KBC has churned out many crorepatis and transformed their lives. But it wasn't easy for them to handle instant fame and richness that brought challenges. Sangeeta Yadav caught up with these millionaires who talk about their ups and downs
Enroute to CSR
Harshvardhan Nawathe, First contestant to win Rs 1 core season 1, 2000
He believes that there are no shortcuts to hard work and perseverance. He aspired to become a Civil Servant but destiny had something else planned for Harshvardhan Nawathe, who with his knowledge power, became the first crorepati at the age of 27 in 2000.
“After completing my graduation in BSc Honours from Jhunjhunwala College, Mumbai, I started preparing for the Civil Services. There was a big question mark on what the future had in store for me. When KBC was launched for the first time, it became an instant hit. One day, I was watching the show with my mother and she realised that I was able to answer all the questions. She told me that I should give it a try,” the 45-year-old recalls, adding that he was an avid quizzer during his school days.
It was his fourth attempt that got him through to not just the first round but clear the fastest finger first too. Never in his wildest dream had he imagine that he would be sitting next to superstar Amitabh Bachchan. “I have grown up watching Mr Bachchan’s movies. You are awed by his personality and humble nature. He knows the effect he has on people so he goes to every contestant and talks to them to make them feel comfortable,” Nawathe tells you.
After winning the jackpot on the show, Nawathe became a star overnight but that brought its own challenges. “Success is glorified and it is daunting to manage fame and the riches that came. Post winning KBC, I had police protection as I couldn’t walk alone on the streets. We didn’t had camera phones those days, so people would come running for autographs. People would start asking you questions to check my knowledge. While having dinner in a restaurant, people would approach me. When I refused they would say ‘kya hai… ek show jeet gaya toh tu khud ko kya bada hero samajhta hai?’ Some people approach me to seek donation for various causes,” Nawathe tells you.
Talking about how he spent Rs70 lakh, the amount he received after entertainment tax deduction, Nawathe tells you that he bought a top-end model of Maruti Esteem, paid fee to pursuing an MBA at Edinburgh University, UK and bought a house.
Getting a job was not easy. The moment interviewer would get to know that Nawathe was the KBC winner, they would treat him differently. “Once they realised who I was, suddenly the person who was interviewing me would feel that he is not the right person to interview and would send me to the CEO who would ask everything about the KBC and how I spent the money. Some told me that why I wanted to work since I was a crorepati. You should buy a beach house and retire for life. But KBC was a stepping stone to create a better life,” Nawathe says.
Circumstances made it difficult for Nawathe to continue his preparation for Civil Services. But he never deviated from his dream to work for people welfare. “I joined IL&FS as project manager and was assigned a Government project to work with the sugar farmers to generate electricity through sugarcane waste. I joined Hyderabad-based NGO called Naandi Foundation to start the largest Urban Education School Programme. We worked with 30,000 children in more than 100 Government schools who didn’t have grade specific competency and were given extra coaching classes within the school premises,” Nawathe says, adding that from past six years, he has been looking after the CSR projects of Mahindra and Mahindra.
Luck favoured Nawathe a second time when he sat on the hot seat in 2005 as a celebrity and won Rs25 lakh for charity. At personal front, Nawathe and his parents would be besieged with marriage proposals.
“I was walking on the streets and suddenly a man comes up to me and asked if I was married? ‘We are from the same caste and I was wondering if I can have your home address so that we can come to meet your parents’, he said to me. My mother was approached by a woman who said they have three daughters and I could choose any one of them. It sounds very funny now but back then, it was frustrating. There was a lot of pressure on me to get married but I wanted to be set in my career before I got married. In 2007, I married Marathi actress Sarika Nelatkar — it was arranged — and have two sons — Saransh (10) and Triyansh (six month old),” Nawathe shares.
His next of the wish list is to start a school for the poor children — quality education for free of cost. “Go ahead with full commitment, have clarity on your goals. There will be challenges but don’t get overwhelmed by it. KBC was a huge opportunity to where I got to explore my potentials. What you do after KBC will depend a lot on your values, upbringing and how you want to live your life,” Nawathe says.
Small town, big dreams
Rahat TaslimFirst woman to win Rs1 crore season 4; 2010
She was one of the brilliant students of her school and passed Class XII with flying colours. To ease the burden of her mother and help her take care of their mentally challenged father and siblings, she preferred to get married at the age of 18 in 1992 but never gave up hope for higher studies. Meet the first woman to become crorepati in Season 4 — Rahat Taslim from Jharkhand — who now has a successful garment business and runs a tailoring center where she teaches other women to become financially independent.
