Amitabh Bachchan Watched Mohanlal's Kandahar

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan watched Malayalam superstar Mohanlal’s upcoming thriller Kandahar on Wednesday (December 15) evening at a special show at the luxury 5 star Leela Kempinski in Mumbai.

Big B is said to have been very impressed with the film in which he plays an important role. Later, he tweeted: "Kandahar is patriotic and emotional."

Major Ravi directed Kandahar is releasing today (December 16) worldwide in nearly 150 screens. It has got a ’U’ certificate from Thiruvananthapuram Regional Censors recently.

Dubbed in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, Kandahar is based on the hijacking of the Air India flight to Kandahar by terrorists, subsequent storming and rescue mission by the Indian military.

Aishwarya Rai At Guzaarish Music Launch

Pratibha Patil Presents The Best Actor Award To Amitabh

President Pratibha Patil presents the Best Actor award to Amitabh Bachchan for Paa at the 57th National Films Awards.

Amitabh Receiving The Best Actor With Family

KBC Is Not Just Another Game Show-Amitabh Bachchan

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan admits working on the small screen is tiring and hectic, but says "Kaun Banega Crorepati" (KBC) is a life-changing experience for him as he meets people from humble backgrounds with heartwarming success stories.

"To me, KBC is not just another game show. It is to me an experience that could become life changing for any human," Amitabh posted on his blog.

"KBC is this glorious platform that gives me opportunity to be in close proximity of those that come from humble beginnings, that have larger than life dreams, that wish to dedicate themselves to causes that yes, improve them individually, but also, that which would improve others of their ilk," he added.

The 68-year-old says he feels very content when such people are able to make money through the mega-quiz show, which gives a chance to contestants to win a maximum prize money of Rs.5 crore.

"Their lives and stories connected with it are of the most tender and emotional content. And being able to give them an opportunity to live out that one moment in their lives which they may relish and perhaps cause them to change their lives permanently, is a job that brings me the utmost joy.

"To see and witness the glimmer of hope in their eyes, the joy of victory and the expectation of a better future, dependent on their own luck and performance, is an experience one does not forget easily," he added.

The fourth season of "KBC" kickstarted on Sony Entertainment Television Oct 11, which also happened to be Amitabh’s birthday.

The format of the show is based on American show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?".

Big B's KBC TRP Rating Record

Bollywood’s Big B, Amitabh Bachchan, is the biggest on the small screen - so indicate the ratings of the debut episode of the fourth season of his mega reality quiz show "Kaun Banega Crorepati" (KBC).

The one-and-half-hour first episode of the season kickstarted on Sony Entertainment Television Monday with an average Television Rating Point (TRP) of five percent, according to data provided by data overnight television viewership tracker Audience Measurement and Analytics (aMap).

It is the highest average rating recorded by the top general entertainment channels (GECs) in the time-band of 9 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. Monday.

KBC even pipped Salman Khan’s big-ticket show "Bigg Boss 4" on Colors, which was telecast 9 p.m.-10 p.m. The latter recorded an average rating of 3.4 percent rating Monday.

The opening episode of "Bigg Boss 4" on Oct 3, clashed with the Commonwealth Games (CWG) opening, and had still managed to grab eyeballs. But it couldn’t sustain the competition from KBC.

Other channels like Star Plus, Zee TV and Imagine TV that telecast fiction shows during the time-band, too failed to match KBC with average ratings of 3.2, 2.9 and 1.1 percent, respectively.

KBC changed the face of Indian television when it was first launched in 2000. Amitabh’s entry on the small screen created waves in the film and TV industry. He even hosted the second season of the show in 2005, and is now back to it - with equal enthusiasm.

The opening episode of this year saw cricket commentator Charu Sharma and Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, apart from a contestant, who were all smiles after facing Big B. The contestant took home Rs.3,20,000.

Kaun Banega Crorepati Kick-Started

The charisma of Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and his rich baritone that made "Kaun Banega Crorepati" such a huge hit were back in the fourth season of the game show that began Monday, with a slight change in format and more prize money.

The show kick-started on Amitabh’s 68th birthday, and he said it felt like returning home.

"It’s an important day for all of us because today the first episode of the new season of KBC was aired. I want to thank the entire team," said Amitabh, dressed in a black, self-printed striped suit and light blue tie, at an event to celebrate his birthday and the opening episode of the show.

"When I started shooting for the new season, I felt that I’ve returned to my home. You are always comfortable and happy in your own house and that’s what I feel," he added.

Speaking immaculate Hindi in his baritone, Amitabh, who made a grand entry on the show, first introduced the first 10 contestants in his signature style and then started the game with the first contestant, who won Rs.3,20,000.

This time, the quiz show based on popular Britian-based reality game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", will run for only nine weeks.

The show’s first edition was aired in 2000 on Star Plus with the prize money of Rs.One crore.

In 2005, the show was renamed as "Kaun Banega Crorepati Dwitiya" (KBC 2) in which the final prize amount was doubled to Rs.2 crore, but the show was abruptly ended as Big B fell ill and had shot only 61 episodes out of 85.

Then the third edition was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan with the same prize money but the show failed to create any magic on the TV screen as its TRPs dipped.

Now with the fourth edition, Big B’s enigmatic presence is back on the small screen with a few changes in the format.

The prize money has shot up to Rs.5 crore and the show is now aired on Sony Entertainment channel.

The number of questions has been reduced from 15 to 12. This time there is a time limit to answer the questions. For the first two questions, the time limit is 30 seconds. From third to seventh question, one will have 45 seconds and after seventh question, there is no time limit.

KBC 4 will also have some innovative options for phoning a friend for help. In "KBC 4", three experts will be there on call and you can talk to them as options for an answer. They will appear on TV live as opposed to a voice.

On the whole, the show looks exciting and has created a lot of hype. The only thing to wait and see is whether it will garner the same TRPs or not, specially with reality show "Bigg Boss 4" running at the same time on Colors.

Amitabh Bachchan At Bharat N Dorris Awards

Amitabh Bachchan At Bharat N Dorris Awards

Amitabh Bachchan At Bharat N Dorris Awards

Amitabh Bachchan At Bharat N Dorris Awards

Amitabh Bachchan At Bharat N Dorris Awards

Sanjay Dutt And John Abraham In KBC 4

Amitabh Bachchan’s coming back as the host of ’Kaun Banega Crorepati’, and he’s bringing a bunch of star guests with him. It’s confirmed now that Sanjay Dutt and John Abraham are among the B’wood players who’ll be on the show. The episodes with Sanju and John have already been shot.

Now the question is will other members of the Bachchan family be on the show too? It would be fun to see Big B quiz Ash and Abhi.

But the bigger star attraction we think would be if former host Shah Rukh Khan were to come back on the show as a guest.

Think Big B would give his okay to that? He’s been saying that the channel decides which special guests appear on the show, but we think all Sr B would have to do is ask to get anyone he wants on the show.