tonight is the night!

Shabaash Mumbai

In his address to the nation (as the channel terms it!) the host promised "gyan and masti, sharafat and sharaarat" in the second season of the quiz show which airs tonight.

He also reminded viewers about the monsoon fury that unleashed Mumbai last week and praised the city's spirit for going about their tasks despite all odds — including enabling the shoot of KBC to meet the deadline.

Star's big night at 9 pm opens with Bachchan rapping yet again to the umeed se dugna track including signing off with a yo! with Patna boy Abhishek Gautam as the first participant (see box alongside).

The coolest one!

In the second season, Bachchan's avatar as anchor is more like a cool dude. As Sameer Nair, COO, Star India puts it, there is a whole new generation who know Amitabh Bachchan as the Amitabh of Bunty aur Babli. This generation may not have seen the Amitabh of Deewar. Keeping this in mind, it is an extremely 'now' image of Amitji."

It's about the money, honey

This is for Star Plus' most expensive show. "Our prize money is Rs 2 crore. You know such a show involves big money; we have spent lots more than last time," says Nair. He feels that there is that inherent urge to participate when the questions and the options are flashed. "You could be doing anything but when the questions is on the screen, you want to guess and assess your answer."

KBC 2: A reality show?

Interestingly, the show has no script this time with Bachchan making it a reality show in his own inimitable style. KBC 2 will run for 85 episodes till February 2006 as per Bachchan's contractual obligations.

To herald the arrival of their eyeball grabber, Star has revamped their entire weekend line-up with soaps before and post KBC 2.Incidentally, rival channel Sony celebrates their icon, Jassi's wedding tonight at the same hour. The celebrations have begun for both!

shaheen@mid-day.com