Kaun Banega Crorepati Facts: Hosts, Winners and Prize Changes

Kaun Banega Crorepati first aired on Star Plus on 3 July 2000 as the Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Amitabh Bachchan has hosted 17 of its 18 seasons, the top prize grew from Rs 1 crore to Rs 7 crore, and Season 18 premiered on Sony Entertainment Television on 10 August 2026.

Over 26 years, KBC has produced crorepatis from small towns, changed channels, swapped hosts once and added a long list of lifelines. Here are the facts that matter, checked against published records and news reports.

Kaun Banega Crorepati quick facts

1. KBC started on Star Plus in July 2000

The first episode went on air on 3 July 2000 on Star Plus. The show was licensed from the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire format, which was created in the UK and later sold to dozens of countries.

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Season 1 ran from 2000 to 2001 and is still the longest season, with 315 episodes. Its debut week averaged a TVR of 8.96, and the season peaked at 27.13 TVR in October 2000, very high numbers for Indian television then.

Why it matters: the show made a Rs 1 crore cash prize a regular part of prime-time Hindi TV.

2. Amitabh Bachchan has hosted 17 of 18 seasons

Amitabh Bachchan hosted Seasons 1 and 2, then returned in 2010 for Season 4 and has hosted every season since, up to the current Season 18. His formal Hindi, the phrase “lock kiya jaaye” and his conversations with contestants became part of the show’s identity.

His long association with the show is one reason he regularly features in lists of the most loved actors in Bollywood.

3. Shah Rukh Khan hosted one season

Season 3 began on 22 January 2007 with Shah Rukh Khan as host, after Bachchan did not take it up. The season ran for 53 episodes. Ratings were lower than in the Bachchan seasons, and Bachchan was back in the chair when the show returned in 2010.

4. The show moved from Star Plus to Sony in 2010

Seasons 1 to 3 aired on Star Plus between 2000 and 2007. When the contract was not renewed, the show moved to Sony Entertainment Television. Season 4 started on Sony on 11 October 2010, and every season since has aired on the same channel, with episodes now also streaming on SonyLIV.

5. The first crorepati won in October 2000

Harshvardhan Navathe became the first contestant to win Rs 1 crore on 19 October 2000, a little over three months after the show began. He was 27 at the time. According to later reports, he went on to study for an MBA in the UK and built a corporate career, working in corporate social responsibility.

Fact to remember: his win came in Season 1, when Rs 1 crore was the top prize.

6. The top prize has changed several times

KBC has raised its jackpot more than once to keep the format fresh. The broad pattern, based on published season records, looks like this:

• Season 1 (2000 to 2001): Rs 1 crore
• Seasons 2 and 3 (2005 to 2007): Rs 2 crore
• Seasons 5 and 6 (2011 to 2013): Rs 5 crore
• Season 7 (2013) onwards: Rs 7 crore as the top prize
• Season 14 (2022): Rs 7.5 crore, to mark 75 years of Indian independence

Season 4 in 2010 had its own prize structure, and records for it are not consistent, so it is left out of the list above.

7. Sushil Kumar was the first Rs 5 crore winner

In Season 5 (2011), Sushil Kumar from Bihar won Rs 5 crore, then the biggest amount in the show’s history. He had been working as a computer instructor earning about Rs 6,000 a month. The episodes featuring his win aired on 1 and 2 November 2011 and were the most watched of that season.

Reports in later years said he lost a large part of the money through poor investments and bad advice. His story is often quoted as a lesson in managing sudden wealth.

8. Sunmeet Kaur Sawhney won Rs 5 crore in Season 6

Sunmeet Kaur Sawhney became the second contestant to win the Rs 5 crore jackpot, in Season 6.

9. Only the Narula brothers have won Rs 7 crore

In Season 8 (2014), brothers Achin and Sarthak Narula from Delhi won Rs 7 crore. Achin was 28 and Sarthak was 23. They were playing to support their mother’s cancer treatment.

As of September 2026, Gulf News reported that they are still the only players to win the full Rs 7 crore jackpot. Many contestants since then have won Rs 1 crore but stopped or failed at the final question.

10. Season 14 had a Rs 7.5 crore question

To mark 75 years of independence, Season 14 in 2022 raised the jackpot to Rs 7.5 crore. Shashwat Goel reached the final question after winning Rs 1 crore. He chose to attempt it, gave a wrong answer and left with Rs 75 lakh, which is how the safety levels work at that stage of the game.

11. A Junior KBC contestant won Rs 1 crore at 14

Junior KBC, with children as contestants, began on 6 May 2001. Ravi Mohan Saini, then 14, won Rs 1 crore on 14 May 2001. Winnings for junior players were recorded as points in a fixed deposit and converted to rupees when they turned 18.

12. Records set in recent seasons

Several firsts have come in the Sony years:

• Himani Bundela became the first visually impaired contestant to win Rs 1 crore, in Season 13 (2021).
• Runa Saha in Season 12 (2020) was the first contestant to reach the hot seat without playing Fastest Finger First.
• Mayank became the youngest crorepati of the main show in Season 15 (2023).

For the full story of one of these journeys, read our piece on Mohita Sharma’s Rs 1 crore win on KBC.

13. Lifelines have changed almost every few seasons

The original lifelines were Audience Poll, 50:50 and Phone a Friend. Flip the Question came in Season 2. Since then, the show has added and removed several options:

• Expert Advice: added in Season 4 and brought back in Season 10
• Power Paplu: Season 7, allowed a player to reuse a lifeline
• Triguni: Season 8, three experts giving opinions
• Jodidaar: introduced in 2017, a partner who sits with the player
• Video a Friend: Season 12, replaced Audience Poll during COVID-19, when studio audiences were not allowed
• Double Dip: brought back in Season 15
• Sanket Suchak: a hint-based lifeline introduced in Season 17

Audience Poll returned in Season 13 once studio audiences came back.

14. Season 18 is on air now

Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 18 premiered on 10 August 2026 on Sony Entertainment Television. It airs Monday to Friday at 9 pm and streams on SonyLIV. The season’s theme is “Sochna Padega”, which points to questions that need more thought.

Season 17 ran from 11 August 2025 to 2 January 2026. Long evenings in front of the TV are easier on the eyes with a good pair of blue-light frames, the kind sold by Indian eyewear brands such as Rawbare.

15. Production has passed through several companies

BIG Synergy produced the show from Season 1 to Season 10. Studio NEXT came in as a co-producer from Season 10 and Tree of Knowledge from Season 11. Published records list S Cube Studios as the current production company.

How KBC has grown over 18 seasons

Across all seasons, the show has crossed 1,500 episodes. Season 16 (2024 to 2025) was the longest of the Sony era with 152 episodes, while Season 14 had 106. The format has stayed simple: rising cash levels, safe points and lifelines, with the host’s conversations with contestants at the centre.

For more on how film stars compare on earnings, see our list of the richest actors in the world for the wider picture.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Wikipedia: Kaun Banega Crorepati, Gulf News, Esquire India, Deccan Chronicle.