Outlook – July 28, 2019

38 OUTLOOK 29 July 2019

“C

OMPUTERJI, lock kar diya

jaye?” Eight years ago, when

Sushil Kumar said yes to Amitabh

Bachchan, he became the first

winner of an incredible Rs 5

crore, the first jackpot in the Indian

television show Kaun Banega Crorepati.

And within minutes, this unassuming MA

in history from the sleepy town of Motihari

in Bihar became a celebrity, his name

splashed across newspapers, his sound

bytes played over and over again on TV.

Today, his name would hardly ring a bell.

But Kumar is content with life away from

the spotlight.

“Being a pragmatist, I knew all along that it

was always going to be 15 minutes of fame,”

Kumar, 31, tells Outlook. “I am from an ordi-

nary family...I realised that those moments

had a very short lifespan.” He took home the

prize-money of just over Rs 3.5 crore after tax

deduction, built a house where 18 members of

the extended family stay together. He is the

father of a daughter, 5, and a toddler son.

Kumar, who worked as a computer operator,

had once aspired to become a government off-

icer but gave up the effort after the KBC

success; hounded by the media and auto-

graph-seekers, he hardly found time to study.

Kumar is now into social service and environ-

mental activism; he finances the education of

100 children from economically weak families.

He is passionately involved in a campaign

for protecting the house sparrow, whose num-

bers have come down drastically in recent

times. He launched his project on March 20

when the world was celebrating ‘World

Sparrow Day’. Last year, he started another

campaign by planting nearly 58,000 saplings

of Champa, the sweet-smelling flower that

gave the name to Champaran district.

Does he remember the last question that

earned him the bounty? “I will never forget

it. Amitabhji asked, ‘Which colonial power

sold the Nicobar Islands to the British on

October 18, 1868?’” Kumar didn’t have to

think much, years of preparation for the

Bihar civil service exams had made him

a store house of knowledge. In case you

are wondering, it’s Denmark. O

R.N. Sinha in Motihari

The man

from

Motihari

became an

instant

celebrity

after winning

a Rs 5-crore

KBC jackpot

WINNING SMILE

Sushil Kumar and his

wife with Amitabh

Bachchan (left); the

house he built with his

prize-money.

Motihari

Crorepati

Sushil Kumar

KBC jackpot winner

PTI

AJIT VERMA

COVER STORY