Kaun Banega Crorepati - Introduction
Kaun Banega Crorepati (Hindi: कौन बनेगा करोड़पति Kaun Banegā Karoṛpati; popularly known as KBC) is an Indian reality/game show based on the UK game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? which offers a maximum cash prize of £1 million. The show first aired in 2000 and was hosted by Amitabh Bachchan. This was the first appearance of Bachchan on Indian television. The show was popularly received in India.
On 5 August 2005, the show was restarted after a four-year hiatus, and renamed Kaun Banega Crorepati Dwitiya (Kaun Banega Crorepati the Second, or KBC2) in which the final prize amount was doubled to 2 crore rupees. It was abruptly ended by STAR Plus after the host Amitabh Bachchan fell ill in 2006. Mr Bachchan had shot 61 of the 85 episodes when he fell ill. He announced he would return after he recovered, but when his health prevented him filming the remaining 24 episodes, Star TV took the decision to axe it.
Star Television roped in Shahrukh Khan to host the third season of the show. Khan was at peak of his career then and was considered an ideal replacement for Amitabh Bachchan as the host of the show. The grand prize amount of 2 crore rupees (approx. $430,000 USD) was still used in KBC3. The third season of the show began airing on 22 January 2007. But all the hysteria receded soon after and its TRP went down. The third season did not receive good reviews from audiences. The show ended on 19 April 2007 with a special finale. The key sponsors of the third season were AirTel, Unit Trust of India (UTI Mutual Funds) and ITC Limited.
The fourth season (called KBC4) was hosted by Amitabh Bachchan and started on 11 October 2010, on Bachchan's 68th birthday. According to online news sources, over five million (50 Lakh) people participated in KBC 4 auditions. The prize money was decreased to 
Notable celebrity guests
Apart from Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan being renowned stars who have hosted the show, these are the following celebrities that have played Kaun Banega Crorepati.
Season 1
| Guest(s) | Year | Amount won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aamir Khan | 2000 | 50,00,000 | First celebrity guest to play the game |
| Sonali Bendre | 2000 | 25,00,000 | Played during Diwali Special |
| Shahrukh Khan | 2000 | 50,00,000 | Played during New Year Special, than later Khan replaced Bachchan in 2007 due to Amitabh's illness |
| Rani Mukerji | 2000 | 25,00,000 | Played before Khan during New Year Special and later appeared on KBC3 with Khan as host |
| Sanjay Dutt | 2001 | 50,00,000 | |
| Anil Kapoor | 2001 | 50,00,000 | Played KBC host in Slumdog Millionaire |
| Sachin Tendulkar Madhuri Dixit | 2001 | 50,00,000 | Won 50,00,000 each in Special episode to raise funds for helping victims of a natural disaster |
| Smriti Irani Amar Upadhyay | 2001 | 50,00,000 | To celebrate the first anniversary of the show |
| Sakshi Tanwar Shweta Kawatra | 2001 | 12,50,000 |
Season 2
| Guest(s) | Year | Amount won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Abraham Bipasha Basu | 2005 | 50,00,000 | |
| Kajol Ajay Devgn | 2005 | 1,00,00,000 | Biggest celebrity winners on KBC with Bachchan |
| Lara Dutta Sania Mirza | 2005 | 50,00,000 | Appeared on Children's day. |
| Saif Ali Khan Preity Zinta | 2005 | 50,00,000 | To promote their film "Salaam Namaste" |
| Smriti Irani Saakshi Tanwar | 2005 | 6,40,000 | They appeared for Diwali Special |
Season 3
| Guest(s) | Date | Episode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arbaaz Khan Malaika Arora Khan | 14 February | Valentine's Day | |
| Farhan & Zoya Akhtar | 14 February | Valentine's Day | |
| Karan Johar Farah Khan | 14 February | Valentine's Day | Johar before appeared in the audience with Bachchan in 2000 to support Shahrukh Khan |
| Preity Zinta Rani Mukerji | 27 February | Holi Special | Both Zinta and Mukerji's second time on the show |
| Sanjay Dutt Boman Irani | 29 March | Dutt's second time on the show | |
| Kareena Kapoor Priyanka Chopra | 19 April | Series Finale | |
| Salman Khan Katrina Kaif | 19 April | Series Finale |
Season 4
| Guest(s) | Year | Amount won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akshay Kumar Aditya Roy Kapoor Vipul Shah Neha Dhupia Rannvijay Singh Shefali Shah | 2010 | 50,00,000 | For the promotion of Action Replayy |
| Leander Paes S. Sreesanth Manoj Kumar Sushil Kumar Jwala Gutta Ashwini Ponnappa | 2010 | 25,00,000 | Diwali Special |
| Disha Vakani Ragini Khanna Pooja Gor Aashka Goradia Bharti Singh Aishwarya Sakhuja | 2010 | 12,50,000 | Diwali Special |
| Ajay Devgan Arshad Warsi Shreyas Talpade Rohit Shetty Tusshar Kapoor Kunal Khemu | 2010 | 25,00,000 | For the promotion of Golmaal 3 |
| Madhuri Dixit Deepika Padukone Sanjay Dutt Anil Kapoor Dharmendra | 2010 | Appeared in the Grand Finale and Dutt's and Dixit's third and second time on show |
Season 5
| Guest(s) | Year | Amount won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saif Ali Khan Deepika Padukone | 2011 | Did not play for any money | For the promotion of Aarakshan |
| Shahid Kapoor Sonam Kapoor | 2011 | Played for the charity and won 25,00,000 | For the promotion of Mausam |
| Imran Khan Katrina Kaif | 2011 | Played for the charity | For the promotion of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan |
| Ranbir Kapoor | 2011 | Played for the charity and won 12,50,000 | For the promotion of Rockstar_(2011_film) |
| Shah Rukh Khan | 2011 | Played for the charity and won 50,00,000 | For the promotion of Ra.One |
| Saakshi Tanwar Ram Kapoor | 2011 | Played for the charity and won 25,00,000 | For the Diwali Jodi Special episode |
Winners
So far, there have been a few notable winners of KBC that have left with an amount of
- Harshvardhan Nawathe – 1st winner of KBC in 2000.
- Ravi Saini – Winner of the equally popular series KBC Junior
- Vijay and Arundhati Raul – Winner of KBC Jodi
- Ajay Devgan and Kajol – Winner of
- Brajesh Dubey – Winner of KBC 2 leaving with
- Rahat Taslim – Winner of
- Sushil Kumar – Winner of
- Anil Sinha – Winner of
Phraseology
Since its launch in the year 2000, KBC has inspired thousands with Amitabh's catchy phrases like "Lock kiya jaye?" which has been used in the media a countless number of times, an example being in the 2001 film Nayak: The Real Hero starring Anil Kapoor and Rani Mukerji. With the new series that is hosted by Shahrukh Khan, wordage such as "Lock kiya jaye?" have been changed to "Freeze it!". Additional expressions have been introduced in KBC3 like "Kuch sawaal aapki zindagi badal sakte hain!" which is the official motto of the third season and "Kachcha Kachcha? Pakka Pakka?" that figuratively means "Are you sure or are you not sure?". "Tez Teekha Tabadtor" as well as "Koi Sawaal Chota Nahi Hota" in the current season have become immensely popular.
The show plays a major role in the movie Slumdog Millionaire, with Anil Kapoor playing Prem Kumar, the game show host, though Shah Rukh Khan was asked to play). The movie is an adaptation of the Vikas Swarup novel Q & A (although the novel depicted a fictional quiz show called Who Will Win a Billion?), and is also loosely connected to a real-life cheating incident on the UK version of the show.
