Amitabh Bachchan returns to the small screen

You can call it “old wine in a new channel.”
Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan will return to the small screen once again to host the hugely popular game show “Kaun Banega Crorepati” (KBC) -- this time on Sony Entertainment TV.
The 67-year-old Bachchan replaces another superstar Shah Rukh Khan who had hosted the show last season on Star Plus.
Speaking about his decision to return to the reality show, Bachchan said, “It is a great honour and pleasure to be associated with this show once again. Sony made me an offer which I couldn't refuse, that's why I'm back.” While Bachchan was host to two seasons of the game show earlier, actor Shah Rukh Khan had hosted its third season.
Asked if he was back for the TV game show because the last edition of it failed to generate much enthusiasm compared to the first two editions, Bachchan said, “I think it's a fallacy that others were not able to do justice to the show. Circumstances change, the number of viewers changes and so do the parameters used to decipher the success of a show. Shah Rukh was extremely good and I saw a number of his episodes. He brought life to the show.”
Asked why Sony Enter-tainment channel fell back on Bachchan, the channel's Executive Vice President and Business Head Ajit Thakur said, “Since it's about both education and entertainment, Mr. Bachchan has the stature to pull it off credibly.”
The format of “KBC” is well known, said Bachchan but Thakur claimed without elaborating that there would be major innovations in the show. While Bachchan had made phrases like “computerji” and “lock kar diya jaye” household words by hosting the first two editions of “KBC,” the big question is whether the revival of the show will be able to help Sony Entertainment channel increase its viewership.
Given the fact that the content of “KBC” is old, will it and the presence of Bachchan enable Sony Entertainment to grab more eyeballs? That is the question entertainment media analysts ask.
When pointed out that the films featuring Amitabh Bachchan have not met with uniform success at the box office of late, Thakur cites research showing that the popularity of the veteran actor has in fact gone up.