KBC premiered on 3 July 2000 and was hosted by Amitabh Bachchan, his first appearance on Indian television. KBC initially offered contestants the chance to win 1 Crore (ten million) Indian rupees. The declining ratings of KBC paved way for reformatting the series immediately as Junior KBC with kids as contestants which started airing from 6 May 2001. The season ended on 31 December 2001. The show was well received in its premiere season.
On 5 August 2005, the show was restarted after a four-year hiatus, and renamed Kaun Banega Crorepati Dwitiya or KBC 2. During this season, the top prize amount was doubled to 2 Crore (twenty million) Rupees. It was abruptly ended by STAR Plus after Amitabh Bachchan fell ill in 2006 after he shot his last episode on 13 January 2006.
Star Television recruited Shah Rukh Khan to host the third season of the show when Bachchan declined. The grand prize remained 2 Crore (twenty million) Rupees. The third season of the show began airing on 22 January 2007 with the first contestant as Prasenjit Sarkar who was the last contestant dropped from season two midway owing to Bachchan's health. The show started well but the show's ratings dropped significantly due to the change of the host. The season ended on 19 April 2007 with a special finale.
During this season, Much like other countries' version of the game, the clock stops whenever a lifeline is used and if the time limit expired, the contestant was forced to walk away with their current winnings. This season introduced the "Double Dip" and "Ask the Expert" lifelines (similar to the United States counterpart from the Millionaire clock format).
This season introduced a play at home segment called "Ghar Baithe Jeeto Jackpot". This contest allowed home viewers to send an answer to a question via SMS during the show, with 1 Lakh Rupees going to the randomly picked winner, who can double or triple this amount by correctly answering further questions.
This season, KBC started a new tradition of giving an advantage to socially excluded people, known as "Dusra Mauka". Sonali Mukherjee, a victim of acid throwing, appeared along Lara Dutta in the first such special. On 13 January 2013, another special aired in which Manoj Kumar, a Mahadalit was accompanied by Indian actor Manoj Bajpayee. The winner of season 6 was Sunmeet Kaur.
India's longest-running knowledge-based show is back with Season 15. Amitabh Bachchan, the legend himself, hosts 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', where India's sharpest minds strive to claim the INR 7 crore fortune by cracking questions and showcasing their brilliance. Tune in, tackle questions with the KBC Play Along – and you too can stand a chance to win the dazzling jackpot!
