Kaun Banega Crorepati: When Amitabh Bachchan had to apologise after fans threatened to 'boycott' show

A 2019 controversy concerning Kaun Banega Crorepati blew up to such a degree that even Amitabh Bachchan had to publicly apologise for it.

A controversy around a question in Kaun Banega Crorepati prompted the team, and host Amitabh Bachchan, to issue an apology in 2019. The popular game show returned for its 13th season this weekend.

Amitabh Bachchan in a still from Kaun Banega Crorepati.

A certain section of the audience took offence to a question that included Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as one of the options. After 'Boycott Kaun Banega Crorepati' began trending on social media, Sony TV, Amitabh, and Siddhartha Basu all put out tweets apologising for the oversight.

The controversy began when some viewers felt that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was not given due respect in a question posed by Amitabh on the show. Among the four options, Chhatrapati Shivaji was mentioned only as 'Shivaji', while other options were Maharana Pratap, Rana Sanga and Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Apologising for the perceived gaffe, Sony had tweeted, "There was an inaccurate reference to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during Wednesday’s KBC episode, due to inadvertence. We deeply regret the same and being mindful of the sentiments of our viewers have carried a scroll expressing regret during our episode yesterday. #KBC11."

Siddhartha Basu, one of the show's creative producers, also tweeted, "No insult or disrespect whatsoever was intended to the memory of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in a question on KBC 11. This season there have been a number of questions which have all used his name with the full title. Apologies for the inadvertent omission of title in the choice.” Amitabh quote tweeted him and wrote, “No disrespect meant at all .. apologies if it has hurt sentiments.” He also added a folded hands emoji.

Kaun Banega Crorepati premiered in 2000 and ushered in a new era of popularity in Amitabh Bachchan's career. Now in its 13th season, the show features contestants from all walks of life as they attempt to answer general knowledge questions in a bid to win ₹7 crore prize money.