He had no films, no new offers, his company had gone, was in all sorts of legal tangles and financial worries. But, once he started ’Kaun Banega Crorepati’, his problems began to melt.
Amitabh remembers those days at the onset of the fourth season of ’KBC’. He writes on his blog:
"Ten years ago in the year 2000, when the entire world was celebrating the new century, I was celebrating my disastrous fortune. There were no films, no money, no company, a million legal cases against and the tax authorities had put notice of recovery on my home.
"An offer for television changed all that when I agreed to anchor ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ much against all the advice and resentment from friends family and advisors. Taken to the United Kingdom at the Elstree Studios where ‘Millionaire’ was being recorded, I observed the elan and grace of the show and the immense production values that it incorporated. If they could give me this in India I would readily agree. They did, I agreed and KBC took its initial steps. It soon became apparent that it was going to be big and prosperous. I merely sat back and played the game as best it could be played. Before long I was out of the financial crisis and signing on an almost 2 year deal with the channel that was carrying it."
’KBC 4’ will start broadcasting from Oct 11, 2010 at 9 PM on Sony. He says there are some changes in the format of the gameshow. "The money tree has been reduced in the number of questions - from 15 before to 12 now ! You get to the prize 1 crore quicker. Four lifelines, two being the same and two different. One new is the ‘Ask the Expert’ … an expert in any field is in the studio and is willing to help in finalizing an answer. They appear on a LED screen and we can chat to them. Fastest Finger First contestants stay on for the entire week, instead of leaving when the episode is over. And if you play along with the show sitting at home, you get an opportunity to win Rs 100,000, a lakh ! And then the clincher ! Top question prize money after the 12th is the 13th., for 5 crore Rupees !! Thats like, serious life changing money!"