Notice the hyhen (-) in the title? Okay, you already know that it’s a take on Big B’s famous remark on KBC – 2. But for those of you non-Hindi speaking members and non-member who might be wondering what the title means, it simple means that it is an unmatched and amazing game.
The Original Game
As if you already don’t know, here’s a recap. The original Kaun Banega Crorepati had a prize-money of Rs. 1 crore. 15 questions, 15 correct answers and you walk away with a crore in your pockets. You had three life-lines: 50:50 – where you could get the computer to remove 2 of the three incorrect answers and left with one correct and one incorrect answer, Phone-a-Friend – where you could call someone and ask for the answer in a time-span of 30 seconds, and Audience-Poll – where you can ask the audience and they will reply from their voting pads to give you the answer.
The New Look Game
Cut to… 2005. The new, redesigned, rehashed and renovated Crorepati has prize money of Rs. 2 crores, with much of the format remaining the same except that a new fourth lifeline is activated after you win Rs. 20000. This new lifeline is called Flip – where you can ask the computer to change the question if you don’t know the correct answer. At the same time, there are prizes galore with the Fastest-Fingers-First contestants playing for prize money of Rs. 200000 and the junta watching it on TV gets a chance to win the same amount if they answer a special question asked during the course of the contest.
The Noticeable Change
Perhaps the most noticeable change is the use of technology. Recall back in 2000, how we used to call up KBC hotlines placed in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai respectively. Today, we have a long 10 or 12 digit long premium number for MTNL/BSNL subscribers and a Rs. 6 per min or per text message number for AirTel subscribers. On the face of it, one might say that technology has made it easy for us to get an entry to KBC but the mathematics works out an altogether different story.
In recent weeks there has been a forwarded message doing the round of the Internet which speaks about how much the telephone companies are raking in thanks to KBC. I cannot verify the exact figures given in that mail message but I can say for sure that what they are writing about it true. Take for example AirTel. You might say that spending Rs. 6 for a SMS message is like peanuts but look at how much AirTel is earning. We often pay Rs. 3 for SMS mssages sent to other premium numbers like 8888, 8243, etc but we are being charged double that amount for KBC. I don’t know the other part of the story (like how many SMS messages it takes to get registered and blah blah) because nobody in my family owns an AirTel phone.
The other noticeable change is the new colorful look of the sets. An attempt is being made to make Big B look more people friendly. Recall the first episode of KBC-2 where Amitabh appeared wearing a leather jacket. In my opinion, he looked brash and confident in it but the attire didn’t suit a person of the charisma of Amitabh.
The Bad Part
The baddest of the bad part are the questions that the contestants are asked. Take the first 5 questions that the contestants are asked – it gives the impression that they are asked just for the sake of formality and it is taken for granted that the contestant will walk away with a minimum of Rs. 20000. One might say that the real game starts here, but even here there are a few stupid questions (and some questions with stupid options). I can give you an example to prove my point. Recall some weeks back, an elderly gentleman from Jaipur had won Rs. 25 lacs. One of the questions he was asked was this:
Which of these newspapers is published from 11 cities?
A. Indian Express
B. Bharat Express
C. Rajdhani Express
D. Shatabdi Express
Now you can see it clearly, even a fifth grader can tell from these options what the correct answer is. Instead of these options, if they had given the names of 3 dailies like HT, TOI, Hindu, it could have been a bit trickier.
The other bad part is the arbitrary inclusion of celebrity episodes. Recall some weeks back Saif and Preity appeared on the show and took away 50 lacs. Yeah, everybody knows that on the face of it they were doing charity but wasn’t it obvious that it was a gimmick to give some free promotion to Salaam Namaste? Saif even appeared wearing the same yellow jacket that he is shown wearing in the promos of the film. Then out of the blue came the announcement that Ajay Devgun and Kajol are going to appear and as expected, they took away 1 crore. So let me guess now, some celebrities are going to appear on Diwali, Christmas and New Year and maybe on Holi (if the show lasts that long).
The Good Part
The good, gooder, goodest part is Amitabh Bachchan. The way he conducts the show is simply fabulous. I watch the show only because of him. The contestants, the people in the studio and perhaps everyone he meets shower him with praises for his performances in movies and yet he stay as humble as he was the day he entered Bollywood. He respects all the contestants and doesn’t mind helping contestants wherever they need the help (of course not when they are playing the game). The way he says Dwitiya in reference to part two of KBC has become his trademark for the time being and it inevitable makes the viewer smile even for one fleeting moment.
The Verdict
I recommend the show, only for Amitabh Bachchan. He has shown why he is a superstar. He is the life, blood and soul of the show. He is responsible for the success of the show. People have kept following KBC right through its both avatars thanks to a chance of meeting the man himself. I have myself tried for KBC in its original avatar, but never made it to the top 100 though once my uncle made it to the top 10, barely missing out on the hot-seat. No problems with that, at least I tried my luck. Today I have no interest left in making the efforts to go for the show. I am happy just watching it lying down on the couch every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night at 9pm. I watch it for Big B, for he is the one who has made every dream come true on the silver screen and now on the small screen.