Amitabh Bachchan kick-starts 'Kaun Banega Crorepati 5'

The Shahenshah of silver screen, Amitabh Bachchan, is also the undisputed Shahenshah of the small screen. The first episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 5 was aired on Monday, on Independence Day, and it was a perfect blend of emotions and entertainment.

The show began with a performance of the song Lakshya by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy; Amitabh Bachchan, too, exercised his vocal chords and sang a line of Vande Mataram. Just after the performances, Amitabh Bachchan told the viewers how tough it was for him to anchor the show, since he had just lost his friend Shammi Kapoor, who passed away on Sunday.

After the introduction of the contestants, Sonakshi Sinha wished all of them good luck through an audio-video clip!

The first contestant to sit on the hot-seat of KBC 5 was Virender Pal Singh. Humorously, his wish after winning the sum of Rs. 5 crore was to get massaged by beautiful ladies in Malaysia! When Virender got stuck on a question and used the lifeline Expert Opinion, Boman Irani (who was the expert guest on the show) pulled his leg by saying that he (Virender) looked quite nervous during the initial questions, and it seems like his concentration is diverted as a consequence of the fantasy of getting massaged by Malay ladies! Virender quit after winning a sum of Rs 3,20,000.

The second contestant on the show, Archana Goswami, shared with Amitabh Bachchan that she was a big fan of Hrithik Roshan and loved his dancing skills! Big B, being the polite man he is, added that Hrithik is not only a great dancer, but a superb actor as well! Though Archana could not win anything, she went home with a Dairy Milk bouquet presented by Amitabh Bachchan as a souvenir!

Well, to be honest, the show suffered from some technical glitches like the snag with the mike sound of Archana, the echoing voice of Amitabh Bachchan when he talked to a jackpot winner on call, and editing imperfections (however, they claimed that the show was being telecast live… Was it so?)

Anyhow, the charm and aura of Amitabh Bachchan covers up for the minor technical flaws. We loved his anchoring and it was great to see him back on our Television sets. Let me put it this way - “Mucche ho toh Nathulaal jaisi ho varna na ho, and anchor ho to Amitabh Bachchan jaisa ho varna na ho.”