Kaun Banega Crorepati, the game show hosted by Amitabh Bachchan on Sony Entertainment Television, has got a taste of woman power. Sunmeet Kaur Sawhney, a 37-year-old housewife with roots in Chandigarh, has become the first woman to win Rs 5 crore — the jackpot — in the show.
A mother of two daughters, Sawhney completed her higher secondary education and teaches children at a gurudwara in Mumbai. The episode featuring her will be aired on January 11.
The question that got her the jackpot was: “Name the first lady who climbed the second highest mountain range K2?” Sawhney’s answer was prompt: Wanda Rutkiewicz, a Pole, who scaled the peak in 1986.
“Bachchan sir has been very lucky for me. I want to set an example to all housewives that they can also win,” Sawhney said.
She wants to buy a house in Mumbai and use the remaining money for the education of her two daughters. After taxes, she will take home Rs 3.5 crore.
She is the second winner of the highest prize sum. Last season, Sushil Kumar from Bihar had won the jackpot in the show.
KBC, which has many firsts to it, was also the first show that marked the crossover of a big Bollywood star to television. Later, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and, more recently, Aamir Khan, took to the small screen.
A game show based on a UK format, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, KBC was launched in India on Star Plus in 2000. Since 2010, Sony Entertainment has been airing Kaun Banega Crorepati.
