KBC goes on air from January 22.

Professional to the 'crore': Shah Rukh Khan

According to our well-informed source, Khan is so diligent about his drill that he has postponed his home production Om Shanti Om (co-starring Deepika Padukone), to be directed by Farah Khan.

Star India's COO Sameer Nair tells us, "SRK is a thorough professional and I think he has adjusted a few dates of his shootings, too. This is really going to help in enhancing the output. Practice makes perfect, doesn't it?"

Celeb hotseat

Khan insisted that the mock set be set up in his residence premises. Nair says, "He was in Australia when we asked him if he would prefer a mock set at a studio near his house. But he said it would be better if we could arrange it at his house itself. All we needed was a 25x25 room. We have given him the chairs, the computerji, the graphic system, the sound system and even mock participants are sent so that he plays with them. Everything is there except the lights. It's a bit cramped when compared to the actual set-up, but it's good."

Nair adds that Synergy (the producers of KBC) unit guys are all there and the rehearsals are scheduled almost on daily basis. "Often, Khan's close friends from the industry and other guests at his house sit on the hot seat and play the game with him. Day before yesterday, choreographer Ganesh Hegde was in the hot seat!" he adds.

Hegde says, "Yes, I was there day before yesterday. I am working on a promotional track for the show. I couldn't resist the temptation of testing my general knowledge. I won Rs 1,60,000 and none of my four lifelines were used. Then the time limit for the episode got over and even Shah Rukh had to leave for a party. I am definitely going to go back and finishing my game. It's great fun to play with SRK as the quizmaster. Wahan jo bhi Shah Rukh ko milne aata hai, he feels like playing the game."

Not for Big B

Synergy's Siddharth Basu informs that Khan's buddies Farah Khan and Karan Johar have been on the hotseat too. "He is shooting for Chak De these days, but still makes it a point not to miss the drill. I remain present as much as I can. The other day, he mentioned that Farhan Akhtar was also keen to drop by. I don't know if by now he has already done that. But I must say one thing, SRK is very much on top of the game now."

Did Mr Bachchan get such special facilities when he was doing the show? "Such a facility was not given to Mr Bachchan in his first tenure, but he did rehearse in his second tenure at J W Marriott. We were not ready with such things when the show took off for the first time," Nair explains.

KBC goes on air from January 22.