Kaun Banega Crorepati 4 to be hosted by Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, is to begin on October 11, Big B's birthday.

KBC: the savior of Amitabh Bachchan
Thursday, September 30, 2010, 14:53 [IST]
By: Kalyani Prasad Keshri



Kaun Banega Crorepati 4 (KBC 4), to be hosted by Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, is to begin on October 11, Big B's birthday. The superstar remembers how this reality show changed his life and pulled him out of his financial crunch.

Big B, posted on his blog, “Ten years ago in the year 2000, when the entire world was celebrating the new century, I was celebrating my disastrous fortune. There were no films, no money, no company, a million legal cases against and the tax authorities had put notice of recovery on my home,"

"An offer for television changed all that when I agreed to anchor Kaun Banega Crorepati much against all the advice and resentment from friends, family and advisers. Taken to the United Kingdom at the Elstree Studios where Millionaire was being recorded, I observed the elan and grace of the show and the immense production values that it incorporated,” added the Shahanshah.

Recalling his past, Mr Bachchan says, "If they could give me this in India, I would readily agree. They did, I agreed and KBC took its initial steps. It soon became apparent that it was going to be big and prosperous. I merely sat back and played the game as best it could be played. Before long I was out of the financial crisis and signing on an almost two-year deal with the channel that was carrying it,"

KBC for the first two seasons was aired on STAR Plus while, the forthcoming show will be aired on Sony TV. The show has increased its prize money to Rs 5 crore.

The failure of Amitabh Bachchan Corporation ltd (ABCL) landed Big B in a huge financial crisis. In 1997, he tried to recover the production house by signing the film Mrityudaata which, failed at the box office.

In the year 2000 he was offered to host KBC which helped him recover from financial crunch.