KBC 3(with srk) : Concept and Articles - Page 3

Interview with Samir Nair

'Mr Bachchan wasn't interested'

The switchover from the Big B to SRK has been entirely amicable, says Sameer Nair

I Piyush Roy

Sameer Nair, CEO, Star Entertainment India, answers the crore-rupee question on the switch-over from Amitabh Bachchan to Shah Rukh Khan as the quiz wizard of Kaun Banega Crorepati.

What prompted the replacement?

Mr Bachchan wasn't interested in continuing with the show and had expressed his disinterest as far back as July. That's when we started looking for an alternate host. Shah Rukh Khan was finalised over the last month. We respect Mr Bachchan's decision and are grateful he did 360-plus episodes.

What happens to Mr Bachchan's pending 24 episodes from KBC Dwitiya?

Mr Bachchan's contract has been concluded, the issue of shooting for the balance 24 episodes for KBC Dwitiya has been amicably resolved. We will start the shoot of Shah Rukh's episodes, with the finalist contestants short-listed for Mr Bachchan's remaining 24.

Any changes in KBC's third season?

(Laughs) It won't be called KBC Tritiya. But the sets and format of the show will remain the same; the prize money will remain Rs 2 crore. The new season will be called Kaun Banega Crorepati and will start afresh with Khan, who has been signed for 60 episodes per year, with option of renewal for the third. It will be on air from mid-January, Monday to Thursday, 9 pm.

Were there any other possibilities for the KBC host act?

There was no list of potential replacements to Mr Bachchan. Shah Rukh's was a list of one. He will bring in his unique style, charm and wit to the show. He's simply rocking. Will SRK net Rs 100 crore more than Mr Bachchan?

All I can say is, "Wow!" to the figure you have quoted. [email protected] NUMBER CRUNCHER Rs2crore The prize money for KBC's third season remains Rs 2 crore

Source: Hindustantimes

Don banega crorepati

SONALI KRISHNA

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2006 03:47:32 AM>

MUMBAI: You will pay nothing to watch Shah Rukh perform in the third avatar of Kaun Banega Crorepati. But King Khan will get a whopping Rs 40-50 lakh per episode for charming his way through the hour-long programme, which looks set to become as crazily popular as the Amitabh Bachchan shows last year and in 2000.

In the reel world, the debate about who is bigger - the dominant Big B or Shah Rukh, the super charmer - can go on. But if the money that is being paid to Shah Rukh is any indication, the star of numerous hits such as Baazigar and Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna has already won hands down. Amitabh was paid Rs 20-30 lakh per episode till 2005, while Shah Rukh will be paid double the amount, making Rs 40-50 crore for the entire 100 episodes.

With Star planning to charge anything up to Rs 13 crore per sponsor, KBC 3 is set to become the biggest and the most expensive game show in town. Star India has also closed the deal with Celedor, the format owners of KBC's original Who Wants To Be A Millionaire for close to $4,000 per episode for the next five years.

The renewal of the format rights for KBC was clinched in September 2006. India has been the only market where the rights of the show have been bagged by the same broadcaster. Interestingly, India is the only market which has roped in superstars to host the format. Sameer Nair, CEO, Star Entertainment India calls it "Sone pe Suhaga".

Star is looking to make Rs 130 crore from the 10 sponsors if the deals close at the asking price. Spot sales, which will be apart from what the sponsors are entitled to, would rake in another Rs 30 crore.

The highlight of the pitch to advertisers and media professionals seems to clearly be Shah Rukh Khan and the fact that the show has managed the highest ratings Indian television has seen till date in both its previous showings.

If the original series of Kaun Banega Crorepati in 2000 changed the face of Star India, and KBC 2 maintained and took the show to another level, KBC 3 as a business proposition may not only generate cash flows for the company, but also maintain its status value and draw audiences who may have migrated to other channels. At least, that is the expectation of Mr Nair and his ad sales team.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...how/610412.cms

Did the Cong lobby for Big B's KBC exit?

By: Vitusha Oberoi
November 28, 2006

New Delhi: A day after the replacement of Amitabh Bachchan as the anchor of Kaun Banega Crorepati by Shah Rukh Khan, political circles here were abuzz with speculation that Big B's ouster from the mega show had been scripted by the ruling Congress party.

While Congress leaders fuelled the reports, indicating that 10, Janpath had taken a keen interest in ensuring Shah Rukh Khan's selection through Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, the Samajwadi Party cried foul over Bachchan's loss.

SP leaders claimed that Amitabh's ouster from KBC was yet another fallout of the "withchunt" that he had been subjected to for supporting their party.

"Amitabh staged a comeback only through KBC. It was a very important show for him. For the last one month, we have been aware that top bosses of the BCCI had been working to get him out of the fresh contract with Star," a top SP leader here said.

