Mumbai: Kaun Banega Crorepati -13 has got its first crorepati Himani Bundela who will be risking it all for Rs 7 crore on 30-31 August. In a promo released by SET, the visually challenged Bundela is seen fielding the last (16th) question from the ‘hot seat’.
The Agra-based contestant appears to be confident and enjoying the game in the video, even as she leaves the outcome to God.
Bundela is a Mathematics teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya. Having lost her eyesight in a road accident in 2011, and not able to regain it even after multiple operations, she wants to raise awareness for the cause of inclusive education. “My life after the accident hasn’t been easy. A lot of us had to put in an immense amount of work to get back to our daily livelihood, especially my parents and my brothers and sisters. Being a woman who's visually impaired, I hope my stint on KBC brings a lot of hope to people who are just like me,” says Bundela.
If she wins big on Monday, 31 August, she will work towards giving a bigger platform to the ‘Divyang Awareness Programme’ pioneered by her at KV. While pursuing her passion for teaching mental math to blind students, she intends to open inclusive coaching for competitive exam prep and revive her father’s pandemic-hit business with the prize money.
“A lot of students with special abilities do get admissions in schools & colleges but there are no coaching academies for government competitive exams that admit students with any sort of disabilities. With the money I won, I would want to open a coaching academy that trains the ‘divyang’ kids for the government competitive exams,” she says.
Bundela has nurtured the dream of appearing on a television reality show since childhood. Realising that knowledge was her biggest strength, she finally zeroed in on KBC. The thrill of meeting Amitabh Bachchan was also a motivating factor for her. The spirited 25-year-old has been practicing being on the ‘hot seat’ for over a decade now. Inspired by the show and its host, she even launched the online initiative ‘Kaun Banega KV Champion for her students last year.
Talking about her experience on the show, she says, it was a dream come true. “To be on Kaun Banega Crorepati and to meet Amitabh Bachchan has always been a dream and I’m glad I could fulfil it. He made me feel so comfortable on the sets of the show that I didn’t feel nervous at all,” she adds.
KBC 13 premiered on SET and Sony LIV app on 23 August with the first contestant Gyaan Raj from Ranchi (Jharkhand) who ended up winning Rs 3.2 lakh after failing to answer the 12th question for Rs 12.5 lakh. If Bundela gets the last question wrong, she will have to walk away with ____ (would you know how much she will lose in that case!!?)
