Only my children knew that I was going to participate in KBC. It was a well-kept secret

1. What was the reaction of your children to you participating in KBC? 

They were very supportive and confident that I would make it to the hot seat. In fact, they were ecstatic that their prediction about my win came true.

2. Was there a defining moment that made you decide to enter the contest?

It wasn't a momentary decision. I run an NGO for children called 'FAITH IN INDIA – Female Aura Initiated Towards Hope'. For some time, we were running short of funds. The children had pinned their hope on the organization to give them a better life. I had approached the government and other organizations for help but to no avail and I was at my wit's end. That was when I happened to see the KBC registration ads and thought that I should give it a try.

3. Was the process to get in challenging?

Surprisingly, the process went off smoothly. Each stage went off without a hitch.

4. What was your family's reaction when they heard your decision to join?

It was a well-kept secret. Only my children were aware. Neither my husband nor my parents knew about it up until the time I had to go to Mumbai for auditions.

5. What was your preparation like? Did your children help you prepare?

After I got through the auditions, I had about a month's time to get ready for the quiz. Out of this, I got only around 10 days to prepare as my children had their examinations going on and I had to help them with their preparation. My children gave me a lot of suggestions in terms of what I needed to read up on and that was a big help. My schedule was quite hectic, so most days I used to stay up at night and prepare.

6. How did your mother feel about accompanying you to the show?

I had sprung a surprise on her when I asked her to join me. She knows a lot about mythology and I told her that I might seek her help in that subject during the show. But that apart, I wanted her to come on television and thought it will be a wonderful experience for her.

She went through a lot of difficulties to bring us up and I wanted everyone to know I have a great mother. She was very nervous kept telling me not to call her out.

7. Did your mother get a chance to speak to Amitabh Bachchan?

Yes, she did get to meet and speak to him.

Interestingly, Amitabhji asked her why she didn't try to join and sit on the hot seat. And my mother responded saying "beti bhi adha maa hoti hai" (the daughter is anyway part of the mother).

8. What was going through your mind when you won?

There was so much riding on the win and I would have been deeply disappointed had I lost. So, I was extremely grateful.

9. What was the motivation behind starting your NGO, Faith In India? Any particular incident that has impacted you?

I am from a regular joint family and most of my time goes in taking care of the house, the children, and looking after the elders. I used to take my children to a nearby playground, where I spotted few children who looked malnourished and were behaving abnormally. When I enquired, it was shocking to find out that there were a lot of homeless kids addicted to substances. I made an effort to send them to rehabilitation centers but they would run away from there.

This made a significant impact on me as I had a strong sense of social equality and would often wonder where the world was heading to. In fact, I wasn't even keen on getting married but my parents were quite stubborn that I had to.

After a lot of failed attempts in rehabilitating them, what finally struck a chord with these kids was music, art, and culture. I involved them in small dance dramas and many of the children started participating actively.

10. What was your children's reaction when you decided to start? Did they ever feel left out?

Initially, it was difficult for them to adjust. But they overcame it quickly. As my program was based on music and arts they started enjoying the process and got involved in it as well. I had done a course in sound engineering and put up a studio in my house. When I started composing my own songs, they were my biggest critics and support. We are a team now and they are my two backbones.

11. How did it feel to sit opposite Amitabh Bachchan. He has a larger-than-life personality, were you nervous?

I was extremely nervous and frankly, all your concentration is on him. Even to the extent that if I knew the answer to a question, I would doubt myself because my focus was on him. He has such a larger-than-life personality that when he walked in, the whole audience was spellbound.

14. As a woman and a champion of the underprivileged, what message do you want to give to the country?

When you become a parent, you'll realize you have a lot of strength and potential which you didn't know existed. My request to everyone is to make use of it and channel it in the right direction.