मैगज़्टर गोल्ड के साथ असीमित हो जाओ
10,000 से अधिक पत्रिकाओं, समाचार पत्रों और प्रीमियम कहानियों तक असीमित पहुंच प्राप्त करें सिर्फ
कोशिश गोल्ड - मुक्त
Silver Anniversary of a Marriage Made for TV
The New Indian Express Kochi
|June 22, 2025
AMEER Nair, the programme head of Star TV back in 2000, recalls Amitabh Bachchan being his first and only choice to be the host of the Hindi version of the popular game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
AMEER Nair, the programme head of Star TV back in 2000, recalls Amitabh Bachchan being his first and only choice to be the host of the Hindi version of the popular game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The franchise was being launched in India as Kaun Banega Lakhpati—till Star TV's owner at the time, Rupert Murdoch, decided to add two zeroes to the figure in a matter of "seven seconds", as Nair puts it.
Most thought it was a bad idea for a larger-than-life superstar of the big screen to constrict himself to the idiot box. That it might make him lose his aura. But 25 years later, on the show's last episode of the 16th season telecast on March 11, the 82-year-old exuberantly arrived at the sets to open the proceedings of "Gyaan ka rajat mahotsav" (silver anniversary of knowledge). His appeal is, evidently, far from diminished after all these.
"Amit ji brought gravitas to the show... The deep baritone, magnetic eyes, dramatic pauses and booming laugh—all added to the magical entertainment," sums up Nair. Add to it Bachchan's impeccable enunciation and literary disposition and you have an idol for the aspirational Indian middle class.
यह कहानी The New Indian Express Kochi के June 22, 2025 संस्करण से ली गई है।
हजारों चुनिंदा प्रीमियम कहानियों और 10,000 से अधिक पत्रिकाओं और समाचार पत्रों तक पहुंचने के लिए मैगज़्टर गोल्ड की सदस्यता लें।
क्या आप पहले से ही ग्राहक हैं? साइन इन करें
The New Indian Express Kochi से और कहानियाँ
The New Indian Express Kochi
ED files chargesheet against Vadra in laundering case linked to arms dealer
THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a chargesheet on Thursday against Robert Vadra, businessman and brother-in-law of Rahul Gandhi, in a money laundering case linked to UK-based arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.
1 min
November 21, 2025
The New Indian Express Kochi
Stronger regional security network key in changing global order: Doval
NATIONAL Security Adviser Ajit Doval Thursday underscored the “significance” of strengthening regional partnerships amid a “rapidly changing and challenging global security environment,” as he opened the NSA-level meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) in New Delhi.
1 mins
November 21, 2025
The New Indian Express Kochi
In 1st use of 1950 Act, Assam hunt for 'declared foreigners'
EXPULSION OF IMMIGRANTS
1 mins
November 21, 2025
The New Indian Express Kochi
NO TIMELINE
FOR ASSENT TO BILL BY GOVERNOR, PREZ, OPINES 5-JUDGE SC BENCH UNANIMOUSLY
1 mins
November 21, 2025
The New Indian Express Kochi
SIT arrests ex-TDB chief Padmakumar
PUTTING the CPM in a precarious position ahead of the local body elections, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold theft case on Thursday arrested senior party leader and former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A Padmakumar.
1 min
November 21, 2025
The New Indian Express Kochi
No access to edu or health for 200 mn Indian kids
AROUND 206 million children in the country lack access to one of the six basic services— education, health, housing, nutrition, clean water and sanitation—which impact the quality of life and opportunities, said the UNICEF report released on Thursday.
1 mins
November 21, 2025
The New Indian Express Kochi
Newspaper office in Jammu raided, cops say weapons seized; 4 more in NIA net
THE National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday formally took custody of four accused involved in the November 10 blast outside Red Fort in Delhi, taking the total number of arrests in the case to six.
2 mins
November 21, 2025
The New Indian Express Kochi
India to see over 1 billion 5G subscriptions by 2031
TELECOM equipment maker Ericsson released its Mobility Report on Thursday, predicting that India will have more than 1 billion 5G subscriptions by the end of 2031, reaching 79% of total mobile subscriptions.
2 mins
November 21, 2025
The New Indian Express Kochi
Nitish Kumar Bihar CM for record 10th time, 26 ministers sworn in
JANATA Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar on Thursday took the oath as Bihar chief minister for a record 10th time at Patna's historic Gandhi Maidan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, and several Union ministers and CMs of BJP-ruled states.
1 min
November 21, 2025
The New Indian Express Kochi
LINKING INDIA'S 2-SPEED ECONOMY
THE parallel analysis of some key indicators reveals a sharp and persistent divergence in India’s growth story. The Index of Industrial Production for September 2025, when combined with RBI’s Industrial Outlook Survey for July-September 2025, highlights a troubling conflict. Industrial growth is being vigorously driven by investment and capital goods, but is being held back by uneven household demand, particularly in mass-market segments.
3 mins
November 21, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size