MUMBAI: India’s version of the international hit television show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” has been cut short because its Bollywood star is recovering after surgery, a network official said on Wednesday. Amitabh Bachchan, India’s most famous actor who helped attract 20 million viewers to the show, told programme bosses that he needs more time to recover after stomach surgery last year.

Attempts to persuade his son Abhishek, one of Bollywood’s brightest young stars, to take his place also failed because of his own filming commitments.

Star TV has been forced to pull the second run of the show, known as Kaun Banega Crorepati in India, and start the daunting task of trying to replace it on the airwaves.

It has consistently been one of the most popular shows since starting in India in 2000. The network has been filling empty slots with repeats as it waited hopefully for the return of its charismatic quiz master to record another 24 programmes.

“He is okay but not well enough to film. ‘Millionaire’ is a very strenuous production,” said Sameer Nair, chief operating officer of Star India.

“One idea that came up was whether his son could step in but he is a very busy actor.”

Bachchan, 63, is the biggest name in Bollywood’s prolific film industry.

He has more than 100 movies to his credit and is seen virtually every day on television channels gyrating across the screen in one of the song-and-dance routines that have made him famous.

—AFP