The Indian film industry’s most bankable actor Amitabh Bachchan started the latest episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati (Season 11) by talking to the first contestant of the evening. The Fastest Finger First round was won by the show’s very first contestant with vitiligo – Arun Kumar Mishra, a mathematics teacher from Bhopal.
Arun who seemed to have nonsegmental vitiligo had vitiligo over his skull, hands, and neck. Amitabh Bachchan who is rumored to have vitiligo around his chin (which he hides with a beard) did not ask Arun anything about his visual difference – a welcome change we all vitiligans want to normalize vitiligo.
The show began amid a huge round of applause. Amitabh bonded with Arun over the use of fountain pens during their school days. Arun used his first lifeline (Audience Poll) to answer the fifth question to grab winning prize worth Rs. 10,000. By the end of the seventh question, he had exhausted all his lifelines. The game ended after Arun wrongly answered the eighth question.
So far, 2019 has been a year of increasing vitiligo awareness and representation of the Indian vitiligo community. The Tashkent Files was the country’s first financially successful film that featured one important character with vitiligo. Vishwa Mohan Badola who played Justice Kurian Abraham in the film portrayed a retired judge with vitiligo. Also, Marathi film Imago (a heart-touching account of a teenager’s life with vitiligo), which had its world premiere at the Mumbai Film Festival last year is all set for a theatrical release this year. Finally, vitiligo’s representation (even in the form of a contestant) on India’s most loved TV show is the movement in the right direction.
About Kaun Banega Crorepati
Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who is going to be the millionaire? in English) is popularly known as KBC in India. It is a quiz reality show designed to test participant’s knowledge in politics, history, arts, cultures, sports, and entertainment.