Twenty-five years ago, Indian television witnessed a dramatic shift. On July 3, 2000, Kaun Banega Crorepati made its debut on StarPlus. What few recall is that back then, StarPlus wasn’t even in the race. Zee TV ruled the charts. Sameer Nair, who had recently taken over as head of programming, was handed an enormous challenge of rebuild StarPlus as a Hindi general entertainment channel. Till then, the network had mostly been airing international shows since 1992. Now, with liberalization transforming media, StarPlus wanted to carve its own identity.
“We were partners with Zee before, then we’d gone independent so the mandate was: Fight back!” Nair recalled. But battling giants like Zee and Sony wasn’t easy. Nair described the gap, saying, “For numbers’ sake, let’s say Zee was at 12 rating, Sony was at 11, and Star was at 1.”
In that uncertain climate, the team secured rights to adapt Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, a British quiz show already famous worldwide. What they needed next was a host who could command attention, someone larger than life. At 58, Amitabh Bachchan’s film career had dimmed. He was appearing in box office disappointments like Lal Baadshah and Sooryavansham. Approaching him to host a television show felt risky. Nair admitted it wasn’t simple. “When we first went to him, it was complicated because it was TV and he was a film star,” he said.
Even Jaya Bachchan, Amitabh’s wife, expressed doubts. She believed it wasn’t fitting for him to shrink himself to television. Bachchan himself wasn’t convinced at first. To reassure himself, he flew to London and visited the original Millionaire set. Once he agreed, however, his commitment never wavered. “Once he took to the show, he stayed loyal to it. Mr. Bachchan is the only one who’s been doing it since then, till now,” Nair pointed out.
That loyalty paid off. The show’s inaugural season wasn’t just a hit, it transformed StarPlus’ fortunes. KBC’s format, combined with Bachchan’s charisma, became appointment viewing. Nair reflected on the impact, sharing how, at that time, viewers didn’t have Google at their fingertips. “But even now, when he asks the question, you can Google it, yet you don’t. Because you want to watch the show, the drama, and the playout the way it’s intended.”
KBC didn’t just resurrect StarPlus; it revived Amitabh Bachchan’s career too. Following the show’s success, he starred in back-to-back hits from Mohabbatein and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… to Baghban, Black, and Sarkar. The audience rediscovered their favorite star, now in a new avatar.
Despite his renewed success in films, Bachchan never abandoned the quiz show that reconnected him with millions. He returned for KBC’s second season in 2005. Unfortunately, illness forced him to withdraw midway through season three in 2006. With 24 episodes left unshot, no contestant ever claimed the Rs 2 crore top prize that year.
In 2007, with Amitabh stepping away, StarPlus roped in Shah Rukh Khan as the host. Though Khan was a superstar in his own right, he couldn’t replicate Bachchan’s magic. Ratings plummeted, and the network shut the show down after one season.
Three years later, Sony Entertainment Television revived KBC, bringing back Amitabh as host. The gamble worked. The quiz show returned to glory, and under Sony’s stewardship, it’s thrived ever since. Today, KBC has completed 16 successful seasons and heads into its 17th.
Sameer Nair, whose time at StarPlus ended after the show’s cancellation in 2007, now leads Applause Entertainment. He commended Sony’s dedication, saying, “The credit also goes to Sony for reviving it. We did two seasons with Mr. Bachchan and one with Shah Rukh, and then we let go. They took it forward and really built it in the last 10 years so that we could get to the 25th anniversary.”
A quarter century later, KBC remains a beloved tradition, a quiz show that outlasted rivals, redefined careers, and proved the staying power of compelling storytelling.
