In the past, Kaun Banega Crorepati has emerged as a hallmark and representative of middle class aspirations and sensibilities. Its tagline “Koi bhi insaan chhota nahi hota” appropriately marks the class consciousness.
Several Right Wing politicians emphasize upon a Hindu consciousness that has developed in India through the ages. While I accept that there is an overwhelming majority of Hindus in India, a conscious seclusion of the marginalized communities from the larger collective ‘Indian’ consciousness can never be justified.
Coming directly to KBC, I have watched KBC over the past many seasons and have a noticed a pattern in the kind of questions that come up.
Some examples are as follows-
1) Season 8, Episode 1
Q. Which of the following Gods is known as Gauri Nandan?
a) Agni, b)Ganesh, c)Indra, d)Hanuman
2) Season 8, Episode 4
Q. Which queen did Draupadi, the wife of five pandavas, serve in the guise of Sairandhri for one year?
a. Sanjana b. Satyavati c. Satyabhama d. Sudeshna
All of these above questions and several others across various seasons are drawn from Hindu mythology. KBC is supposed to test your general knowledge; being adept at mythological stories is not a sign of your intelligence or awareness.
It is assumed that an “Indian” will obviously know that which God is known as Gauri Nandan, because the Hindu mythology automatically coincides with the Indian set of history. Why is a Parsi supposed to know who was the uncle of Ghatotkach? The common line that everyone is a Hindu by virtue of being an Indian needs to be done away with. Is it too much to ask to have a relatively neutral set of quiz questions that do not involve religion?
And the most ridiculous question according to me-
Q. Which of the following actors has Alia Bhatt not kissed on screen?
And the question was for Rs.80,000. You know there is something wrong with the nation when a soldier dies at the border and his family is given Rs.50,000 compensation and the common person gets Rs.80,000 for observing the intimate scenes of Alia Bhatt.
Need I say more?
