Sushil Kumar, 27, reacts as he wins the Rs5 crore prize during the fifth season of Kaun Banega Crorepati. (Photo: AFP)
High on emotion, excitement and drama, popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati 5 has become the highest rated non-fiction programme on Indian television, registering 7.2 TVR and 8 TVR for two episodes when 'aam admi' Sushil Kumar won the
Rs. 5 crore jackpot.
Sushil Kumar, a lower
middle-class computer operator from Bihar, won the top prize and it was telecast in two parts - November 1 and November 2. Both episodes bagged the maximum eyeballs, breaking the television rating (TVR) records.
According to an official statement, KBC 5, which went on air August 15, reached out to 25 million people on November 1 and 27 million people Nov 2.
"We are ecstatic and humbled with the stupendous ratings on 'KBC'. The success of Sushil Kumar is an emphatic endorsement of the fact that the show is not just a game show, but a melting pot of knowledge and aspirations of the 'aam aadmi' (common man)," said Sneha Rajani, senior EVP and business head, Sony Entertainment Television, in a statement.
"The numbers show that KBC this season has broken all barriers of demography and geography and transformed lives of people all across our great country.
"Leading the way in KBC, we have our very own legend Amitabh Bachchan, who has changed the face of television, and our lives, in many ways than one. He has proved beyond doubt that he is the greatest superstar not just of the big screen but of the small screen too. I thank the entire team for gives us this pathbreaking season of KBC," she added.
The show's philosophy 'Koi insaan chhota nahi hota' has become true as the contestants from the heartland of the country came, played and took home big prizes.
After Sushil Kumar, another success story was written by Anil Kumar Sinha from Patna, who won Rs.1 crore.
Before these two, Amrita Singh from Gwalior won Rs. 50 lakh and the show brought a ray of light in the life of Aparna Malikar, a 27-year-old widow from Vara-Kawatha in Yavatmal district, when she sat on the hot seat and won Rs. 640,000 and an additional Rs. 50,000 from Bachchan himself.