What can you gift a megastar who has it all? The question haunted the creative team of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) over the past month, as their superstar-host Amitabh Bachchan’s birthday drew near. “We always keep in mind that we shouldn’t overdo it as he likes to keep things simple,” says Arun Sheshkumar, who has been directing the quiz show over the past nine years. After much deliberation, the answer came to him. “The best way to celebrate his birthday would be by roping in his fans.”

As Bachchan turned 79 yesterday, the reality show aired a special episode that saw his fans as part of the audience. The idea stemmed from the fact that the megastar was unable to meet his admirers over the past one-and-a-half years due to the pandemic. “Many fans on social media said that they missed his Sunday darshan. Sir too wrote about [sorely missing] the ritual, in his blogs. He considers his fans his extended family.”

The KBC team reached out to the prominent fan clubs across the country. “We invited 100 ardent fans whom he recognizes and knows by their names. They were [brought in] from different parts of India, including Faridabad, Agra, Kolkata and Gujarat.” The fans had a surprise for their cine idol — some of them sported Bachchan’s iconic looks from  different films. “We also made a video featuring all the people whose lives have been touched by sir. He got emotional on seeing it.”

While the episode was taped early last week, the crew had another surprise for Bachchan on Saturday. Sheshkumar says, “We celebrated his birthday on the set because he usually doesn’t shoot on his big day. The crew was wearing T-shirts that had sir’s picture and the show’s tagline on it. Team AB was written on the tees. We stood outside his vanity van, and as he stepped out, we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him. He was overwhelmed.”