New Delhi: Kaun Banega Crorepati 18 found itself embroiled in a controversy after Amitabh Bachchan and the makers of the quiz show confused Maharaja Hanwant Singh’s wife Zubeida Begum with late actress Zubeida Dhanragir.
After the major goof-up, Zubeida Begum’s son-writer, Khalid Mohamed, slammed the makers.
Varun Dhawan and directors of Citadel: Honey Bunny, Raj and DK graced Amitabh Bachchan-hosted show, KaunBanega Crorepati 18 where the question on Zubeida was posed in front of the three. Let’s explore what happened!
What was the goof-up on KBC 18?
The question to Varun Dhawan and others was, ‘Which actress tragically passed away in a plane crash along with her husband, Maharaja Hanwant Singh of Jodhpur?” The options were Mumtaz, Zubaida, Nadira, and Sulochana. After much contemplating and exhausting two lifelines, they finally answered Zubaida, which was the correct answer.
After that, Amitabh Bachchan explained that Maharaja Hanwant Singh of Jodhpur died when he was campaigning for the first elections after India attained Independence and Zubeida was the actress who worked in the first-ever Indian Talkie film, Alam Ara. He further said that later a film titled Zubeidaa starring Karisma Kapoor and Manoj Bajpayee was inspired by her life.
But, Maharaja Hanwant Singh’s wife Zubeida is different from Alam Ara actress Zubeida. Along with several netizens, the son of Zubeida Khalid Mohamed also slammed the makers for the major goof-up.
Demanding an apology, he wrote on his X account, ‘KBC, Amitabh Bachchan. This is my late mother Zubeida Begum. She wasn’t born when Alam Ara was made. An apology on the program for a gaffe would be the least you could do. But know something? I don’t expect it.”
He further requested a clarification on the gaffe. He further explained that actress Zubeida was a renowned actress, who married Maharaj of Hyderabad and lived up to the late 80s. On the other hand, his mother Zubeida wanted to act but wasn’t permitted by her ‘strict father’. He added, ‘How could your research team make such a gaffe?”