Contestants wait for the audition at Khubsurat Vatika in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Sudhir Kumar overcame his physical challenge to queue up for Kaun Banega Crorepati 7 audition on Tuesday. Hailing from Gaya, the youth who has lost both his legs, reached the venue around 7am.

Not only him, more than 35 shortlisted candidates from various parts of the state dashed to the venue with documents, including birth certificate, passport, voter’s ID, driver’s licence, PAN card and others. Contestants from various districts, including Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Purnea, Bhagalpur and Nalanda, queued up before the scheduled commencement of the audition.

For some, if the prize money was the motivation, others had dreams of meeting Big B on the hot seat.

Mithilesh Kumar, a 39-year-old government teacher from Purnea, who has been trying his luck for the past three seasons, said: “I have been trying for the past three years. I keep myself updated on current affairs by reading newspapers and watching TV. Past rejections didn’t deter me. This year, I have focused on my English pronunciation, as the judges look for body language in the video chat and Hindi and English pronunciation.”

Shalini Priya (22), a BA student from Bhagalpur, had a smile on her face after coming out of the audition hall. “Both the rounds were great. The sk-ill-based question round was the best. Sitting in the audition hall and listening to Amitabh Bachchan’s voice was really enthralling. I felt like being on the hot seat and Bachchanji speaking to me,” said Shalini.

Najihuzzaman, a first-timer who came from New Delhi for the audition, was excited after the video round. “It was great. The best part was that we were provided a booklet before the audition round where we had to write about ourselves. The booklet consisted of questions about reading habits, hobbies, weaknesses and strengths.”

He said: “There were contestants from all walks of life. Apart from people in IT and corporate sectors, housewives, students and government employees also took part.”

For Sudhir, who works under the ministry of home affairs, getting shortlisted for the first round was a dream come true. “Even now I get goosebumps thinking what would happen if I get shortlisted for the second round. I will be able to meet Amitabhji,” he said.

The contestants went through two rounds. The first round involved answering 10 skill-based questions screened through a projector. The second was a video round where the contestants faced a personal interview.