Sameer Nair is to Indian television what Rupert Murdoch is to the home medium worldwide. In the year 2000 when satellite broadcast in India was struggling for an identity Sameer joined Star Plus as Head Of Programming, and turned the tides of television viewing by spearheading the ultimate game-show Kaun Banega Crorepati and the Mataji of all soaps Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Applause Entertainment, the entertainment company that the media baron has built and nurtured along with his partner Deepa Sehgal, recently turned five years old. This is a good time for Subhash K Jha to look back at Sameer’s success story, from the mastermind behind Kaun Banega  Crorepati to the helmer of such OTT triumphs Scam 1992 and Criminal Justice.

Q. You were the brain behind two Indian satellite television game changers— Kaun Banega Crorepati and Kyunki Saab Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi in the year 2000. Do you look back at the show as your greatest triumph so far?

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I do look back at KBC and KSBKBT with some amount of satisfaction. With KBC, I was absolutely sure that it was going to be Mr Bachchan as the host. Only he had the clout to enter every household. At that point in time, nothing else was certain. Would the concept work in India? Mr Bachchan himself was advised by everyone not to get into television. I left the VHS with him urging him to ‘Push Play’. After three months of indecisiveness, I  flew to London with Mr Bachchan to witness the shooting of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire (the original version of KBC) firsthand. That clinched it. On the flight back, Mr Bachchan finally said yes and we were on. We erected a set for KBC, identical to the one for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. We didn’t cut any corners.

Q. KBC helped Mr Bachchan as well as Star TV. While it resurrected the Big B’s career, Star went on to become the number one channel in India. I see you as a big part of those two triumphs?

That’s very kind of you. But each of us comes with his or her own karma. For KBC we had a viewership of 25 million in 2000. It went up to 90 million in 2010. What KBC did was to reinvent Mr Bachchan’s image. It made him the household favourite in every family. He was the hero of the father and the mother. They introduced their hero to the son and the daughter of the family. Not too many people remember that Kyunki Saas…  and KBC began telecasts on the same day.

Q. What were you smoking when you did KBC and Kyunki Saas…?

Ha ha. A lot of tobacco. But now I’ve quit smoking completely.

Q. As the CEO of Applause Entertainment you have built the company from scratch to its current position as a leading content provider. What is your secret formula?

The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you what or how to think and feel, but to give you something to think and feel about. This is what we strive to do. Building a scalable creative business requires art, science and magic blended with considerable fiscal discipline. As we celebrate our 5th anniversary today, we feel a deep sense of gratitude towards every single person who helped make our vision to dazzle, disrupt and delight, come alive.

Q. How would you describe the journey from being ‘Applause Entertainment’ to becoming the ‘House of Applause’?

It has been a dramatic yet rewarding ride and the love has been definitely worth all the risk. Heading into the future, we are excited to continue telling stories that are intensely local but also aspire to resonate with diverse audiences across the globe.

The interviewer is a veteran film journalist and columnist. 

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