I use telepathy on KBC: SRK

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, the new superstar host of quiz show "Kaun Banega Crorepati" (KBC), says his prime concern is not so much TV ratings but to keep contestants happy.

Shah Rukh, who faced a lot of scepticism after taking over from Amitabh Bachchan as the host of KBC, also says he knows from the audience reaction that he is doing a good job.

"I want everyone to win from here. Apart from being a superstar here, I feel they should win some money and they should feel proud of their achievements," Shah Rukh told in an interview about the show on STAR Plus.

"They are hungry, as some of them have tried for years to make it here. I would like them to go back with the feeling that having the hunger for knowledge and success has its benefits when you come to KBC.

"I should go out of here thinking - life well spent because I got to meet so may people and I am very emotional about that part. I have been tough all my life, but yes, I am a softie when it comes to KBC."

He refused to comment on the ratings of KBC saying he didn't understand the business aspect of either his films or his television show.

"To be really honest I am not from this business. As close as TV business is to my film business, genuinely, for the past 17 years, I have never looked at the collections of my films. These are things that are not in my control and I don't think I have a right to comment on them because I am not a trade analyst.

"I wouldn't like to talk about television because I have even less knowledge about it. I've been told that the TRPs are awful, I've been told that the TRPs are picking up, I've been told that they are steady now and I've even been told that we are the leading show on television right now."

He said the numbers can get bad again, but he, producer Siddharth Basu and Sameer Nair, who conceptualised KBC, were making sure that the entertainment aspect of the show remained intact.

"We'll see through making sure that we don't slip on the entertainment aspect. I have a great time, which I think is quite apparent in the way I conduct the show."

The superstar also added that he didn't have to look at the figures to understand the performance on his show.

"I can feel it for I have worked long enough in the business of entertainment to know when something works. I can see it on the faces of 500 people who come here, I can see it on the faces of the contestants and I can even see it on the faces of the people who are watching television at home."

But, he added, screaming headlines made it difficult to ignore anything about KBC.

"It's difficult not knowing the numbers because all the news channels are showing it. The whole day and night they are telling you about it. KBC was even in the newspapers and their headlines, which is amazing because if it makes it to the headlines, it means it is an important show."

He admitted that he didn't mind leading his contestants on when they were unsure of the answer.

"I believe in telepathy and I think it really works. There was a guy who I really liked and who was very intelligent. He was doing very well on the show and he came to a question where he thought it was not going to happen. I started thinking and I putting it to his mind that this is the answer. I wanted him to get the right answer."