Kaun Banega Crorepati: Biggest prize winners

Small screen's most popular gaming show Kaun Banega Crorepati is getting bigger and better with each season. Smashing all TVT records, KBC has emerged as a monster hit over the years. Year after year contestants take home large sums of money and the latest we hear is that KBC 8 has finally got its first female winner. Megha Patil, a housewife and tuition teacher from Vasai, is the first female to have won a whopping sum of Rs 7 crores on season 8 of the show. But what is disheartening is that the lucky lady was diagnosed with cancer a few years back and was in very critical condition. She is still fighting with the disease, however the good part is that she is out of danger now. Saluting her spirit, we congratulate her for winning the game show.
While this is a proud moment for Megha and her family members, let's take a look at other KBC winners over the years.

KBC was first aired in 2000 and it was Amitabh Bachchan's first appearance on the small screen. In season one, contestants could win up to Rs 1 crore and Harshawardhan Nawathe was the first winner of that season. His father was in the Indian Police Services and Nawathe was preparing for the civil services at the same time. "I lived the life of a rock star for the next one year," he said in an interview with Hindustan Times.

Ravi Saini was the second contestant who became a star overnight. Ravi was the winner of Kaun Banega Crorepati Junior. What made his win even more commendable was the fact that he was just 14 at that time. Ravi was a 10th standard student, hailing from Vizag. More than winning the amount, it was meeting Amitabh Bachchan that gave him the high. Vijay Raul and his wife Arundhati were the next to win 'Kaun Banega Crorepati Jodi Special'. Vijay Raul worked with Steel Authority of India then and his wife was a homemaker.

Brajesh Dubey, an engineer from Guna was the next person to win a huge amount on KBC. He went on to claim Rs 1 crore. However, the total amount that could be won that season was a whopping Rs 2 crores. Brajesh was not sure of his last answer and thus backed out, taking Rs 1 crore as the final amount. Brajesh also said that it was the popularity of the game show that prompted him to take up the show. He is the son of national hockey umpire K.N. Dubey.

Rahat Taslim became the first crorepati on the fourth season of Kaun Banega Crorepati. Rahat was a middle class housewife from a Muslim family who wanted to pursue medical services but her early marriage put a full stop to her studies. For Rahat, it was the kick of getting back to studies that prompted her to take up the show.

Up till now, Sushil Kumar was considered as the biggest and most popular winner of KBC . A computer operator by profession, Sushil was working for a meagre salary of Rs 6000 in Bihar's Motihari town before taking part in KBC. He managed to hit the jackpot and won Rs 5 crore, which was the biggest sum on the show so far. His life changed overnight and he gained a celebrity status. Sushil was also seen shaking a leg on dance reality show, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 6.

For Sunmeet Kaur Sawhney, life was nothing less than a roller coaster ride. Though she had a degree in fashion designing, due to the conservative outlook of her in- laws she could not pursue it further. Not wanting to sit at home without any job, she started a tiffin service. As the business started progressing, she met with a severe accident that left her bed- ridden for many months. As her tiffin service could not be continued further, on her husband's insistence, she started taking tuitions. Sunmeet Kaur was the first female to win Rs 5 crores in the history of KBC.

Season 7 of Kaun Banega Crorepati saw two Rs 1 crore winners: Taj Mohammed Rangrez, a history teacher in a govt school and Firoz Fatima, a student who quit her studies. While Taj wanted to use the money for the treatment of his partially blind daughter, Fatima wanted to use the winning amount to repay the loan amount her family had taken for her father's treatment.