Secret Santa comes early

Farah Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone; (right) Ayansh Madan with his mom

There's buzz in the atmosphere when celebrities take to the hot seat to battle general knowledge questions in front of veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan in Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC). But the pressure mounts when a life depends on the prize money. Deepika Padukone and Farah Khan, who shot for the Shaandaar Shukravaar celebrity episode on KBC 13 last week, won Rs 25 lakh.

As Padukone pledged a portion of the winning amount to her Live Love Laugh Foundation, Khan donated her half towards the treatment of 17-month-old baby Ayansh Madan, from Gurgaon. The toddler is suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) due to which his brain cannot control voluntary movements. The filmmaker has been raising funds for the prescription drug Zolgensma, which costs Rs 16 crore. "It's a cause very close to my heart," she says.

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Moved by the child's plight, Bachchan promised to contribute towards Madan's treatment. "Mr Bachchan is an extremely kind-hearted and generous person. I have heard he often helps people, but [does so] without anyone knowing of it. I almost broke down [talking about] Ayansh to Mr Bachchan, who also got emotional," says Khan, adding that she was contacted by Ashita Jain, who is raising funds for the child's treatment along with Dr Neelu Guglani.

Zolgensma is a one-time gene replacement drug, imported from the USA that is used to treat children less than two years old with SMA. "We have raised R4.72 crore [so far], but are running short of time because the medicine [needs to be examined] before he turns two on March 18 next year. [Any later], and he will become ineligible for it," emphasises Jain.

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