For Sujata Sanghamitra, the story of Kaun Banega Crorepati is also the story of her own evolution. The show, skillfully hosted by the legendary Shehenshah of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan, has been a staple of Indian television for many years. Sujata became a part of the show in 2000, just as KBC was embarking on its remarkable journey in the world of entertainment. Twenty-six years later, she has gone from Executive Producer to Creative Director and, for the last eight years, Showrunner. This year, she is also producing the country’s iconic quiz show.
Sanghamitra has launched SCUBE Studios, a production house she has founded with two other partners. But the road to this point has been anything but conventional.
A History graduate & postgraduate and an MBA, Sanghamitra started her career in Delhi with TV18. Mumbai brought an unexpected detour into acting when she auditioned for Ekta Kapoor’s show: Itihas. She went on to become a familiar face through shows such as Hum Paanch, Kanyadaan, Ghar Ek Mandir, etc. Eventually, however, her creative instincts pulled her back behind the camera.
That decision led her to KBC—and to a 26-year professional relationship with Amitabh Bachchan.
For Sanghamitra, Bachchan is not simply the legendary host audiences see on screen. She has watched him prepare, perform, improvise, remember contestants and connect with audiences for more than two decades.
What strikes her most is that the legend has never allowed the legend to overshadow the professional.
Even after 26 years, she says, Bachchan prepares for KBC with the same discipline and attention to detail he brought to the first season. He remembers people, knows their stories and instinctively adjusts his interaction depending on whether he is speaking to a child, a Gen Z contestant, a middle-aged participant or an elderly guest. The show may be built around questions and answers, but its real currency is human connection.
That, she believes, is why the show has remained relevant. “KBC is not just a quiz show. It is an emotion,” is how she describes the phenomenon.
Now, with SCUBE Studios, Sanghamitra is taking everything those 26 years have taught her into a new arena. She brings the perspective of an actor who understands performance, the instincts of a creative professional, the experience of a showrunner who has managed one of television’s most demanding formats, and the sensibility of a producer who understands that the strongest stories are ultimately about people.
KBC gave Sujata Sanghamitra a front-row seat to India’s television history. SCUBE Studios – her home banner co-founded with Sarmistha Roy and Sandy Kaul, gives them the opportunity to create the next chapter of storytelling.
