Row over Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj question on Kaun Banega Crorepati

Amitabh Bachchan

Yesterday, Kaun Banega Crorepati 11 left a sizeable section of netizens fuming after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was referred to as just Shivaji in a question on the Amitabh Bachchan-hosted show. The Shri Rajput Karni Sena also protested for referring to the Maratha warrior ruler as Shivaji. As #Boycott_KBC_SonyTV started trending, the channel was forced to apologise.

The post on its Twitter handle read: "There was an inaccurate reference to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during Wednesday's KBC episode, due to inadvertence. We deeply regret the same and being mindful of the sentiments of our viewers, have carried a scroll expressing regret during our episode on Thursday (sic)."

The controversy arose after Big B asked the following question to a contestant:

Which of these rulers was a contemporary of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb?
A) Maharana Pratap.
B) Rana Sanga.
C) Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
D) Shivaji.

While asking the question, Bachchan too referred to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as Shivaji. The answer option also read 'Shivaji'. No sooner had the episode aired than viewers took to social media alleging that the veteran star and the channel showed disrespect to the Maratha ruler.

Netizens demanded an apology from Bachchan as well and Big B apologized too! Here's what he tweeted:

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