KBC 11 crorepati Sanoj Raj says the winning amount doesn’t belong to him: ‘This is my father’s money’

Sanoj Raj from Bihar’s Jehanabad district is the first contestant of Kaun Banega Crorepati season 11 to win ₹1 crore. Even though he failed to get the right answer of the jackpot question worth ₹7 crore, Sanoj is happy about winning a crore. He says he considers the money to be his father’s.

“My father is a farmer. It is not about giving money to him. It is his money,” Sanoj said, “He couldn’t finish his studies due to our family’s condition. We concentrated on our studies so that we don’t have to face that situation.” Sanoj’s mother is a homemaker and stays in a joint family along with his grandparents, uncle, aunt, brothers and a sister.

Sanoj was accompanied to the show by his father and uncle. After winning a crore, he called up his mother, who said his struggles had borne fruit. The question that made Sanoj a crorepati was: “The father of which Chief Justice of India was once chief minister of an Indian state?”

However, Sanoj stumbled at the jackport hurdle of ₹7 crore: “Who was the Indian bowler off whom Australian legend Don Bradman got a single to reach his 100th first class century?” The answer of the question was Gogumal Kishanchand.

“I found it very hard. The game’s rules barred me from using a lifeline, so I used my final lifeline for the ₹1-crore question,” he added.

His journey as a contestant on KBC was a good one, he avers. “There were 10 of us as contestants, who were put up in a hotel. We became friends. One thing I found irritating was the clothes. I have always given importance to comfort while dressing up but on the show, fitting and colours were more important. So much effort went into choosing our clothes,” said Sanoj.

The IAS aspirant didn’t study extra for the show. “I was studying for civil services, so I didn’t do any extra preparation,” he said.

The show also gave him the opportunity to sit face to face with megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who has been hosting KBC since the show started. “I had only seen him on the big screen. When I met him, he spoke to me as if he has known me for a long time,” said the self-confessed fan of the actor.

However, Sanoj does not want to be on cloud nine, for as he has bigger dreams and higher aims to achieve. “I am focussing on my civil services exams right now,” said the 25-year-old, who was earlier working at Tata Consultancy Services in Delhi.

What would he like to as an IAS officer? “I would like to do something I have an interest in, which is interacting with people and solving their problems. These are more important than money”.