KBC 12 crorepati Anupa Das on getting Rs 7 crore question right after quitting the game: ‘I did panic a little’

Kaun Banega Crorepati is on a roll. Within a space of weeks, the TV show has got itself three crorepatis and coincidentally, they are all women. On Wednesday night, Anupa Das from Jagdalpur, Chattisgarh, won Rs 1 crore on the show. A school teacher by profession, who has been stretched financially as she and her family got her mother treated for stage 3 cancer, the 42-year-old impressed show host Amitabh Bachchan with the depth of her knowledge and confidence.

The question that won her Rs 1 crore at KBC was -- ‘Who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra for his bravery on 18 November 1962 at Rezang La in Ladakh?’ She used her last lifeline 50-50 to answer the question. The correct answer to the question was Major Shaitan Singh. Anupa Das said in an interview to Indian Express, “My family and I have had a really hard time as majority of the money was spent in hospitals. Now, all that I have is theirs. Everything that I have earned on the show is going to go towards supporting my family. By God’s grace, we finally have the resources to give my mother the best possible treatment.”

Anupa Das on the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati with Amitabh Bachchan.

However, she quit at the Rs 7 crore question – ‘In One Day International cricket, which team have Riaz Poonawala and Shaukat Dukanwala represented?’ The answer to the question was United Arab Emirates.

While she chose to quit the game as she was not sure of the answer, she got it right when Amitabh asked her to guess one of the options. “The question was based on sports, and since it’s not my strength, I did panic a little. One wrong answer would have taken away a huge sum, which we, as a family, need right now. Thus I decided to let it go. However, post the game, when Amit ji announced that I had chosen the correct answer, I was astounded. Nonetheless, I am very happy and proud of what I achieved on the show,” she said. After she won Rs 1 crore, Amitabh Bachchan contacted Anupa’s mother through a video call.

Talking about her newfound status, she said she is coming to terms with it. “Being on the show has completely changed my life. People’s attitude towards me and every little thing around me has changed, for the better. I am actually at a loss of words to explain this indescribable feeling,” she said.