From BIg B to King Khan, the bong connection

Who is the only link between Amitabh Bachchan’s KBC and Shah Rukh Khan’s KBC? A Calcuttan in the hot seat! And it has been a roller-coaster ride spanning 15 months for the rollover contestant.

October 2005: Kasba’s Prasenjit Sarkar gets a call from STAR Plus to participate in the studio show of Kaun Banega Crorepati Dwitiya after clearing the three preliminary stages.

November 2005: Prasenjit shoots with Amitabh Bachchan, but after winning Rs 80,000, the episode ends because of lack of time.

March 2006: With the ailing Bachchan out of the game, Prasenjit is given the option to quit and take home the Rs 80,000 or wait till a new season of the show is announced. Prasenjit chooses to wait.

December 2006: Prasenjit gets a call from STAR Plus to return to the new show, to be hosted by Shah Rukh Khan.

January 22, 2007: Prasenjit becomes the first contestant of the SRK-hosted KBC and also the only one ever to be quizzed by both Bachchan and Shah Rukh.

So, the 39-year-old inspector of central excise and customs is on the brink of making game-show history.

When he takes the studio hot seat “this weekend” for the January 22 launch episode, he will “almost surely” be the first Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (KBC is an adaptation) contestant in 106 countries to have faced two quizmasters.

And that too, Big B and King Khan.

“I know as the rollover contestant, I am the only link between the two KBCs,” Prasenjit said at his Ruby Park residence. “I am happy I took the right decision by not quitting the game and waiting for more than a year for the show to restart.”

And when Prasenjit was flown in for a mock shoot a couple of days back, Shah Rukh welcomed him to the hot seat as “Babumoshai” — rewinding to his Devdas and his predecessor’s Anand days! But when asked to choose his favourite quizmaster, Prasenjit went 50:50.

“I am a huge fan of Mr Bachchan but thanks to my 12-year-old son, I also like Shah Rukh a lot... And whatever little I saw of him as the host, puro jomiye debe!”