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“No, my life hasn’t changed all that much since I won the money,” insists Dubey. He did, just for a while, contemplate moving to a better house with his wife, 16-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son. “But we are a big, joint family and my roots are here.” His parents, four brothers and their families live in different units of the same building.

Clearly, despite the glory that came with KBC, life goes on as always for some of the big-time prize winners of Kaun Banega Crorepati, a Star TV show that notched up a high 27.13 TVR in its 2000 series. The unassuming Mishras of Cuttack, for instance, shot into fame when daughter Lopa Mudra came back home with Rs 12.5 lakh. But, Lopa insists that nothing much has changed since then. “We are the same as before. The KBC money did not upgrade our lifestyle in any way. It was just a bonus,” she says.

Dubey won Rs 50 lakh, but didn’t buy a car. He still travels by bus, if he can help it. So what did he do with all that money? “Well, I went on a trip to the Himalayas with my family after the win,” he says.

The Dubey patriarch ? Ramesh’s father ? deals with financial matters at home. All that Dubey knows is that part of the money went to charity, and quite a large chunk went into business ? not the old sari business which his family owns, but a children’s garment business that Dubey started about three years ago.

“I’ve always wanted to do this. Other than children’s clothes, we make caps and hats for kids.” Says Dubey, “Maybe I would’ve never ventured into it had I not won the money.”

But bank clerk Raj Kumar Chakraborty puts it in perspective when he says, “There’s always need for more money.”

And while he is very happy to have won Rs 12.5 lakh, he doesn’t think it’s a huge amount in this day and age.