The leader said Khan's proximity to 10, Janpath, specially Priyanka Gandhi, has worked in his favour.

"On the one hand, they cut Amitabh down to size. They pleased Priyanka Gandhi by getting the contract for Khan," the leader said.

The Gandhis share a special bond with Khan and are often together on private occasions. Star TV will pay Khan more than twice the amount it paid to Amitabh for a two-year contract as KBC's anchor.

Reports say Khan will get a whopping Rs 280 crore for the two seasons of the show.

http://www.mid-day.com/news/nation/2...ber/147358.htm

Bachchan, Shah Rukh 'feud' on popular American comedy show

New York, Jan 11 (IANS) If being ribbed about on late night comedy shows is one of the most telling indicators of popular acceptance of any foreign culture within the US, then Bollywood has just made an important debut.

The Jan 9 episode of the hugely popular The Colbert Report on Comedy Central featured a piece of gossip involving Amitach Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. In the new segment called 'We the Mediator' which jests about celebrity feuds and takes sides, the show's host Stephen Colbert deadpanned the gossip about the alleged feud between Bachchan and Khan over new year celebrations.


Apparently, according to the gossip, Bachchan stayed away from Khan's new year do which was attended by among others Salman Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta. The very idea of a mainstream American comic going through a list of unpronounceable Indian names (by American standards), had inherent humour to it.


Colebrt said, 'The celebrity squabble that everyone in the nation is talking about, and by nation I mean India, is between Amitabh Bachchan (he pronounced it as Bakchan) and Shah Rukh Khan, the king and prince of Bollywood, kind of like the Indian Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, only crank up the handsome and rip off the knob. We all know the details.


Amitabh snubbed Shah Rukh Khan by not showing up at his lavish new year party. All the other major industry players attended, Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukherjee, Salman Khan (all pronounced reasonably accurately), Preity Zinta (pronounced Priyeti).'


Then he took a pause and said apparently addressing Bachchan, 'Let me tell you something, if Priyeti Zinta is there you better f**king show up.' He was greeted with loud cheers at this comment. 'Still this is a tough one to call,' Colbert said with his tongue firmly in his cheek. 'If I can only judge them side by side. Oh wait, they were both in the hit movie Mohabbatein (pronounced mohobatiyan).'


Then a couple of clips of Bachchan and Khan were shown where Bachchan looking patrician throws a showl around himself and Khan is singing a song. 'Normally I would go with the distinguished older gentleman but where is that dancing? Decision? Shah Rukh Khan,' Colbert said and then brought the house down with this punch line, 'Congratulations, you are truly the Dilip Kumar to Amitabh's Raj Kapoor.'


Of course, the popular cultural context may have been a bit skewed but the very fact that The Colbert Report, which is known to skewer popular American trends, should spend over two and a half minutes on a piece of Bollywood gossip is indicative of the inroads Hindi cinema is making within the US. Of course, it may also have been prompted by the realization that a lot of Indian Americans watch the show every night.

SRK gets Rs 280 crore for KBC



Kaun Banega Crorepati is coming back back early next year with Bollywood's biggest superstar Shah Rukh Khan replacing Hindi cinema icon Amitabh Bachchan as host.

The contract that Star has signed with Shah Rukh is for two seasons with an option to extend it further into a third season. Each season is for 52 episodes, which means that Shah Rukh has committed to shooting 104 episodes of KBC in all.

According to sources SRK will be be paid Rs 280 crore for Kaun Banega Crorepati's next two seasons. Amitabh Bachchan, the previous host, reportedly received Rs 140-160 crore for 390 episodes.

Star Entertainment India CEO Sameer Nair was quoted as saying, "Mr Bachchan expressed his disinclination to do the show and we respect his decision. We are indebted to him for what he brought to the show but now it is time to move on and who better to hand over the baton to than Shah Rukh Khan.

"We have been in talks with Shah Rukh Khan for over a month now and he expressed his willingness to do the show. Shooting will begin by December-end and we expect this season to be on air by January-end."

Nair has been quoted in an official release as saying, "We are extremely delighted to announce the Next Gen avatar of KBC and are even more pleased to present Shah Rukh Khan, as its host. We promise to engage and deliver to our audiences a whole new entertainment experience."

Zee was also in the running for a show with Shah Rukh but apparently lost out because Star outbid them.

Said Nair, "Zee was in talks with Shah Rukh for a show last year but nothing had been lined up for this year. Star was the only one in talks with Shah Rukh this year. We had a specific job — someone to host KBC — and we have found him in Shah Rukh."

Shah Rukh Khan added, "I was pleasantly surprised when Star offered me the show. I was a participant in season one of KBC...and little did I know one day I would be hosting it. It is a huge act to follow, that of Mr Bachchan...but it also excites me that I am getting an opportunity to reach out...talk and interact with my audience through a medium where I began my career as an actor years ago. So here's looking forward to coming round a full circle...guess unlock kiya jaaye."

http://www.santabanta.com/cinema.asp?pid=12636

King Khan becomes Crorepati!



