Till today, I remember how i used to wait for every episode of KBC in its first season. Not only me, many Indians were in the same state as I was. People would love to imagine, being on the hot seat with a legend like Amitabh Bachchan asking you General knowledge questions, for which you will get money if you answer them correct. What an experience it will be.
Oh sorry sorry ... If you don't know what KBC is ... It stands for "Kaun Banega Crorepati"(who will be the millionaire). The name itself reveals that it is based on UK game show Who wants to be a Millionaire?. [click the links to know more about them]
The show was a huge hit ... For reasons like
The registrations started on 28th May. There will be a question everyday and interested people should send the answer through SMS in a day's time. The question will be aired at 9.00 pm. And it is available on the internet (on their website) at 11.00 pm. People can answer that question till the next question is aired i.e. next day night at 9:00 pm. 10 days 10 questions. If your answer is right and selected in the random shortlist, you will be contacted in 5 days from the day of close of registrations for that question.
I do have a TV, provided by my landlord. But it is a TV only from the looks, not function-wise. It is as old as hills. Obviously, I resorted to the world of web. Every night i used to visit their website and SMS the answer for that day's question. In case I miss, I definitely answer the question the next day morning. The questions are not so tough. Actually you will have plenty of time if you have any doubts regarding the answers. Moreover you have people and internet (in the worst-case) to refer. I answered 9 questions straight. There was only 1 or at most 2 questions for which I had to refer. Easy ones.
Finally I got a call from them on 6th June. Before this, I read the whole process in their website's FAQs. They indicated that there will be an audition after random shortlisting. When I got the call, the audition was the thing that came to my mind.
It was a man who called me. He said you are shortlisted. I was overwhelmed with happiness. Then he started asking some obvious details like name, address, age, etc. He wanted an address which can verified by any govenment ID like Passport, Driving license, Ration card, etc. All my IDs have the address from Ongole, Andhra Pradesh (from where I am). Well I wanted to give the audition at Delhi (NCR) as Gurgaon (NCR) was my work location at that time. I just wanted to avoid the discomfort of traveling all the way to the south just to give the audition. I insisted him to keep the audition location within NCR. He said some thing like this "Well, Don't get your hopes high. After getting all the details, you will be directed to an IVR system. You will be asked three questions. You have to answer those questions to get to the Audition."
Huh, Three questions between me and the audition. Expected them to be as easy as those daily registration questions. After I gave all the details to him, he routed my call to an IVR system. In IVR, it asked me some more questions. It was more like a survey. Age group, employed or not, public employee or private employee, urban or rural, etc. I don't remember the questions exactly. I think the KBC's team just want to see what kind of people are showing the interest. Finally, it came to the 3 questions.
1. Who is the actress in the song "Chaamak challo" in the "Ra.One" movie?
Thought process: Are you kidding me? This question is an insult to my movie knowledge. Thanks to Shah Rukh's aggressive promotion of his movie, everyone from every nook and corner of the country knows the answer. 4 multiple choices were given to select from, which also includes "Kareena Kapoor". So my answer was "Kareena Kapoor".
2. Which person from the following positions gives a speech at "Red Fort" on an Independence Day?
Options: CM, Governor, President, PM
Thought Process: Not a tough question at all. That doesn't mean that I know the definite answer. Well I was confused between President and PM. Then I remembered a scene from Telugu film, Dookudu where NTR gives a speech from Red Fort as PM. I don't want to rely on some Indian movie director especially when they don't care much about the facts and Physics. So I asked my colleague Sudheer Panwar for the answer. This guy has a good general knowledge. I can trust him on this one. He said it is PM. When I came back to press the answer, the IVR system already moved on to the third question. Looks like there is a limited time frame in which you can answer the questions. "Huh, so much for the certainty". I lost the hope after I missed the 2nd question, that too for a silly reason.
3. How many seats did Samajvadi party won in the 2012 UP elections?
Thought Process: No options. I am supposed to enter the number itself. Now that is a difficult question. I don't even properly remember a friend's phone number. Hell, I don't even remember what comes after 3.14 in the decimal form of the Pi. Didn't even want to ask my colleague for the answer as my assumption was nobody cares about the exact number. They just see if the party won or not. If anybody has deep interest in the elections, they may know the answer, most likely an approx. Had to finish the question. So typed some random value.
At last, they said that they will call back in 3 days if you are selected for the audition. I knew that there is not even a slight chance. It would be an insult to KBC if I get selected for answering one question out of three, that too a ridiculous one. Better luck next time. You see "Experience makes the person better, even the bad ones".
FYI: Answer to the 3rd Question is 224.
Oh sorry sorry ... If you don't know what KBC is ... It stands for "Kaun Banega Crorepati"(who will be the millionaire). The name itself reveals that it is based on UK game show Who wants to be a Millionaire?. [click the links to know more about them]
The show was a huge hit ... For reasons like
- Anyone can win money in this show who has good General Knowledge and luck in his pocket. Especially for people who are from low income families and educated enough, but don't get chances in their life to prove their worthiness, this show is a hope. This show can bring drastic changes in lives of those people who make it out with handsome money.
- With a host like Amitabh, that is just enough for the people to come to the show. There weren't many TV shows at that time in which a movie star hosted it. With this show becoming a huge hit, there were many TV shows that used the same idea and hired movie stars as well. But none of them didn't become as huge as this one. This show took the television broadcasting in India to a new whole level, from the entertainment perspective.
