The 12th season of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) is scheduled to start from Monday, September 28 and popular gameshow hosted by megastar Amitabh Bachchan will see a numerous changes in the format and shooting in view of the coronavirus pandemic. After Amitabh Bachchan was tested COVID-19 positive in July, many believed that the show will not return on TV this year, however, the 77-year-old actor resumed shooting soon after regaining full fitness.

For the first time in 20 years, KBC will be hosted without live audience and hence the lifeline ‘audience poll’ has been replaced by ‘video-a-friend’.

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One of the highlights of the show has been the camaraderie between Bachchan and the contestants, who often ask for a hug or a handshake from the screen icon.

“The contestants won’t be able to hug him, but Bachchan sir will be doing an ‘elbow hi’. The conversations remain the same. Physical distance hasn’t disturbed the content,” showrunner Sujata Sanghamitra told news agency PTI.

Apart from these, several other measures have been taken to ensure social distancing during the shoot. There is a separate entry and exit point for Bachchan and the contestants. The show has cut down its key crew of 300 to 175.

“There are sanitisation tunnels, doctors who check temperatures and oxygen levels, and a database of everyone on the set is maintained. A heavy load of sanitisation happens at least four-five times a day.

A team sanitises the set during every break. We even have a set monitor to keep a check on how people are wearing the masks,” Arunshesh Kumar, KBC’s technical director told the news agency.

KBC will be aired Monday to Friday starting September 28 at 9PM on Sony TV.