For SRK his career-graph has come a full circle. From television to films and now back to television. And though his sudden move to the small screen to anchor the popular game show which helped Big revive his once flagging career has caught many by surprise, insiders say the deal was clinched after some tough negotiation. "Initially when SRK was offered the show he was reluctant to take it over considering the Big's B overwhelming influence over it. He was not sure how audiences were going to react. But after the success of Don, he made up his mind and the deal was finalized," says a source close to the star. And since SRK, we hear, was paid more than what the Big B was offered, we are sure SRK is laughing all the way to the bank!

http://movies.indiatimes.com/quickies/626622.cms

Mr Bachchan said no, it just had to be SRK'

Jyothi Prabhakar
[ 27 Nov, 2006 2119hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK >

This time, instead of Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan will be putting contestants in the hot seat.

Big B's small-screen act was a tough one to follow, for sure. But once it was clear that it had to be followed, there was no search for his successor, there was only one option, Star Entertainment India's CEO, Sameer Nair says.

Why the replacement: The whole of last year, we had been trying to get Amitabh Bachchan back on the second season of the show since he left it abruptly due to bad health. But then, last month, he made it clear that he wouldn't be interested.

It had to be SRK: There was no 'search' for a replacement. It just had to be Shah Rukh Khan. We were keen on him because we wanted someone who could take the task handled so gracefully by AB forward.

The persuasion plan: We've known SRK for 12 years €" I was there when he began his acting career with serials like Fauji and Circus. When we approached him, he was very kicked with the idea, because he knows the power and popularity of the small screen.

What's different? We haven't finalised anything yet. We're waiting for SRK to return, since he's currently abroad. The essential format of the show will remain the same €" the questions, the options, lifelines and the prize money.

AB vs King Khan: The tone, tempo, style and the feel of the show will differ with SRK as the host. Amitabh had a languorous, graceful style of hosting the show. Shah Rukh is known for his staccato dialogue delivery, and brings a restless energy with him.

SRK's look: Who will be designing the outfits? It will be a designer he prefers and a look he'll be comfortable with. It will not be different from the persona of SRK, because unlike in a film or a serial, he will not be essaying the character, the character will be him.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India Revives 'Millionaire' Takeoff

The Associated Press
Sunday, November 26, 2006; 2:57 PM

NEW DELHI -- Star Entertainment India television channel is reviving the most popular show in Indian history with top Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan as its new host, a news report said Sunday.

"Kaun Banega Crorepati" _ based on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" _ was scrapped in January following its famous host Amitabh Bachchan's illness. The program drew millions of viewers.

Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan looks on during an event in Bangalore, India, in this Sept. 17, 2006 file photo. Star Entertainment India television channel is reviving the most popular show in Indian history with top Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan as its new host, a news report said Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File) (Aijaz Rahi - AP)

The channel will start shooting the program next month and expects it to go on air by the end of January, the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Samir Nair, chief executive officer of Star Entertainment India, as saying.

Khan is one of the biggest Bollywood heartthrobs of the past decade and one of the highest paid actors in the Indian movie industry. Khan said he was pleasantly surprised when the STAR network offered him the show.

"It is a huge act to follow, that of Bachchan ... But it also excites me that I am getting an opportunity to reach out (and) talk and interact with my audience through a medium where I began my career as an actor years ago," he said in a statement.

Bachchan had spent nearly three weeks in a hospital in Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital, in December after having surgery for an intestinal ailment. He resumed work in Bollywood movies but didn't resume the television program.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...112600391.html

People: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Shahrukh Khan, Courtney Love

The Associated Press
Published: November 28, 2006

India's most popular television show, "Kaun Banega Crorepati," will return next year with the well-known Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan as its new host, an Indian news agency has reported. The program, based on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," drew millions of viewers and was the most highly watched program in television history in India when it was canceled in January after its host, Amitabh Bachchan, became ill. The channel will begin shooting the program next month and expects to go on air by the end of January, the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Samir Nair, chief executive officer of the television channel Star Entertainment India, as saying. Khan is one of the most successful Bollywood stars of the past decade. Bachchan underwent surgery for an intestinal ailment in December, and has since returned to acting in films. (AP)

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/28/features/peepwed1.php

SRK mades his crores from Australia!



He's made headlines and raised many eyebrows with his Crorepati deal recently, but did you know that the deal was actually made from Australia where he's currently shooting for Yash Chopra's Chak De? "SRK wanted the deal to be made official when he was away because that way he would be able to escape media scrutiny and also some awkward questions since the game show was associated with Bachchan earlier," says a source close the star. And things went smoothly just as he wanted - he not only signed the deal but got away without a barrage of interviews!

http://movies.indiatimes.com/quickies/656046.cms