The registrations started on 28th May. There will be a question everyday and interested people should send the answer through SMS in a day's time. The question will be aired at 9.00 pm. And it is available on the internet (on their website) at 11.00 pm. People can answer that question till the next question is aired i.e. next day night at 9:00 pm. 10 days 10 questions. If your answer is right and selected in the random shortlist, you will be contacted in 5 days from the day of close of registrations for that question.
I do have a TV, provided by my landlord. But it is a TV only from the looks, not function-wise. It is as old as hills. Obviously, I resorted to the world of web. Every night i used to visit their website and SMS the answer for that day's question. In case I miss, I definitely answer the question the next day morning. The questions are not so tough. Actually you will have plenty of time if you have any doubts regarding the answers. Moreover you have people and internet (in the worst-case) to refer. I answered 9 questions straight. There was only 1 or at most 2 questions for which I had to refer. Easy ones.
Finally I got a call from them on 6th June. Before this, I read the whole process in their website's FAQs. They indicated that there will be an audition after random shortlisting. When I got the call, the audition was the thing that came to my mind.
It was a man who called me. He said you are shortlisted. I was overwhelmed with happiness. Then he started asking some obvious details like name, address, age, etc. He wanted an address which can verified by any govenment ID like Passport, Driving license, Ration card, etc. All my IDs have the address from Ongole, Andhra Pradesh (from where I am). Well I wanted to give the audition at Delhi (NCR) as Gurgaon (NCR) was my work location at that time. I just wanted to avoid the discomfort of traveling all the way to the south just to give the audition. I insisted him to keep the audition location within NCR. He said some thing like this "Well, Don't get your hopes high. After getting all the details, you will be directed to an IVR system. You will be asked three questions. You have to answer those questions to get to the Audition."
Huh, Three questions between me and the audition. Expected them to be as easy as those daily registration questions. After I gave all the details to him, he routed my call to an IVR system. In IVR, it asked me some more questions. It was more like a survey. Age group, employed or not, public employee or private employee, urban or rural, etc. I don't remember the questions exactly. I think the KBC's team just want to see what kind of people are showing the interest. Finally, it came to the 3 questions.
1. Who is the actress in the song "Chaamak challo" in the "Ra.One" movie?
Thought process: Are you kidding me? This question is an insult to my movie knowledge. Thanks to Shah Rukh's aggressive promotion of his movie, everyone from every nook and corner of the country knows the answer. 4 multiple choices were given to select from, which also includes "Kareena Kapoor". So my answer was "Kareena Kapoor".
2. Which person from the following positions gives a speech at "Red Fort" on an Independence Day?
Options: CM, Governor, President, PM
Thought Process: Not a tough question at all. That doesn't mean that I know the definite answer. Well I was confused between President and PM. Then I remembered a scene from Telugu film, Dookudu where NTR gives a speech from Red Fort as PM. I don't want to rely on some Indian movie director especially when they don't care much about the facts and Physics. So I asked my colleague Sudheer Panwar for the answer. This guy has a good general knowledge. I can trust him on this one. He said it is PM. When I came back to press the answer, the IVR system already moved on to the third question. Looks like there is a limited time frame in which you can answer the questions. "Huh, so much for the certainty". I lost the hope after I missed the 2nd question, that too for a silly reason.
3. How many seats did Samajvadi party won in the 2012 UP elections?
Thought Process: No options. I am supposed to enter the number itself. Now that is a difficult question. I don't even properly remember a friend's phone number. Hell, I don't even remember what comes after 3.14 in the decimal form of the Pi. Didn't even want to ask my colleague for the answer as my assumption was nobody cares about the exact number. They just see if the party won or not. If anybody has deep interest in the elections, they may know the answer, most likely an approx. Had to finish the question. So typed some random value.
At last, they said that they will call back in 3 days if you are selected for the audition. I knew that there is not even a slight chance. It would be an insult to KBC if I get selected for answering one question out of three, that too a ridiculous one. Better luck next time. You see "Experience makes the person better, even the bad ones".
FYI: Answer to the 3rd Question is 224.
Nice Insight about KBC.
ReplyDeleteTruly i felt at some point of time, like reading a gripping novel.
Umesh, you should try writing some suspense stories kind of blog(it is not because iam interested :) )
I felt bad about the last question without any options.
They may be willing to screen a lot of people.
Anyhow best of luck next time.
Thanks ... I'll try to write some thrillers, but that would be a new area. :)
DeleteIt is a nice read.
ReplyDeleteAt some point during the blog we lost the connect with the real world as we are engrossed in it. Traits of a Good Novelist :D
And, I would suggest you to not write Movie reviews....better take up something real. :)
Being novelist requires imagination and creativity. I am not much of a creative being.
DeleteThis post is just my experience in real life. Maybe I am good at sharing such experiences :D
Nice one.
ReplyDeleteA good read.
Carried the suspense well.
My advice: Do not waste your skills on movies, Try writing about something real :D
I am sure you would make a much better write with such topics.
Movies fascinate me.
DeleteI write a post on a movie, only when
1. the movie has an impact(good/bad) on me
AND
2. i am not lazy enough to write a Blog :)
It won't be a waste to write such posts. It gives diversity to my blog and keeps the monotony at bay.
I was asked the same 3rd Question and My time ran out, before answering the question. I tried again in the 2nd phase of registration, and again got the call, and this time, i reached till the audition level. now, fingers crossed for further :)
ReplyDeleteIts good you shared.your experience . . It helps people knw the insight of it
ReplyDeletethanks for your time and the comment :)
Delete