Sushil Kumar, who belongs to a small town in Bihar, has won Rs. 5 crore on Kaun Banega Crorepati 5 (Sony Entertainment). He’s the first contestant to have won an amount this big, ever since the show upped its prize money from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 5 crore two seasons ago.

“It feels like a dream for someone who hasn’t seen anything beyond a couple of thousand rupees as his salary,” beams Sushil, who now plans to use this money to study for the civil services examinations in Delhi and get a better-paying government job. “Maybe I’ll believe this when I actually watch the episode with my family on TV.”

Sushil works for a government agency where he computes records. His salary depends on how many data files get uploaded on the website. Since the process is slow, he gets his measly compensation of Rs. 6,000 once every six months.

His financial condition, he admits, became worse with every marriage in his family as the responsibilities and expenses increased. “Today, we don’t have a house of our own. We used to have one, but it was in a bad state and we couldn’t afford another roof. A rented house is a pain in Bihar,” he says, adding that now, he’d like to build a dream home for himself, one that would be sufficient for his parents, two elder and two younger brothers, his wife and the family’s kids.

“I had calculated that all this could be sorted out in Rs. 25 lakh. I aimed to win only that much.” Sushil will use this money to clear his parents’ and brothers’ debts too.

“Since we didn’t have the resources when I was a child, I couldn’t study. After a point, I took up a menial job which looks useless,” he says. “With so much running on my mind, my blood froze with every question after Rs. 12.5 lakh. On the last question I blanked out and used double dip, which is considered the most lethal lifeline. Now, I’ll quit my job, study and help other kids’ education.”