On a cosy July evening in the year 2000, beloved movie star <keyword id="19898963" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amitabh-Bachchan" source="keywords">Amitabh Bachchan</keyword> waltzed into all of our living rooms through television screens — and simply never left. With the show’s 16th season going in full swing, we can't imagine the phenomenon that is <keyword id="19946508" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kaun-Banega-Crorepati" source="keywords">Kaun Banega Crorepati</keyword> without the living legend. But, did you know the megastar of the century Amitabh <keyword id="19898966" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bachchan" source="keywords">Bachchan</keyword> almost turned down the offer to host the show? <h2><keyword id="23040300" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Who-Wants-to-Be-a-Millionaire" source="keywords">Who Wants to Be a Millionaire</keyword>? — Desi version</h2>In the late 90s, <keyword id="19976122" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Star-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Star India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Star India">Star India</keyword> was looking to make a significant impact on <keyword id="19981325" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-television" source="keywords">Indian television</keyword> and was inspired by the success of the British show ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’. <keyword id="21697104" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sameer-Nair" source="keywords">Sameer Nair</keyword>, who had recently become the head of programming at Star, believed that this format could work well in India. He approached <keyword id="22921014" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Siddhartha-Basu" source="keywords">Siddhartha Basu</keyword>, a respected television producer known for quiz shows, to bring this idea to life in the Indian context. While Basu was game, something he didn’t particularly anticipate was that Nair would want one of the biggest movie stars in the country to host it. And as much as Mr Bachchan enjoys his banter with participants on the show today, he wasn’t particularly jumping with joy at the prospect of hosting the show when the opportunity was first presented to him. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112264328" title="Bachchan says Kaun Banega Crorepati makers have introduced &amp;#39;interesting changes&amp;#39; in season 16" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>Rock-bottom</h2>When Sameer Nair, Siddhartha Basu and Big B’s agent <keyword id="23040301" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sunil-doshi" source="keywords">Sunil Doshi</keyword> decided to get Amitabh Bachchan on the show, the senior actor’s career was in a slump. His recent films had not been successful, and his company ABCL’s efforts in hosting the Miss World 1996 in Bengaluru had reportedly driven him to near bankruptcy. However, hosting a television show was seen as a significant departure for a Bollywood superstar, potentially signalling that his film career was over. In the late 1990s, the general perception in India was that television was a step down from films, especially for someone of Bachchan’s stature. According to Sunil Doshi, Bachchan’s agent, his family was also against the idea of him doing television. They likely shared the concern that moving to television might harm his image and further diminish his standing in the film industry. While intrigued by the concept, Senior Bachchan himself was unsure about how the show would translate to the Indian audience. <h2>A life-altering proposition</h2>Mr Bachchan’s resistance did not deter Basu, Nair or Doshi. To convince him, the team arranged for Bachchan to visit the UK to see the original show in action. After observing the scale and drama of the production, Bachchan reportedly had one condition: that the makers would replicate it exactly in India. Satisfied with their assurance, he agreed to take on the role, a decision that would not only revive his career but also transform Indian television. The move was risky for all involved, especially considering they had to increase the prize money from lakhs to an enormous ₹1 crore — something that was unprecedented on Indian television at the time. Further, Amitabh Bachchan's payment for hosting <keyword id="19903931" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="KBC" source="keywords">KBC</keyword> Season 1 was a significant topic of discussion at the time, especially given that it was his first venture into television. While the exact amount he requested is not widely disclosed, it is reported that he charged around ₹25 lakh per episode. This amount was a huge deal for Indian television at the time and reflected Bachchan's star power and the risk involved in bringing such a big-name Bollywood actor to the small screen. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111484322" title="Prabhas&amp;#39; Kalki 2898 AD enters 700 crore club in first week; eyes spot of biggest Hindi hit of 2024!" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>Just like that, Bachchan’s stardom was reborn</h2>The gamble paid off, and KBC became a cultural phenomenon, throwing Bachchan back into the spotlight and setting new standards for Indian game shows. Imagine the year 2000 — India had barely 32 million landlines and just a few million mobile users, a stark contrast to the over a billion today. The production of KBC was no small feat. The team from Synergy, led by Siddhartha Basu, had to navigate a labyrinth of meetings with government officials and telecom companies to ensure they could build a robust backend for the show. The entire Synergy crew uprooted from Delhi to Mumbai, assembling a dedicated team of around 250 to 300 people. The show’s setup was meticulously crafted. Renowned set designer Nitin Desai brought his expertise to create an extraordinary set that included floor lighting, a custom-designed chair, and a computer system — all modelled after the original British version’s “bible” provided by Celador. The level of quality was something the Indian audience, and even the production crew, had never witnessed before. When the phone lines opened for contestants to try their luck, the response was overwhelming. The system was designed to handle a certain number of calls, but they received 150% more than anticipated — about 1.2 million calls — before they even began shooting in June 2000 at a specially constructed set in Mumbai’s Film City. The scale and excitement were truly astonishing, marking the beginning of a television revolution in India. Well, the rest is history. Today, when KBC comes on, every person’s eyes are glued to the television. When Mr Bachchan quips, we laugh; when he tenses up, so do we; and when he asks “Lock kar diya jaye?”, we can’t help but allow the little smile of familiarity that creeps in.

