Bigger, better and deep-rooted - KBC Season 8!

The much celebrated Hot Seat of the most anticipated game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, has been moved out of the four walls of the iconic KBC sets, for the first time ever, to land in the city of Surat! Amidst thousands of adoring fans, superstar Amitabh Bachchan opened the new season in his inimitable style. This grand extravaganza will launch the new season of KBC on August 17, 2014 at 8:30 pm on Sony Entertainment Television. Produced by Big Synergy Media Ltd, the new season of KBC will then air regularly every Monday to Thursday at 8:30 pm.

The legendary host Bachchan along with a bevy of dancers kept the audience captivated with a never-seen- before performance where he grooved to songs sung especially by him for KBC. Amidst enthralling the audience with this act, he had ladies in the audience swooning when he romanced them with his charm.

Comedy King Kapil Sharma, the host for the evening left the audience in splits with his impeccable comic timing. He also sat on the Hot Seat for the first time and underwent the tension that contestants undergo and had his own hilarious takes on that. Adding to the excitement were the iconic cops Dayanand Shetty (Daya) and Aditya Srivasatava (Abhijeet) from CID, Sony’s landmark and record breaking show who interacted with the audience. Then the valiant warrior and Rajput hero, Maharana Pratap a.k.a Faisal Khan left the audience spellbound with a stellar dance performance. The trio of Neeti Mohan, Meiyang Chang and Anirrudh Dave also added to the entertainment quotient of the evening keeping the audience engaged in a musical banter. The charming Shillong Choir gave a heart- warming performance.

Speaking on this occasion, Nachiket Pantvaidya, Sr. Executive Vice-President & Business Head, SET said, “Kaun Banega Crorepati over the years has developed a legacy of inspiring people to achieve their dreams. We are taking this show to our audience to let them experience the grandeur of this show live and first hand. Seeing Mr. Bachchan performing live will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for thousands of people. We hope that KBC continues to enthral and inspire our viewers with positivity and hope”.

Citing reasons for picking Surat as the first venue choice, he said, “One of the reasons of starting our season in Surat was that capitals get entertainment in a good way but places like Surat, Vadodora and interiors there is huge aspiration and crowd starves or entertainment in these cities also from building long term connect with the residence of this cities.”

There have been significant changes in the lifelines to make the game more interesting. The ‘Expert Advice’ lifeline has been converted to a panel of three wise men are seated amongst the audience called ‘Triguni’. Upon being called, these 3 wise men will give the correct answer along with interesting trivia around the question. “I think the life line Triguni is a form of expert comment so that’s not been removed but been changed a bit. We have these Triguni’s out of which two were ex-contestants of KBC and one is known chess player. Code Red is not been part of the premiere episode it would be introduced in the first episode of the show. Idea behind that is to provide chances to the contestant to be in the game, secondly also increase number of factors in the game as it’s just not a knowledge game, it also about uncertainties,” he added. For the new life line Triguni, names like Manoj Sharma, Sanmit Kaur, first woman who won 5 crores in KBC and World Quizing Champion Vikram Joshi are being associated.

Another interesting lifeline called ‘Code Red’ is when the family of the participants can intimate the contestants on when they feel they should quit, by pressing a buzzer placed in front of them.

Gaurav Seth, Senior VP and Head Marketing, SET India said, “The show, for the first time, goes outside our Mumbai set, thought there were difficulties, but it worked out beautifully. The connect with audience was a good experience for all of us. It was also a way to test the popularity of the channel and the show as a brand by judging by the response. The buzz in the city was palpable. There were contestants all over from Gujarat and not only from one city. The tagline is been reflected through content of the show and it’s all about winning hearts as Bachchan has done that by winning hearts of Gujarat. It’s about putting up content across the platforms as well”.

On the Social and digital media push, Seth said, “Bachchan Sir himself is a social media king, he connects with his fans on regular bases and its biggest time for coming time. We have devised various ways to make use of brand KBC and engage with our audience. First time this year entire country can play along with KBC on digital platform, as we have app where people can sit and answer the question by sitting at home in real time  play along and winning prizes. As part of 100 ground activities people will be part of these events and will take it viral across social and digital mediums.”

Event host Kapil Sharma said, “The essence was to make and take KBC to a different level altogether. First time it has happened live with live audience presence, with whom, I connect really well and enjoy doing so. It was a great pleasure to be a part of KBC 8 along with Mr. Bachchan. My mom and dad both used to watch KBC. Sitting with Mr. Bacchan on hot seat is like winning a crore for me already”!

KBC has always celebrated the unique diversity of India and its people, their individual views and beliefs, and over the years showcasing this diversity has helped the show of being ‘inclusive’ in nature. This inclusivity is what this year’s campaign celebrates. The core message of this season’s campaign strengthens this proposition with the thought ‘Yahan Sirf Paise Nahi, Dil Bhi Jeete Jate Hain’.

Entertainment
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