Published 17:00 IST, November 8th 2019
KBC in row for Chhatrapati Shivaji reference, team issues statement
The eleventh season of Kaun Banega Crorepati sparked a row for a question on Chhatrapati Shivaji by mentioning him without his title. The channel apologised.
Netizens fumed at Amitabh Bachchan-hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati after one of the questions failed to mention Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji without his title ‘Chhatrapati’. After the controversy, the broadcasting channel has released a statement, expressing regret over the ‘inaccurate reference.’ They also carried a scroll for the same on its recent episode.
Sony TV shared a video of the scroll playing on Thursday’s episode. It read, “There was an inaccurate reference to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during yesterday’s KBC episode, due to inadvertence. We deeply regret the same,” on Instagram. In the post, the makers continued, “...being mindful of the sentiments of our viewers have carried a scroll expressing regret during our episode yesterday.”
What is the controversy all about?
On Wednesday, the question, “Which of these rulers was the contemporary of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb?” was asked to contestant Shaheha Chandran. The question was to win Rs 80,000. The options were Maharana Pratap, Rana Sanga, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Shivaji. Several Twitter users had expressed their dissatisfaction with the 17th century Maratha King being mentioned without his title ‘Chhatrapati’. Later, #BoycottKBC trend also caught up on social media. Some also pointed out to Aurangzeb being referred to as ‘Samrat’ in the Hindi version of the question, but Chhatrapati Shivaji as just ‘Shivaji.’ There were also reports doing that Nationalist Congress Party was intending to hold a protest at Sony TV’s office for the same.
Boycott KBC trends
"#Boycott_KBC_SonyTv my respect for the show & the anchor has taken a huge dip when i see that the respectable #ChatrapatiShivajiMaharaj is denigrated by being called by first name only & the worst of all Mughal rules aurangzeb being ennobled with such respect,” read one tweet.
Another user wrote, “#Boycott_KBC_SonyTv@SrBachchan. This is really sad. The one who did so much sacrifices and what we are returning to him? This is justified? This is what we are suppose to do?”
“Will @SonyTV ever dare to call the Mughals as invaders? It's like spitting Poison when in reality, Shivaji Maharaj were The Inspiration for Military of many countries like @IDF , Vietnam, @adgpi,” was another user’s complaint.
Updated 17:10 IST, November 8th 2019