As we all know Jaya Bachchan is the wife of Amitabh Bachchan. Amitabh Bachchan, the colossal figure of Bollywood, was among the initial film actors from the Bollywood industry to venture into the realm of television. He assumed the role of a host with the inception of Kaun Banega Crorepati in the year 2000.
Over the years, India has had numerous reality shows, but Kaun Banega Crorepati remains uniquely cherished by every Indian. Besides being a legendary actor, Big B solidified his reputation as an outstanding host through the success of KBC. Surprisingly, not everyone knows that there was a time when Jaya Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan’s wife, wasn’t sure about his choice to be the host on KBC.
Amitabh Bachchan faced a tough phase in the film industry, struggling to land good roles. This led him to shift to television with the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati. When presented with the concept, he agreed, primarily enticed by the substantial amount offered for hosting. Back then, when there were rumours about Big B moving to TV for financial reasons, many from that era saw it as a decline in his career.
Jaya Bachchan explained why she opposed Big B hosting Kaun Banega Crorepati
In the past, people often viewed TV as a smaller platform compared to films. Even Amitabh Bachchan’s wife, Jaya Bachchan, had reservations about his decision to work on television. In an interview with fashion designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, Jaya remembered a challenging period when Amitabh was facing a tough time in his acting career.
Jaya discussed Amitabh’s difficult period and how he got an offer to host Kaun Banega Crorepati. She openly admitted that she didn’t support Big B’s choice to take the offer because she believed it might diminish his stature as an actor.
“Can you imagine I never wanted him to do it? Somehow felt that it was somewhere not correct to shrink him into the small screen,” She stated.
On July 3, 2000, Kaun Banega Crorepati made its debut on Indian television. At the start, the prize money was set at Rs. 1 crore. Unfortunately, the show didn’t garner impressive ratings, experiencing a significant decline in TRPs. In response, the creators revamped the show into Junior KBC, featuring kids on the hot seat with Big B.
The audience liked it, but for the show’s second season, the creators went back to the original format and increased the prize money to Rs. 2 crores. After a four-year break and several creative adjustments, Amitabh launched the second season of KBC on August 5, 2005.
Amitabh’s fate
However, just when everyone thought that Amitabh Bachchan and Kaun Banega Crorepati 2 were going smoothly, he got sick and the show abruptly ended after 61 episodes. In Amitabh’s absence, Shah Rukh Khan took over as the host for the third season.
When the fourth season rolled around, Amitabh Bachchan made a comeback to the KBC set. Since then, there’s been no stopping the actor, who reached the milestone of the 1000th episode in 2021. In one KBC episode, Amitabh candidly talked about his decision to join the game show during a rough period and explained why he seized the opportunity. He stated:
“Humari apni kuch paristhitiyaan aisi thi ke mujhe laga ke filmon mein kaam jo hai wohh mil nahi raha tha.”
(“I was in a situation where I felt that I wasn’t getting work in films.”)
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