I'm more casual on the show

I'm more casual on the show

...says Amitabh Bachchan on what's different about him in KBC II

Subhash K Jha

No film was released this week, and some feel KBC is responsible...
That's perhaps because of the weather. It's got nothing to do with KBC. I don't know how good or bad I am on KBC this time. That's for viewers to judge.
Did the schedules of the show go haywire because of the rains?
Oh yes! The crew couldn't make it to Film City. Some of the contestants couldn't make it. That meant everything had to be re-scheduled. Since everything was planned three months ahead, the entire schedule was destroyed.
I had to shoot three episodes instead of two to make up for lost time. The schedules of two of my underproduction films Babul and Family were also ruined. I was shooting till 4 in the morning. Television is so psychologically draining. It requires 110 percent concentration. One slip-up and you're gone.
Audiences are expecting far more out of KBC this time?
Well, the prize money has doubled. There's an additional life-line. There's money for the contestants, whether they make it to the hot seat or not, as opposed to earlier when 9 out of 10 contestants just sat around. Now it's far more participative... both for the contestants and the viewers.
Between the last KBC and this innings, a lot has changed.
Yes, in terms of reach.With the earlier KBC we reached 20 million households. Now there are 61 million households.
Do you feel the heat of the swollen expectations?
No no no! I was committed to do this extra number of episodes for Star, and I'm doing them. I've to do my job and I hope I do it adequately. As far as my presence on KBC is concerned, maybe I was a little more formal with contestants earlier on. Now I'm a little more casual. Yes, the wardrobe is also a little more casual. But that's not my doing. I wear, say and behave how the channel tells me.
Television has failed for all large-screen actors except you.
I just say, 'that's God's grace'. I'm thankful to the people who made KBC successful. It's not me, it's the concept taken from the international model for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire that worked. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. I'm just an anchor.
The show is running successfully in 80 countries. And there are many prominent personalities hosting the show across the world. In some Far Eastern countries the most popular actors are the anchors of the show. So too in South Africa. So it isn't me. I do nothing on KBC that isn't already tabulated by the show's regulations.
Why weren't you seen doing anything else on TV?
I do have certain other commitments on TV. But my contract with Star forbids me from doing any other television until KBC is out of the way. Other TV offers just have to wait.
No fiction on TV I hope?
I don't know! Life is so unpredictable. My well-wishers said 'no TV' when I was first contemplating KBC. You can't say anything definite about the future.
What difference do you feel between KBC then and now?
See, when attempting something new there's always a great deal of apprehension. The first time the medium was completely new to me. Having been there once the level of anxiety is reduced. But the tension and energy remain.
Also, in the past two years I've been seen in cinema and on television extensively. There have been many films, and also ads and public-interest announcements on TV. I don't know whether that's an advantage or disadvantage.
* When attempting something new there's always a great deal of apprehension. The first time the medium was completely new to me. Having been there once, the level of anxiety gets reduced