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Crorepati's head still on his shoulders

Kanchana Suggu

"Nawathe! look here," yelled one photographer. "Harsh! here," called another. "Zara Idhar," "Face this side," "Smile please"…

The Gateway Room at the Taj Mahal hotel echoed with requests from anxious photographers. There was just no stopping them. After all, they had been kept away from shooting Harshavardhan Nawathe for an entire week after he became the first crorepati on the Star Plus television channel's runaway hit, Kaun Banega Crorepati.

And Nawathe obliged, very patiently at that. He showed a victory sign, posed with a life-size Amitabh Bachchan poster and flashed a very wide smile. At first, the smile was at its widest best, then slowly the flashlights began to take its toll on him. Fifteen minutes later, the smile had narrowed down considerably.

Nawathe, 27, is studying for the entrance examination for the civil services with history and geography as his main subjects. He will appear for the exam -- his third attempt -- in May 2001. Like his father, V R Nawathe, a former CBI officer, he too wants to become an Indian Police Service officer. A dream he has cherished for the past three years.

The prize-winning episode of KBC was shot on September 28 and from the next day itself, life for Nawathe has not been the same. Fed up with inquiries from the media, Star Plus -- who forbids a prize winner to speak to journalists before the episode is telecast -- put him up at a hotel to keep him away from the limelight. For one week, he stayed at the Hotel Residence, Powai, north Bombay, cut off from family and friends.

Dressed in a cream shirt and dark trousers for the press conference, he seemed glad to be out in the open. He is still undecided though about what he will do with the money. "I will ask my parents and elders. I still have to decide. I got a cheque for Rs 1 crore, but I have no idea how much will be cut as tax."

'Free' to go home now, he plans on resuming his studies immediately. "I would like to do something concrete in life. This is not a lifetime thing. All the attention will last for two months, maximum six months. Even if the money lasts me forever, I still have to have a career," he says with much concern.

His crorepati story began a month ago. He would dial the KBC hotline when he had nothing to do. Although many of his friends tried at around the same time, he was lucky. Once he was shortlisted, he made no specific preparations for the show. The civil service exam syllabus was enough to tackle the KBC questions.

It was only during the first question that Nawathe was nervous, but he says he was relaxed thereafter. "Amitabh Bachchan is really nice. He spends some time with each contestant, making them really comfortable. He sees to it that everyone is calm. When I went to the show, I only went with the intention of answering all the 15 questions. I had no monetary benefit in mind," says this Amitabh fan.

Ask him about the final 10 million rupee question or for that matter anything about the show -- and he has just one refrain: "You can watch the show on October 19. I cannot tell you anything now."

Nawathe, a resident of Ghatkopar, north Bombay, did his primary schooling from Delhi, secondary school from the Fatima high school, Ghatkopar, and B Sc from the Jhunjhunwala College, also in Ghatkopar. He loves listening to old Hindi film songs and watching old Hindi films. He is very religious and even approached an astrologer once.

"The jyotishi I went to never told me I would become a crorepati. He only said I would clear my IAS exams… In fact this is the first time in my life I am hearing the word crorepati," he adds.

As of now, all that the crorepati wants is to go back home to his mother, who took ill last week, and move on with life. It is obvious he is excited. "These things don't happen every day, to everyone. It definitely is great."

At the same time, his head is very much on his shoulders. "I know that press conferences won't happen after this. If this whole thing had gone to my head, I would have gone nuts by now. I have to survive and I am glad I have my parents."

ALSO SEE:
Kaun Ban Gaya Crorepati!

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