The verdict is out! Amitabh Bachchan, like last year, continues his run on the top of the TRP charts with an opening figure of 5.2 points for the fifth season of Kaun Banega Crorepati. He’s raced ahead of the likes of Bollywood’s other top stars including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan and even colleague Dharmendra who have all been on the small screen this year on different reality shows.

Shah Rukh anchored Zor Ka Jhatka that opened with a dismal 2.6 points. The only relief is that his is not the lowest number recorded. Mallika Sherawat’s TV debut had the smallest opening numbers so far at 2.2 points. According to the numbers issued by TAM India this week, the official authority measuring and issuing the viewership data for TV shows in the country, Bigg Boss 5 has recorded the second highest opening numbers this year.

With 4.25 points as the opening episode’s figures, the Colors prime time reality show, co-hosted by Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan, has managed to grab the third position on the list of top 10 shows this week, closely followed by Sony Entertainment’s Kaun Banega Crorepati on number four with 4.23 points. The latter has completed over seven weeks in the top five-slot ever since it started on August 15.

However, in comparison, Bigg Boss 4, an adaptation of the popular international format, Celebrity Big Brother, opened with better figures last season that flagged off on October 3, 2010. Salman Khan, alone, had anchored the show and it had garnered 4.8 points on day one. This show is not alone. Even KBC last year had recorded 6.2 points, which is way higher than it’s this year’s opening numbers. Ditto Khatron Ke Khiladi. The show opened with 5.5 points, one of the highest numbers last year, when Priyanka Chopra had anchored it.  

Broadcasters don’t seem to be too worried about the trend though. Danish Khan, the head of marketing, Sony Entertainment, says, “The numbers are encouraging. As per official records, they are the highest so far in the year. As long as that happens, we’re not worried.” One day, three finales * On October 1, a day before Bigg Boss 5 flagged off, three shows ended in the prime time slot. Out of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs, Just Dance and India’s Got Talent 3, Just Dance had the highest TRPs at 2.94 followed by Sa Re Ga Ma… and India’s Got Talent.

* According to the TAM data, 97 million viewers watched Hrithik Roshan’s TV debut’s finale. The simulcast recorded 3.3 points (on the opening day, the number was 4.7 points). It’s rumoured that Hrithik is already in talks with the broadcasters for the next season of the dance reality show, and this time, his per appearance or per day work fee is likely to be at least 50 lakh more than what he charged for the first season. For the season that just ended, he had reportedly charged Rs 2 crore an episode.