"Pakka?...Lock kiya jaaye?"........"Computerji...iss jawaab pe taala lagao".... SAHI JAWAAB...........This had become the lingo of the common man with Mr. B on television for the very first time. KBC-I was a revolution in itself in the world of television with Mr. Bachchan being a household name. It was a dream come true to sit on the 'hot seat' in front of AMITABH BACHCHAN who would converse with you in his warm, humble manner. His persona...his magnetic aura made the seat hotter than ever!!!

It was like an answer to the prayers of millions of people all over the world who wanted to meet BIG B in person and spend a few moments of fame with him... and EARN ONE CRORE at the same time. Hats off to the master mind that made this happen!!

People had already started building castles in air with the ONE CRORE rupees .... planning holidays with Mr. Bachchan ....getting to act in his movies.... mebbe even donating lacs to charitable trusts and what not!!! But amidst all this was a young gal in her teens who had different plans altogether. Though she did admire Mr. Bachchan and always wished to sit on the 'hot seat' someday.... she had very different areas of 'interest'. She did acknowledge the greatness of Big B... but it was Junior Bachchan who had swept her off her feet.

I had always watched Abhishek (Junior Bachchan as they called him) in award functions (on TV). With a well-grown beard and mustache, long hair nicely curled behind and a tall lean body.....I always wondered what the person beneath this majestic personality would be like. I never wanted him to come in movies …”oh he is not made for all that….he is far beyond show biz…and in fact too intelligent for it” I used to tell my folks who teased me every time we saw a glimpse of ‘Abhi’ on TV with his celebrity parents.

I had always wanted him to be a business tycoon…though I had thought that I would be equally 'supportive' of him doing movies. He was THE BEST after all - wherever he chose to go. And finally it had happened……. JP Dutta’s next movie starring – ABHISHEK BACHCHAN. I had gone to see the movie with my parents just so that I get a final approval from them. Goshhhhhhhhh……… I saw the movie…and it was done!!!!!!!!! All my uncertainties had gone…the decision was made!!!!!!!! I had found my PRINCE CHARMING…..MY KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR!! I would declare it to my folks soon …and I’m sure they won’t mind. After all they were equally pleased to see him in the movie.

How would I send the message across to ‘Daddyji’??? After all..his would be the final approval…. And ‘Abhi’ would not do anything against his wishes!! Well… "Where would I manage to meet him and how would I disclose the news???"....Well....... WHAT WAS KBC FOR AFTER ALL???.... Phew...!!! It felt as if.... GOD had given me KBC to make MY dream come true................Now......... I finally had a plan !!!

I had waited for the ‘right time’ to declare my decision to my folks. I had decided I would do it when we all are together – mine was a big family after all… so ‘d rather do the convincing part just once…IN FRONT OF EVERYONE!!!!

It was one of those Sunday afternoons when all of us had got together after a long time and we were sitting together after lunch talking about general stuff …in a ‘lighter mood’. And after brushing through many small-big topics we had landed on “Big B’s KBC” as our topic of discussion. Wowwwww…….. what more do I want? A perfect mood…perfect topic…. and a perfect chance to ‘rehearse’ my plan….and subtly disclose my NEWS!!!

We started playing KBC with my cousin mimicking Mr. Bachchan. I was the contestant on the ‘hot seat’…. all confident and pleased to sit with Mr. B. And then the BIG QUESTION was asked…… “Aap inn ek karode rupyonka kya korogi??”(it means.."What would you do with those one crore rupees?")..there was a twinkle in my eyes and a wide smile..and pat came my answer…..”Mein aapko yeh ek crore rupiye dahej mein dena chahti hoon. Mujhe aapke bete se shaadi karni hai.”(it means...."I would like to give these one crore rupees to you as dowry. I would like to marry your son.")……

The look on my cousin changed ….his smile disappeared ….and he looked at me in utter dis-belief…while everyone else was silent…staring at me in equal surprise. ”Uh-oh….not as easy to convince them”… as I thought.. the half minute silence suddenly broke into laughter!! Everybody started laughing…. Falling down…… tears rolling their eyes………. The laughter went on for quite sometime….and I wondered..”What did I do wrong? Was it not the best way to disclose the news to all at once including my would-be-sasurji?”…..

Amidst all the laughter ....my mom came to me barely controlling her composure..…. and gave me a light hug saying….”My sweetheart really has a great sense of humor”……. SENSE OF HUMOR?????????????? Well… I would have loved to be complimented for sense of humor…… but not FOR THIS!!!!!!!!!! My biggest decision became my SENSE OF HUMOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Afsos!!!! Galat jawaaab…it was!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways…. I did manage to get my 5 minutes of fame after all!!!