KBC completes 25 years. No violence or weeping bahus, just Amitabh Bachchan and his questions

The Print

18 hours ago

Yes, the TV quiz and Amitabh Bachchan have returned to celebrate 25 years of KBC . Along with Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and other 'K' serials, KBC pressed the 'fastest finger first' button in 2000 — and it hasn't stopped since.
Are you exhausted by 'vote chori'? Are you tired of Parliament adjournments? Are you angered by another year of landslides, flooding in cities like Mumbai and Delhi — and amused by TV news reporters standing in knee–deep water, just for special effects? Do you switch off your devices the moment you see 'BJP v/s Cong' on the screen? And do you really care about 'Kaun Banega V-P?'
This year, in keeping with the times, everything on the show is bigger, louder, brighter. The only thing that hasn't changed is that you have to give the correct answers.
Last week, KBC was back, with the boom of India's firepower echoing in our ears after the Independence Day Maha Utsav episode that was largely devoted to the Pahalgam terrorist attack and Operation Sindoor.
In the newly designed Hot Seat was the mighty 'trishul' of three women officers — Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, and Commander Prerna Deosthalee — whose patriotism was so passionately expressed that you felt like standing to attention and singing the national anthem throughout the programme.
Well, sit down and enjoy the show which celebrates its own brand of nationalism — although that's not why you watch it. You watch it (A) because of Big B, (B) you enjoy quizzes, (C) you want to see people smiling, not grim politicians, arrogant news anchors or weeping bahus, (D) you just wanna have fun. Your time starts now…
And oh, we have option (E) — you enjoy FACTS.
'Purane sanskar' with new twists
There's your host who receives a rousing reception each time he runs on to the sets of KBC, with 'B, B, B, B…' ringing in his ears — and ours — amid a deafening applause. Of course, it's a bit of theatrical melodrama, but we are like that only.
Amitabh Bachchan shows his years — nay, he displays his age with aplomb. Go back and watch the first few episodes of KBC in 2000: 'Main hoon Don…' was slim, dark-haired, without spectacles – he didn't wear white sneakers either — and dressed conservatively with a kerchief peeping out of his breast pocket.
Fast forward to 2025, and he is resplendent in bright, richly designed double–breasted jackets, dinner jackets, with greying hair, green goggles (yes, green goggles) and white gym shoes that suggest he's just returned from a workout.
There are other changes too: As Big B tells you in this season's first episode, KBC has its 'purane sanskar' but there are some new ways as well. While the top prize money rose from Rs 1 crore in 2000 — which we thought was a billionaire purse — to Rs 5 crore in 2010 and to Rs 7 crore in 2013, today even that seems meagre, so accustomed have we become to crorepatis in our midst. Basically, Kaun Banega Crorepati has been adjusting its prize money to accommodate inflation.
The newest feature in the show is 'Sanket Suchak' — oh yes, that's another thing: Now AB and KBC communicate in shuddh Hindi, unlike earlier, when English was used as well.
That could be because the south has its own versions of KBC in regional languages and the show now attracts contestants from many more cities across the country.
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Enduring appeal
Why do we still watch KBC?
Apart from the ABCDE options above, it embraces you in its warm, inclusive atmosphere — and imparts knowledge. So, it's not about the money; it's about a human challenge, where your general knowledge is tested. You get to play alongside the contestant which makes it an interactive kind of show.
Contestants belong to different backgrounds, religions, and professions. That's the diversity of the show. There's no talk about Hindu-Muslim, caste, class, region, unlike news channels.
There's no endless puja, tears, love triangles, family feuds, treachery or violence that all TV serials and even most OTT shows revolve around.
The one aspect contestants appear to share on KBC is their pain or distress in their past or present. Someone is sick, someone's wife is ill, someone needs money to repair his home, someone needs to pay for children's education….
Their backstory became a cornerstone of the show. In earlier years, we were taken on a trip to their villages and homes — now, that's been compressed. But the personalised histories of the contestants remain at the heart of the show — one of its unifying factors and a part of KBC's enduring appeal.
Just facts
Facts. This is perhaps the least recognised asset of the show. When fake news, distorted facts, unreliable data, and now AI interventions have pretty much made nonsense of the 'truth' and certainties, KBC's Q&A is about facts and only facts: In which country is Silicon Valley? In the 19th century, there was a war in China, what was it called? Which saltwater lagoon, located along the Coromandel Coast, is shared between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu?
When facts have all but disappeared from political and social discourse, Kaun Banega Crorepati values them — and pays you to get them right.
Now, that's worth more than Rs 7 crore.
The author tweets @shailajabajpai. Views are personal.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)