{"id":318273,"date":"2023-12-05T06:26:40","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T06:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/popularindinews.com\/?p=318273"},"modified":"2023-12-05T06:26:40","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T06:26:40","slug":"the-12-year-old-who-won-rs-1-crore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/popularindinews.com\/tv-movies\/the-12-year-old-who-won-rs-1-crore\/","title":{"rendered":"The 12 Year Old Who Won Rs 1 Crore"},"content":{"rendered":"
‘I felt very, very good sitting on the hot seat. It’s a different feeling altogether.’<\/strong><\/p>\n Which European cartographer is credited with creating the map that gave the name ‘America’ to the newly discovered continent?<\/p>\n Answer: German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, in the year 1507.<\/p>\n Chances are, you’ve had to Google the answer but 12-year-old Mayank<\/strong> answered it correctly and became the youngest contestant to win Rs 1 crore on Kaun Banega Crorepati<\/em>.<\/p>\n The bespectacled youngster has returned to his hometown of Mahendragarh, a district in Haryana, and his newfound fame follows him.<\/p>\n So though he is running a fever, he sportingly and patiently gives multiple interviews through the day, chatting in Hindi.<\/p>\n “My father used to play KBC<\/em> Play Along, that’s how I got interested in it,” Mayank tells Ronjita Kulkarni\/Rediff.com<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n “It was his dream to go on the show. I felt I should fulfil my father’s dream and so I registered. This was my first attempt and I was successful. My father was very happy when I got selected.<\/p>\n “But more than anything, I was excited about meeting Amitabh Bachchan sir because it’s been my dream to meet him. I’ve a big fan from a very young age. He’s my favourite actor.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mayank made his first trip to Mumbai in October for the on-ground audition, where he had to give an interview and a test.<\/p>\n He only got a day in the city, and managed to fit in a bit of sightseeing, and saw The Gateway Of India and the beautiful sea-facing Marine Drive.<\/p>\n He came back the next month for the shoot.<\/p>\n “The second time, I couldn’t see Mumbai much. It was just hotel to studio and back, and then back home. But it’s become my favourite city now. I liked the food there too. We mostly ate South Indian food like idli, dosa<\/em> and uttapam<\/em>,” he says.<\/p>\n Mayank narrates his KBC<\/em> experience: “During the mock, I got tensed because I felt I was lagging behind. But the episode shooting went well, so I started feeling better. I felt very, very good sitting on the hot seat. It’s a different feeling altogether. I was not nervous at all.”<\/p>\n How did he prepare for the show?<\/p>\n “I read GK books, newspapers and prepared notes. My parents and school teachers helped,” he says, admitting, “I don’t come first in school but I’m in the top 5.”<\/p>\n Mayank went on to win Rs 3.2 lakh without using any lifelines and used his first for the Rs 12.5 lakh question.<\/p>\n The Standard 8 student even attempted the final Rs 7 crore question: Subedar N R Nikkam and Havildar Gajendra Singh were awarded the Order of the Red Star by Russia for conveying supplies to which city during World War II?<\/p>\n But he chose to quit as he had no lifelines left.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “I felt very nice when I won Rs 1 crore. I got a bit emotional. I did not expect to win such a big amount at such a small age,” Mayank says.<\/p>\n “My parents were with me, and they hugged me. They had tears in their eyes. When I saw the episode on television when it was aired, I got even more excited,” he adds.<\/p>\n “Amitabh sir complemented me on the way I answered the questions. He told me, ‘I like you.’ We didn’t chat backstage but I did a photoshoot,” Mayank says.<\/p>\n Along with Rs 1 crore, Mayank also won a car, the Hyundai i20.<\/p>\n “We had a car — the Maruti Suzuti Alto K10 — earlier but had to sell it,” Mayank says, excited about his new hot wheels.<\/p>\n Mayank’s father is a head constable in the Delhi police while his mother is a homemaker. He has a seven-year-old brother named Vansh, whose “dream changes everyday”! These days, he wants to become a soldier.<\/p>\n Mayank seems clear about how he will spend his prize money: “I will invest the money in my higher studies. I want to be a robotic engineer. I want to join IIT-Delhi. That’s my dream.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n