Big B’s health can halt KBC recordings

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan who was admitted to hospital earlier this week has got STAR officials worried about its pending Kaun Bangega Crorepati 2 shows.

According to a report on TelevisionPoint, STAR Plus can run without telecast interruption until 23rd December. Sources inform that the canned episodes of the programme will last until then.

STAR Plus is yet to shoot about 20 episodes of KBC2. Bachchan was schedule to shoot for the game show from 30th November till 6th December, but due to the illness the schedule has been cancelled. It means till the end of the year, STAR has already canned 10-12 episodes in advance.

“We are very comfortable, We are ready to wait forever. If the need arises then we may just pull KBC off the air, We just want Bachchan Sir to be Fit and Fine.” says Deepak Sehgal, Executive V-P, Content and communication, STAR India.

Siddhartha Basu of Synergy communications, producer of the show, said, “We are prepared to wait until Bachchan is absolutely fit. All I know for sure is we won’t start shooting till he’s up to it,” he said.

The costs of dropping an episode are huge. If STAR TV has to pull KBC off air, it stands to lose upwards of RS 4 crore per episode only in advertising revenue. A 30-second spot on KBC2 costs between Rs 12-15 lakh. Bachchan’s illness is also causing Bollywood acute discomfort. The superstar is involved in a number of big-ticket productions with Rs 300 crore at stake.

Bachchan’s illness has taken a toll on his company AB Corp as well. The company is currently unable to go ahead with its business plans for 2006. AB Corp had scheduled its board meeting for the first week of December 2005 to discuss its future course of action. AB Corp’s co-produced film Family ? Ties of Blood with Keshu Ramsay’s DMS Films, is due to be released on 23rd December but sources within AB Corp say that it will probably have to wait as two days of dubbing is yet to be finished.