Kaun Banega Crorepati: ‘Boycott KBC’ trends over Chhatrapati Shivaji answer option, Sony expresses regret

Sony TV has expressed regret for referring to Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as only ‘Shivaji’ on the Wednesday episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 11. Many on Twitter demanded a ban on the show hosted by Amitabh Bachchan, with the hashtag ‘#Boycott_KBC_SonyTv’ trending on Friday.

Maharashtra BJP MLA Nitesh Rane also demanded an apology from the entertainment giant for “disrespectful” reference to Shivaji Maharaj. Rane said, “@sonykbc10 has insulted (Shivaji Maharaj) by referring him in first person singular form. It should tender apology at the earliest.” Issuing a warning, he said, “If they delay it (apology) further, the show will not have any life line to continue further.”

Sony tweeted on Friday that the reference was “inadvertent” and expressed regret. “There was an inaccurate reference to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during Wednesday’s KBC episode, due to inadvertence. We deeply regret the same and being mindful of the sentiments of our viewers have carried a scroll expressing regret during our episode yesterday. #KBC11,” a tweet by the channel said.

The controversy erupted when a question was asked on KBC about the contemporaries of Aurangazeb, a Mughal emperor who ruled major parts of India in the 17th century. Among the four options, Chhatrapati Shivaji was mentioned as “Shivaji”, while other options were Maharana Pratap, Rana Sanga and Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

“We need a public apology for hurting of our sentiments please,” read a comment while another said, “This is painful... and shameful too. This is what we are lacking, Chhatrapati Shivaji did so much and we can’t even respect his work? What coming generation going to learn from this?”

Kaun Banega Crorepati 11, which premiered in August, is one of the most popular shows on television. Hosted by Bachchan, it has seen three contestants winning Rs. 1 crore each but no one has won Rs 7 crore till now.