How first KBC winner realised he ‘cracked ₹1 cr question’ after Amitabh Bachchan’s unusual gesture

Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) completed 21 years on television this year and the 13th season of the popular game show premiered on Monday. As contestants hope to win the grand prize of ₹7 crore by answering a series of increasingly difficult questions, here is looking back at the very first winner of the show, Harshvardhan Nawathe, who won ₹1 crore in 2000.

Harshvardhan revealed in an old interview that host Amitabh Bachchan asked his personal make-up artist to touch up Harshvardhan’s make-up before the result of the ₹1 crore question was revealed.

“When I finally answered the ₹one crore question, he took a commercial break that time and said ab hum lete hain chota sa break (now we will take a short break) and we went off air, what practically happens in the shoot is that they take a very small break for 30 seconds or something and they bring you back. When that happened, I had already answered the final question. During the break, he called his make-up man Mr Deepak Sawant and asked him to do my touch up,” Harshvardhan told a leading daily.

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“He started doing the touch up and then I somewhere knew that I have cracked the ₹1 crore question. When Mr Deepak Sawant did my make-up it was a very special feeling because he was Big B’s personal make-up man and he has been around Mr Bachchan for 30-40 years. It was a special gesture from his side,” he added.

Amitabh made his small-screen debut with Kaun Banega Crorepati and has hosted all its seasons except the third, which was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan. KBC 13 airs on Sony TV from Monday to Friday at 9 pm and is also available online on SonyLiv and JioTV.