Amitabh Bachchan almost didn’t host Kaun Banega Crorepati! So how did the show’s makers convince Big B?

Mumbai, Renowned film art director <keyword id="194218" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nitin-desai" source="Orion">Nitin Desai</keyword>, who created sets for blockbuster films such as "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" and "Lagaan", was found hanging on Wednesday at his studio in Maharashtra's Raigad district neighbouring Mumbai, a senior police official said. Prima facie, it seems to be a case of suicide, the official said, adding they are investigating the case from all angles. "Desai's body was found hanging with a rope in the morning at the N D Studios," Raigad Superintendent of Police Somnath Gharge said. The studio is located in the Karjat area of Raigad, about 50 km from Mumbai. After being alerted, police rushed to the spot, the official said. The police are investigating the case from all possible angles, Gharge said. Desai, who was in his late 50s, served as art director and production designer for a number of Bollywood and Marathi movies. He was also known for his art work in films such as "Jodhaa Akbar" and "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo". The art director's death sent shock waves across the industry with film personalities such as Hema Malini, Riteish Deshmukh, Siddhartha Basu, and Neil Nitin Mukesh mourning Desai's passing. Actor-politician Hema Malini said Desai's death was a "terrible loss" to the film industry. "Such a warm human being, associated with many of my projects and ballets... May he find peace wherever he is," she tweeted. Neil said it is difficult to accept the heartbreaking news of Desai's death. The late art director worked on "Jail", the 2009 film starring the actor. "Our beloved #nitindesai has left for his heavenly abode. He was simply a genius. A visionary artist with grace, style who understood not just his craft but people. He was a positive soul who spread only love to all. My God give his family strength. Om Shanti," he wrote on the microblogging site. Basu, who worked with Desai on popular reality shows such as "Kaun Banega Crorepati" and "Dus Ka Dum", said he was shocked to hear about the passing of his "friend and artistic collaborator". "He made sets for so many of our shows - KBC, Kamzor Kadi, Heartbeat, Bluffmaster, Dus ka Dum, Sach ka Saamna.. Conjuring world class installations on an industrial scale. Om shanti," Basu wrote on Twitter, which was recently rebranded as X. In his career spanning over 30 years, Desai closely worked with directors like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rajkumar Hirani, and Ashutosh Gowariker.

