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Forgotten Newsmakers | Sushil Kumar, The Motihari Corepati Who Wants To Save The Indian Sparrow

Forgotten Newsmakers | Sushil Kumar, The Motihari Corepati Who Wants To Save The Indian Sparrow

KBC jackpot winner Sushil Kumar, who worked as a computer operator, had once aspired to become a government off­icer but gave up the effort after the KBC ­success

Winning Smile Photograph by PTI

“Computerji, lock kar diya jaye?” Eight years ago, when Sushil Kumar said yes to Amitabh Bachchan, he became the first winner of an incredible Rs 5 crore, the first jackpot in the Indian television show Kaun Banega Crorepati. And within minutes, this unassuming MA in history from the sleepy town of Motihari in Bihar became a celebrity, his name splashed across newspapers, his sound bytes played over and over again on TV. Today, his name would hardly ring a bell. But Kumar is content with life away from the spotlight.

“Being a pragmatist, I knew all along that it was always going to be 15 minutes of fame,” Kumar, 31, tells Outlook. “I am from an ordinary family…I realised that those moments had a very short lifespan.” He took home the prize-money of just over Rs 3.5 crore after tax deduction, built a house where 18 members of the extended family stay together. He is the ­father of a daughter, 5, and a toddler son.

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