“My life was like any other typical housewife managing children and husband. But I was very passionate about studies. It took me three years to convince my husband to let me do my graduation in BA History (Hons). I was also preparing for Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSE) and an entrance exam to qualify for teaching. After finishing all household work, I would sit down to study between 2:30 pm to 4 pm and make my two children study too,” Taslim recalls.
She was an avid viewer of KBC and decided to give it a chance. “I made it to the first round at first go and qualified for the hot seat as well. Sitting in front of Big B was a nerve-wracking. I couldn’t’ believe that I, coming from a small village, will be able to travel to Mumbai, sit in front of superstar and watched by millions of people on TV,” Taslim says.
She gives credit to her husband who supported her. “When I won the jackpot, I couldn’t comprehend what had happened; I become a celebrity overnight. It was quite a filmy moment. The money that I had earned was spent in building the house and got my daughter married. I started a garment business which is now looked after by my son. I restarted my training centre to train women in tailoring. Money comes and goes but the name and respect that I have earned through KBC will remain forever,” Taslim says.
Quest for knowledge
Anil Kumar SinhaWon Rs1 crore season 5; 2011
His hobby is to gain knowledge. His dream to get into the banking profession made him prepare for the competitive exam. To meet his daily expenses, he would coach others at Banking Services Chronicle in Patna. Meet Anil Kumar Sinha, whose life before and after KBC was an uphill journey. Especially after the sudden death of his father, the only bread-winner in a joint family. But his uncle stood by him in thick and thin.
When KBC was launched, he imagined himself sitting on the hot seat and his dream came true after 11 years of hard work and perseverance.
“I decided to prepare for KBC not for the money but to test my knowledge. All my five brothers supported me; they would read books and make notes for me to read. That made the mammoth preparation easier,” Sinha recounts.
But that didn’t mean that he didn’t clear his banking exam, he did and started working in 2006. Before making it to the hot seat, he tried his luck at other knowledge-based TV shows. “I went to the final round of Kum Ya Zada hosted by Manoj Bajpai on Zee TV but couldn’t hit the jackpot of Rs3 crore. I had the option to quit the show and return home with Rs30 lakh. After this, I also got selected to play Bhojpuri KBC hosted by Shatrughan Sinha and was in final 10 but couldn’t make it to the hot seat,” Sinha tells you.
He finally got selected for KBC season 5 in 2011. “That was my life’s biggest exam. After winning Rs50 lakh a day before, I got Sunday off and this was the golden opportunity for me to study. I had got all my 11 years of notes and locked myself in the hotel room to study. People thought that I had gone mad. When I reached Rs5 crore question, I have the choice to take my last lifeline but I decided to quit and won Rs 1 crore. People thought that it is difficult to have two crorepatis in the same season but I became the second crorepati after Sushil Kumar who was also from Bihar,” Sinha says.
At present, working at Union bank of India, in Delhi, Sinha also wrote a book Kaise Bane Crorepati which he gifted to Big B when he was called on the show for the second time as expert advise (Tribhuni). He is now planning to write another book ABC of KBC.
He invested all the money in buying a property in his mother’ name that can equally get distributed to all the brothers. “KBC’s victory is not just mine, it was everyone’s victory because my brothers used to help me. I said in the show that I would give everything to my mother because whatever I am today is because of her. But my wife and in-laws were not happy. She said that the money was hers as well and I should have taken her consent? I told her that when the person who can get her crores was with her why did she need the money that w can win again. She asked for a divorce and we parted ways,” Sinha tells you, who got married again in 2016 and was blessed with a baby girl.
“After one month of her birth, we got to know that she has a heart has some problem. We shifted to Delhi for her treatment. Doctors said that she needed an operation. There is 5 per cent risk and would cost Rs 3.5 lakh. After the operation, she was in ICU for 40 days. It was heart-wrenching to see my five-month-old baby in that condition. After six months. My wife suffered severe health issues but recovered soon,” Sinha says, who was blessed with a baby boy a few weeks earlier.
Unfortunately, the uncle who stood by him passed away last year due to a heart attack and his younger brother in a railway accident. But he now feels that his life is back on track and tells you that the secret to success is to think positively. “When you think positively, you get positive results. Luck, labour and chance can bring you to KBC, the rest is up to you,” Sinha says.
