The question of a crore

MILLIONS OF viewers watch with bated breath as the new candidate to become a crorepati, squirms on the hot seat. We're all rooting for the contestant, exulting in his victories, dismayed by his defeat.

As you may have guessed, I'm talking about that wildly popular show, that has captured an audience from three to 83 years - "Kaun Banega Crorepati" on STAR Plus anchored by Amitabh Bachchan.

The hapless soul in the uncomfortable chair, in the awesome presence of the superstar, gets so nervous that sometimes he forgets his own name. But we, the audience, sitting in the comfort of our living rooms, yell out the answers as if somehow the sound will penetrate his incredibly (to us) dense brain.

After watching two episodes of this programme this past week, a stark truth dawned on me. It is not enough to know when to gamble. You should know when to quit. With your winnings.

The first of the two 'warriors', Ganesh Shinde fielded some tough questions correctly to reach the final one. He had no life-lines left and he had to guess which of the four forts given was not built by the Europeans. All the four had European names. I said 'guess' because Shinde did not know the answer. He went for the kill. Why did he gamble on the name rather than pick up the cheque for Rs. 50 lakh (no mean amount this) and walk away?

Sharma from Alleppey became the darling of the audience very early in the game. With school-boy looks, and a tentative manner, he seemed genuinely pleased when his replies proved winners. And as the prize amount increased so did the time he spent praying. Bachchan graciously waited for him to finish his commune with his favourite god. When he won Rs. 3,50,000, Sharma said he wanted to hand the cheque over to his dad. He went on to win Rs. twelve and a half lakhs without using any of his life-lines.

For the next question, however, he gave a hasty answer and with Bachchan's prodding, decided to go in for the 50-50 option. Luckily, his choice was eliminated. He correctly chose yellow as the colour of the bull's eye on a target. Next, he picked Jerusalem as the place where the Prophet breathed his last and collected Rs. 25 lakhs. Now he had two questions to go with two life-lines intact.

The next poser in the inquisition was the name of the player who had represented both India and Pakistan in Test cricket. Out came the answer but Bachchan would not let him guess at this stage. Sharma then called his friend, Unnikrishnan who had walked away with Rs. 50 lakhs previously. Unni gave the right answer and on to the Rs. 1 crore question!

A collective prayer went up with millions joining Sharma as he closed his eyes. He opened them just briefly to tell Bachchan that he would use a part of the prize money to build a temple in his village, after earmarking some for the earthquake victims.

It was time for the final question. Sharma had to name the person who sang 'Sare Jahan Se Achcha' in the Parliament Hall on August 15, 1947. The options were nail-bitingly close. Sharma decided to take the audience poll. As Bachchan pointed out, the audience had never been invested with such a heavy responsibility. It was 'yes' or 'no' to a crore! A wrong answer would mean a loss of Rs. 46.8 lakhs! The cameras caught the fingers hovering uncertainly over the buttons for several seconds. But (oh God!) they overwhelmingly gave Sharma the wrong answer! Sharma went along with the 70 per cent vote for Sarojini Naidu (the right answer was Sucheta Kripalani) and lost a fortune. He was a picture of desolation. His own remorse on siding with the audience was no doubt, matched by that of all those who pressed the buzzer on that wrong answer.

Why did Sharma repose his faith in the audience when he was not sure of the answer? (Remember, Nawate rejected advice to go with his own choice to collect his crore). Sharma could have easily quit the show with a large amount even after the audience poll. Is it a case of 'better to have tried valiantly and lost than not to have tried at all'? Is it the gambling instinct? Or is it just plain greed? No one will ever know.

Sharma's father quoted the Bhagavad Gita on doing the job at hand and not worrying about the result. Sharma will have to console himself with that.

Now, on to the episode which featured the winner in 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?', the American version of the show.

One of the early contestants on the show was John Carpenter. He was also the only contestant to be booed by the usually sympathetic crowd in the studio! Because, horror of horrors, John Carpenter was a member of the most feared and despised of all legitimate professions in the U.S... he was an Internal Revenue Service collection agent, or in simple terms, a tax collector.

A man accustomed to putting others in the hot seat, he was cool and collected about the reception and equally composed when it came to answering tough questions. He sailed through the early round of questions... not a life-line was needed. The audience, deprived of a chance to be helpful (or not!), grew restless and increasingly astonished.

Finally, it was the 'Million Dollar Question'. Incredibly, Mr. Carpenter still had all his lifelines left. The question was "Which of the following ex-Presidents appeared on the TV show 'Laugh-In'?" The four choices were Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Gerald Ford. The contestant hesitated. "Regis," he said, "I'd like to use a lifeline, I'd like to call my father." Aha! Everyone was relishing the thought of this apparently arrogant government servant tripping up. Regis placed the call and handed over the phone. Then with an amazing display of spunk and chutzpah, with a million dollars on the line, John Carpenter said, "Dad, I just wanted to let you know that I've just won a million dollars because I know the answer to this question. It's Richard Nixon and that is my final answer."

The audience, completely converted now, stood up and cheered for this man, the first ever millionaire on the U.S. version of the show. There have been five other millionaires since then, but everyone remembers John Carpenter, the man without nerves, the man with ice water dripping in his veins.

GEETA PADMANABHAN & VIDYA PRADHAN

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