Kaun Banega Crorepati 17: Amitabh Bachchan recalls father Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan being questioned over Madhushala, saying, “You don’t drink—how can you write about this?”

The latest episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 17 begins with rollover contestant Avilash Hota from Puri, Odisha. Host Amitabh Bachchan humorously shared that viewers often ask him why he makes his entry by running to the quizmaster’s chair. He quipped, “If I don’t take the host’s seat, someone else will take over.”Big B welcomed the special guest on the show, Chef Ranveer Brar, and praised him for his talent. Ranveer shared, “I was shooting next door for MasterChef, and as a child, I once travelled from Lucknow to Prayagraj just to see your ancestral home. Compared to that, today’s journey felt much shorter.” He then requested Mr Bachchan to bless their show.Host Amitabh resumed the show and presented the question for Rs 15,000. Banglar Bari is a housing scheme by which state government? Avilash selects Option C) West Bengal. While chatting with the contestant, Big B shared that he can only speak three sentences in Bengali and for obvious reasons. He shares that if anyone tries to strike a long conversation with him, he won't be able to speak the language as he only knows three sentences. Big B says, "Humare pass sirf ye teen he wakya hai."For a Rs 20,000 question, Avilash uses a 50-50 lifeline. Ni Hao is a phrase associated with which language. He selects Option A) Chinese.Avilash, who works as a pharmacy specialist, revealed that he is a “bathroom actor,” sharing that he often mimics actors inside his bathroom. He then introduced his father and revealed that he is also an actor who works in Odia cinema.Avilash faces the next question for Rs 50,000. In December 2025, which foreign leader received a Russian edition of the Bhagavad Gita from PM Shri Narendra Modi. As Avilash was unaware of the answer, he took the help of the Audience Poll lifeline. He selected the most voted, Option B) Viadmir Putin.As the show progressed, Big B interacted with Avilash’s father, who is also an actor, and praised him for making time to pursue his passion for acting. In response, Avilash’s father shared that he is a huge admirer of Amitabh Bachchan’s father, the late Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan, and requested the megastar to recite a few lines from Madhushala.Responding to him, Big B says, "Madhushala is not just one book of his. He has written 60-70 books. There are thousands of poems and all of them are popular. I don't know why Madhushala is so famous. It was written in 1931-32. There was a poetry conference held at Banaras Hindu University, Madhushala was recited there for the first time. There are 100-150 lines and he recited all of them in one go. After reading a couple of them, all the students who had gathered there, never stopped him from saying anything. They urged him to continue reciting and he kept reciting."The legendary actor then recited a few lines of 'Madhushala' and the audience cheered for him. Amitabh Bachchan further shared that people wouldn't believe him. They would say, "You don't drink, how can you write about this subject? Someone went and told Gandhi Ji about it, saying there is a poet who is ruining the young generation. He is encouraging them to drink alcohol. Coincidentally, my father was once attending a poetry conference, Gandhi Ji was giving a sermon in the same place. Someone pointed out to him that my father was the same person. He was called for. My father went to meet Gandhi ji and was very nervous. Gandhi Ji asked him to recite whatever he was reading. He recited four to five stanzas. Gandhi ji said, "There is nothing wrong in this. Myfather took his blessings and left. We were saved."Big B next asked the question for Rs 2,00,000. Sushila Karki was sworn in as the first woman Prime Minister of which country? Avilash makes use of his last lifeline 'Sanket Suchak'. However, he was not able to guess the correct answer and decided to quit the game. Before leaving the show, he makes a guess and selects Option A) Bhutan, but it is the wrong answer, the correct Option is B) Nepal.Avilash took home the prize money of Rs 1,00,000.