The cooking-based reality game show, MasterChef was adapted for the Indian audience in 2010. In its first season, Akshay Kumar, Kunal Kapur, and Ajay Chopra judged the show. But did you know the renowned Indian chef, Sanjeev Kapoor was also approached for MasterChef India's premiere season, but he dropped out due to the presence of the Bollywood actor, Akshay Kumar?
Recently, Sanjeev Kapoor sat for an interview with Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube talk show and spoke at length about his professional front. During the conversation, the popular chef revealed that he was approached to be a judge on MasterChef India season 1. However, he had placed one condition before the makers that cost him this golden opportunity.
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Sanjeev Kapoor, while talking to the host, shared that before MasterChef came to India, he had hosted a similar cookery show and knew about the promising future of such shows. When the show makers approached the chef for season one, he was informed that one judge had already signed the show, and that was none other than Akshay Kumar. Sanjeev was quoted as saying:
"When MasterChef came, we had already done a show and saw what future looked like for it. I was approached. As soon as the conversation began, I was told that one judge has been signed. At that time, there was no one bigger than Sanjeev Kapoor. Forget top 10, even in top 100, there was no one. So they had signed Akshay Kumar. He’s a dear friend, brilliant guy, great professional."
Further, Sanjeev Kapoor discussed the details on why he dropped out of season 1 of MasterChef India and revealed that he had made a condition that he must get Rs. 1 more than Akshay Kumar's salary for the show. Sharing that he put such demand across as it was his field of work, Sanjeev Kapoor added:
"(The showrunners told me) We’ve signed him, so we wanted to sign you as well. I said, ‘Very good, I am very happy, but I have only one condition. Whatever you are paying him, I will charge Re 1 more.’ They asked, ‘Charge more than him?’ I said, ‘Yes, this is my field.’ They were shocked. They did not, and I was okay."
Akshay Kumar judged the first two seasons of MasterChef India, and he was replaced by Sanjeev Kapoor in the show's third season. In the same conversation, the popular chef recalled that he was approached by the makers again, and this time, he had signed the show on his own terms. Sanjeev Kapoor was quoted as saying:
"They came back to me again. They decided to replace Akshay Kumar. I signed the show on my terms."
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Furthermore, the renowned chef shared that after signing the show, he realised the time-to-effort-to-return ratio did not match. Sanjeev Kapoor judged MasterChef India for two seasons, and later, several popular names from the cooking field replaced him on the show. At present, chefs Ranveer Brar and Vikas Khanna have been the judges of the show for the longest.
Check out the full interview here.
In 2011, several media reports suggested that Akshay Kumar quit hosting MasterChef India after just one season because of scheduling problems. He was unable to find dates for the show as he had several films lined up. More recently, the 56-year-old actor was seen as one of the lead actors in the film, Khel Khel Mein, which also stars Fardeen Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Vaani Kapoor, and others.
What do you think of Sanjeev Kapoor's revelations about being dropped in season 1 of MasterChef India due to Akshay Kumar?
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