On 3 July 2025, Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) marks 25 years. That is Season 16 of the quiz present. Host Amitabh Bachchan, who began in 2000 at age 57, is now 82. Sony TV was anticipated to herald a brand new anchor as Bachchan deliberate to scale back his workload and requested the channel to discover a successor. Nonetheless, the broadcaster didn’t finalise a substitute, so he continued this season. A change could also be needed subsequent season.
To take a look at who could be probably the most most popular anchor to take Mr. Bachchan’s place in KBC, the Indian Institute of Human Manufacturers (IIHB) and Rediffusion’s Crimson Lab ran a analysis final week protecting 768 respondents (M=408, F=360) within the Hindi heartland.
Respondents voted for potential replacements as follows:
Shahrukh Khan 63%
Aishwarya Rai 51%
MS Dhoni 37%
Harsha Bhogle 32%
Anil Kapoor 15%
Amongst others who bought excessive single digit proportion of votes had been Aamir Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Shashi Tharoor and Chetan Bhagat. Akshay Kumar had topped an identical survey by IIHB in 2022 however this 12 months he didn’t make the High 10. His spouse Twinkle Khanna was additionally featured within the survey however she too did not garner a lot assist. Apparently, “Amitabh Bachchan ought to proceed until he can” was the response of as a lot as 42% of the respondents surveyed.
Amitabh Bachchan’s most admired trait as KBC host is his ‘empathy’ – he isn’t overbearing or intimidating to these within the ‘sizzling seat’. He’s welcoming to the members, and endearing to the relations or mates accompanying the new seat contestant. He has gravitas, he has stature, he has immense presence – but he comes throughout as humble, approachable and relatable. He’s additionally seen to have an amazing sense of humour with out being deprecating or patronising.
Shahrukh Khan, anchored Season 3 of KBC on Star TV, however was at greatest a lukewarm success because the Large B’s substitute. Shah Rukh Khan introduced his personal fashion to the present again then, however comparisons with Amitabh Bachchan did not assist. SRK’s KBC innings began somewhat properly however the present’s rankings dropped considerably because of the change of the host. Model SRK has seen a severe renaissance over the previous 2-3 years. No marvel he’s seen because the fore-runner by 63% respondents as once more the perfect substitute for Bachchan Senior.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, the Large B’s daughter-in-law surprisingly emerged as a severe front-runner within the analysis. With greater than half the survey respondents backing her as their alternative.
MS Dhoni has been on a excessive publish his retirement with practically 40 manufacturers utilizing him as their model ambassador. His earthy reputation appears to have spilled over to his alternative by 37% respondents as the brand new KBC host.
Not very many individuals know that Indian cricket’s best commentator, Harsha Bhogle, is definitely an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad. Bhogle, even to those that is probably not conscious of his educational credentials, comes throughout as very clever and cerebral. Plus, as a commentator he’s seen to be ever-smiling, amiable and unexcitable. His garnering 32% assist from respondents within the analysis for Bachchan’s successor is subsequently not shocking.
Anil Kapoor regardless of his stature and seniority is positioned at No. 5 within the survey. Aamir Khan and Madhuri Dixit had been positioned subsequent within the rankings.
“The truth that politician Shashi Tharoor and novelist Chetan Bhagat have made the High 10 signifies that the viewing public is glad to look past matinee stars because the KBC anchor – it’s attainable that Mr. Bachchan’s easy-going fashion has democratized the selection of his successor”, says Dr. Sandeep Goyal, chief mentor of IIHB and chairman of Rediffusion.
SRK was the No. 1 alternative of each female and male respondents. There was no discernable distinction between the voting patterns of each sexes, besides within the case of Harsha Bhogle who had a big male skew.
Written with the View : afaqs