Anyone who watched food and cooking shows in India back in the 90s and early 2000s knows Sanjeev Kapoor as the masterchef of Indian television, especially due to his hit show Khana Khazana . But, when MasterChef came around as a TV program in India, Kapoor was nowhere to be found. Many expected him to be one of the judges on MasterChef India , but that wasn’t the case.
Recently, Kapoor revealed he was replaced by Akshay Kumar in the first season of MasterChef India , which was based on the reality series MasterChef Australia . While speaking to Siddharth Kannan in an interview on his YouTube channel, Kapoor said he was initially approached by MasterChef to join the show as a judge, but was later informed that they signed someone else. Curious about who could be bigger than him, Kapoor discovered the judge replacing him was Akshay Kumar.
A post shared by Sanjeev Kapoor (@sanjeevkapoor) Speaking about the same, Kapoor said, “They had signed Akshay Kumar, a dear friend, a brilliant guy and a great professional. They said now that we have signed him (Kumar), we want you as well. I said, ‘Very good, I am very happy.
’” Kapoor then said he had one condition for the makers; he’d charge one rupee more than whatever amount Kumar was being paid. Kapoor added, “They were shocked and were, like, ‘More than him?’ I said, ‘Yes, this is my field.’ They were shocked and they did not, and I was okay.
” A post shared by Sony LIV (@sonylivindia) However, for season three and four, the makers of MasterChef returned to Kapoor to replace Kumar. Despite this, Kapoor maintained his original terms while also acknowledging that the condition couldn’t apply since Kumar was no longer part of the show. He said, “So I signed the show, and I did a few seasons, but time and effort to return, that ratio did not match.
” Kapoor joined MasterChef in the third season and continued till the fourth season. The current line-up of judges consists of Vikas Khanna, Pooja Dhingra, and Ranveer Brar. See Also: Chef Sanjeev Kapoor Lambasts Air India’s Pathetic Meal Quality In Viral Tweet; Indian Diplomat Joins Chorus.
