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Kumar Mangalam Birla’s reply to question on his ‘closest’ child draws applause on KBC 17. Watch
Aditya Birla Group chairperson Kumar Mangalam Birla made his TV debut on KBC 17 on Monday.
Indian billionaire industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairperson of the Aditya Birla Group, made his television debut on Amitabh Bachchan’s quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati 17 on December 29. The episode, aired on Sony Entertainment, offered viewers a rare glimpse into the more personal side of the otherwise low-profile business leader, who heads one of India’s largest conglomerates.
During the episode, Birla took a few questions from the audience. One man asked about his three children. “You have three kids - which one are you closest to?” Birla smiled and first asked him, “Do you have kids?” When the man said yes, Birla quipped, “Then how can you ask me this question?” prompting laughter from everyone present. “Main teeno ke bahout kareeb hu. I am very proud of them,” he added.
Watch the video below:
(Also Read: Kumar Mangalam Birla admits he was ‘scared’ to come on Amitabh Bachchan's Kaun Banega Crorepati due to this reason)
Birla’s wife, Neerja Birla, and their daughters, Advaitesha Birla and Ananya Birla, also appeared on the show.
Birla recalls father's demand
In the episode, the industrialist spoke about his early career and the condition his father set before allowing him to join the family business. He said he had initially assumed he would directly join his father’s office after graduation, but was told he would first have to qualify as a Chartered Accountant.
He added that the CA course felt daunting and he even wanted to pursue an MBA instead. However, his father made it clear there would be no role for him in the family business without a CA, and even his grandfather and mother told him he would ultimately have to go through with it.
“Papa ne kaha ki tum CA nahi bante ho toh iss office main tumhare liye koi kaam nahi hai," Birla recalled.
"Toh main dadaji ke pass gaya, aur thoda ro raha tha main ki aap mujhe bachayiye. Dadaji ne kaha ki ismein main tumhari madad nahi kar sakta, tum karlo. Maine mummy se poocha, unhone kaha ki karna toh padega hi tumhe yaa toh ro dhoke karo yaa haste haste karo (Papa said that if I didn’t become a CA, there would be no work for me in this office. So I went to my grandfather and was crying a bit, asking him to save me. Dadaji said that he couldn’t help me in this and that I would have to do it. I asked my mother, and she said that I would have to do it anyway, either do it crying or do it smiling)," he added.
Birla is the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, a diversified multinational group with interests spanning cement, metals and mining, telecommunications, financial services, textiles, retail, real estate and jewellery. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his net worth currently stands at $22.9 billion.
