STAR Plus Revives KBC

MUMBAI,
November 27: STAR Plus in India is reviving its most successful show, Kaun
Banega Crorepati, the local version of the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? format, with
Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan as its new host.

The new
season of KBC is slated to begin filming
next month with a planned launch in January, Sameer Nair, the CEO of Star
Entertainment India, told the local press. The series went on hiatus at the
beginning of this year after its previous host, Bollywood legend Amitabh
Bachchan, fell ill. Bachchan has since resumed his film work, appearing in a
slew of recent releases. According to Nair, the actor was asked to return to
the show, but he declined. "We are indebted to him for what he brought to
the show but now it's time to move on and who better to hand over the baton to
than Shahrukh Khan. We have been in talks with him for over a month now and he
expressed his willingness take up the project."

Khan,
one of the highest paid actors in the Indian movie industry, is quoted as
saying of his new television role: "It is a huge act to follow, that of
Bachchan… But it also excited me that I am getting an opportunity to reach
out [and] interact with my audience through a medium where I began my career as
an actor years ago."

This is not Khan's first attempt
at filling Bachchan's shoes–he recently reprised Bachchan's role in the
Bollywood classic Don, which hit theaters earlier this year.