It rewrote Indian TV rules, catapulted Star to the number one slot before losing steam and dwindling down to a mere two nights a week show.

Kaun Banega Crorepati will now take a breather from January 2002. 1 January, to be precise, will be the last we see of Amitabh Bachchan and the now famous line Lock kiya jaaye? till Star decides to revive the show. According to official estimates, the series can afford a respite at this juncture - it has had a run of 300 episodes, nearly 3000 contestants, over 500 on the hot seat, more than 60,000 studio audiences, over 90 million phone calls and more than Rs 260 million given away as prize money.

A temporary respite, in fact, is the international norm. Even the original Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? takes a break after running for six weeks. In India, it was the immense popularity that sustained the show for such a long run.

The channel has promised to bring the show back around July 2002, and is also scheduled to launch a slew of new programmes, beginning January. KBC, points out Star, brought glamour into Indian homes - with film stars Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee, television stars from hit serials and cricketers too.
Says Star executive VP Sameer Nair: "We‘ve enjoyed every moment of the show, shooting with Amitabh Bachchan, guests stars, interacting with audiences, and basking in the unprecedented success of the show. Every, such show needs a small break and now it‘s time for Kaun Banega Crorepati too. Come, July-August, and watch out? we‘ll be back with Amitabh Bachchan and a big, brighter and bigger show."

It will mark 1 December, World Aids Day, with a day long MTV Music Summit for AIDS at the SNDT college campus in Mumbai.
There‘s a reason for the summit, says MTV India managing director Alex Kuruvilla. A recent study has indicated that 50 per cent of those newly infected with the deadly HIV/AIDS virus are youth.

The day long concert, first of its kind in India, will have live performances from 19 leading artistes including Shubha Mudgal, Colonial Cousins, Euphoria and many others from the Indian music scene. The concert kicks off at noon on the SNDT campus.

At a press meet held to announce the summit, Kuruvilla said that the concert aims at bringing young people together on a campaign against HIV and the AIDS virus. "The idea of the campaign is to communicate the serious message to youth in an entertaining and catchy manner and not in a preachy and holier-than-thou manner," he added.

The channel is pulling all marketing strings to push the ‘concert with a message‘, which he says, fell in place within six weeks. MTV has already lined up an interesting on-air promo throughout out the day. An approximate 15 promos are being aired currently, but will be joined shortly by fresh promos as the campaign hots up.

The MTV logo has already donned the red ribbon signifying the fight against the virus, while the channel VJs will gradually take the issue up in the course of their programmes. They will talk to viewers across the country about the facts and myths associated with the virus.

Although the live concert will be aired only on a later date, the channel has lined up an exclusive premiere Staying Alive 3 hosted by rap and hip-hip music artiste, Sean ‘P Daddy‘ Combs. It has also lined up Staying Alive - Music To Live For, a 90-minute show featuring Moby, Destiny Child and teen heartthrob Britney Spears. Both these programmes are dedicated to the cause of HIV/AIDS.