'Lagaan' art director Nitin Desai found hanging at his studio near Mumbai

New Delhi, Nov 29 () Penguin Random House India has acquired the book-publishing assets of Duckbill Books that includes titles and its backlist of non-fiction and fiction books across a broad range of categories. 
"The Duckbill brand will be published within Penguin Random House India's children's publishing group division," Penguin Random House (PRH) announced Friday. 
Run by publisher Sayoni Basu and leading children's writer Anushka Ravishankar, Duckbill Books has been independently publishing books and digital products for children and teens since 2012. 
With this development, it will be Penguin Random House India's second exclusive imprint to publish books for children, besides Puffin. 
"We have had seven exciting years discovering new authors and experimenting with different kinds of books, but we have felt the challenges of being a very small house selling books in a very large world. 
"With Penguin Random House India's amazing sales and marketing network, we hope Duckbill books will reach many new readers," Ravishankar and Basu said in a statement.
Some of Duckbill's bestselling titles include "Moin and the Monster" by Anushka Ravishankar, "Queen of Ice" by Devika Rangachari, "Timmi in Tangles" by Shals Mahajan, "Year of the Weeds" by Siddhartha Sarma and "Akbar and the Tricky Traitor" by Natasha Sharma.
"We are so excited to bring in Duckbill into the Penguin Random House India family. It is a true value add of an acquisition and we are looking forward to taking the wonderful world of storytelling that Duckbill team has built to a wider audience. 
"Children's publishing is one of our biggest assets, and as a company we would like to bring in good literary work that establishes new readers, generation after generation," said Gaurav Shrinagesh, CEO, Penguin Random House India and SEA.
Duckbill's publisher and co-founder Basu will come on board the company as Consulting Editor and will continue publishing works with Sohini Mitra, who currently heads the children and young adult publishing program for Penguin. 
"Through its books, Duckbill has fearlessly addressed many topics that are relevant for this day and age and the recognition that they have received is supremely well deserved. 
"We welcome their talented pool of authors, series and titles to our catalogue and look forward to bringing more path-breaking work to the fore," Mitra said. TRS MAH
MAH

Penguin Random House India acquires Duckbill Books children's publishing division

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/46431697.cms" /> 
 
After Zindagi, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has now announced &amp;TV, its another premium entertainment channel. 
 
Synonymous with the spirit of new-age India, &amp;TV signifies a conjunction of aspirations and rootedness, much like the amalgamation of various TV shows that mark their debut with the channel tonight. 
 The first show to be aired would be <keyword id="378933" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Razia-Sultan">Razia Sultan</keyword>, who was the first woman ruler from India. The show has been produced by Swastik Productions and stars Pankhuri Awasthi and Sooraj Thapar in lead roles, who play Razia Sultan and her father Iltutmish, respectively. It would air at 7:30 PM from Monday to Friday. 
 
Next in line is Bhagyalaksmi, a serial from the affluent lanes of Madhya Pradesh. Starring Barkha Singh and Abhishek Malik with Aruna Irani, Rita Bhaduri, Anil Dhawan and Ashita Dhawan Gulabani, the love story would see the clashes of rich and poor, airing at 8 PM from Monday to Friday. 
 At 8:30 PM, viewers would get to see the cute and bubbly <keyword id="2722206" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gangaa">Gangaa</keyword>, a child widow. Her spirit to break the shackles of conservative Indian society is the wave that the makers would hope to ride on. Produced by Sphere Origins, The show stars Ruhana Khanna, Rakhi Vijan, Sushmita Mukherjee and Hiten Tejwani. 
 
The prime time of 9 PM has been reserved for the flagship show, India Poochega <keyword id="2695296" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sabse-Shaana-Kaun">Sabse Shaana Kaun</keyword>, to be hosted by <keyword id="1671" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shah-Rukh-Khan">Shah Rukh Khan</keyword>. The show is inspired by Who’s Asking, an Israeli game show of Armoza Formats. Both the persons who ask the question and the one who answers would be commoners. The show has been produced by Siddhartha Basu of Big Synergy. 
 At 10, we have <keyword id="75320" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Begusarai">Begusarai</keyword>, produced by Saregama Productions. Based on the lives of land mafias of Bihar, the show has Shweta Tiwari, Vaishnavi Dhanraj, Vishal Aditya Singh and Dheeraj Miglani. The highlight of the show, however, would be veteran actress Sulbha Arya, who is donning a negative role for the first time. 
 Next, the channel has a comedy show in line for its audience. Called <keyword id="2749105" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bhabhi-Ji-Ghar-Par-Hain">Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hain</keyword>, the show would be based in a middle-class Indian society from Kanpur, and would be focusing on two neighbouring families. Starring Saumya Tandon, Shilpa Shinde, Rohitashv Gaud and Asif Sheikh, the show has been produced by Edit II. 
 
Image courtesy: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AndTVOfficial">And TV Facebook Page</a>

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Amitabh Bachchan almost didn’t host Kaun Banega Crorepati! So how did the show’s makers convince Big B?

Ashmita Gupta

'Lagaan' art director Nitin Desai found hanging at his studio near Mumbai

PTI

Penguin Random House India acquires Duckbill Books children's publishing division

PTI

Sabse Shaana Kaun And Four More New Shows To Debut Tonight

Nandini Sharma