He builds an exceptional rapport with both viewers and contestants, unspooling the human story through a knowledge game with finesse”