MUMBAI: Celebrating two decades of unparalleled success and popularity, Kaun Banega Crorepati not only emerged as a game-changer for the Indian television industry but also instilled a larger focus on the power of knowledge being a great leveler. In its twelfth season, the show makes a comeback with a two-fold messaging which conveys not just the bigger and better return of the show amidst a pandemic, but also a motivational nudge for participants and viewers to consider setbacks as a stepping stone for a greater comeback. Produced by StudioNEXT, and hosted by the superstar, Amitabh Bachchan, the game show will premiere on 28 September and will air every Monday to Friday at 9:00 pm only on Sony Entertainment Television.
A thunderous response during the first-ever digital audition for KBC season 12, underlined the raging fire of hope, dreams and aspirations within people from all nooks and corners of the country. As a platform, KBC has gone beyond its capacity as a show year after year, putting the common man at the forefront and celebrating human virtues of self-belief, patience, perseverance, courage, confidence, optimism and intelligence.
The season 12 of KBC is co-powered by Vedantu and Tata Salt. The associate sponsors are IDFC FIRST Bank, LIC, Asian Paints, Ultratech Cement, QuickHeal, Sensodyne and Nissan. Reserve Bank Of India is the special partner on the show.
While the core of the show remains the same, KBC season 12 comes with a few changes relevant to the current times. For starters, for the very first time in 20 years, KBC will not host in-studio audience keeping in line with the government-mandated safety guidelines and protocols in response to Covid2019. The in-studio audience played a huge role as a lifeline – audience poll in helping the contestants on the hotseat move ahead in the game. This year, the audience poll will be replaced by the lifeline video-a-Friend. The other three lifelines remain the same – 50:50, ask the expert, and flip the question. The number of fastest finger first contestants who will compete to be on the hot seat per week has been reduced from the usual ten to eight.
With KBC Play Along on Sony LIV, viewers can enjoy the thrill of the gameshow by participating and matching their power of knowledge with the contestants on the hot seat simultaneously, starting 28 September.
Zindagi mein kabhi himmat mat https://t.co/yilPY4ZWNK bhi ho setback ka jawaab #comeback se do. #KBC12 shuru ho raha hai 28 September se Som -Shukr raat 9 baje sir Sony par. @SrBachchan @SPNStudioNEXT pic.twitter.com/4b6GUqcVI7
— sonytv (@SonyTV) September 20, 2020
Sony Entertainment Television and digital business content head Ashish Golwalkar said, "Reinvention, they say, is the key to success. And thus, we began the preparation of the season 12 of Kaun Banega Crorepati, a show that has been nurtured as a brand over its 20-year history in India. Considering the current times, the interest in participation through digital registrations has been very encouraging this year. And the numbers showcase that people are readily embracing the 'new normal' brought on by the pandemic. This year's theme, 'Jo Bhi Ho Setback Ka Jawab Comeback Se Do', reflects in the real-life stories and experiences that contestants will be seen sharing on the show, thereby serving as inspiring examples for the millions of viewers."
StudioNEXT head Indranil Chakraborty said, "For season 12 of KBC we have consciously looked at re-engineering the set so that the distancing norms are met while the impact of this property is retained. Due to no studio audience, we have changed the lifeline audience poll to a video-a-friend. Having said that, we are certain that Amitabh Bachchan's charisma and the interesting on-screen and off-screen journeys of contestants, will keep the audiences engrossed. The show continues to be iconic in many ways and is sure to raise the bar this season as well."
KBC – season 12 consultant Siddhartha Basu said, "KBC turns 20 in 2020, and with all the challenges of this tough year, looks to come back as strong as ever, reviving the much-loved magic of the khaas khel with the aam aadmi and the adwitiya host. While adapting to the realities of today, the show still packs a punch, reaching out to both the mind and the heart, touching lives in a very real way. Viewers can also look forward to playing along with the contestants, as they watch, with richer pickings than ever before."
