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KBC lakhpati thanks his 8-yr-old daughter

Rifat Jawaid in Calcutta

When 32-year-old Ramesh Chandra Dubey's name was short-listed for Kaun Banega Crorepati, he enlisted the help of his eight-year-old daughter to brush-up is general knowledge.

Every night the father-daughter pair would play their own version of KBC. Neha would play the Big B and throw a variety of questions at her father. The questions came from GK books Neha collected from her friends.

She never told her friends why she needed the books, though. She thought they would poke fun at her.

The secret, however, is out now. The entire nation watched Dubey win Rs 50 lakh - the highest amount ever - on Thursday's episode of KBC.

Ever since Dubey returned to Calcutta from Bombay, his Park Street saree showroom has been flooded with visitors.

How does it feel to win Rs 50 lakh in less than hour?

"Rs 50 lakh rupees is indeed a huge amount. But more than the money, it's the unforgettable moments I spent with the millennium's best actor that gave me more pleasure," Dubey says.

Dubey, a quiz junkie since his childhood, regrets that he could not complete his studies. His family owns a chain of saree showrooms in Calcutta and he was forced to give up studies to help his father and brother run the business.

"Quiz games have always been my favourite pastime. My demanding work-schedule notwithstanding, I have always been attracted to quiz programmes on television and general knowledge books. I have not missed a single episode of the Bournvita Quiz Contest," he says.

Dubey, however, says that had it not been for his daughter's support, he wouldn't have been able make it to KBC.

"Neha began collecting general knowledge books after she came to know that I would be participating in KBC. Every night she would grill me with a list of questions she would studiously compile. I owe my unprecedented success to my daughter, my family members and Guru Shri Gyan Banerjee."

His wife, Snehlata, who accompanied him to the show, says she was overwhelmed to see people chasing her husband for autographs. "When the show ended, I was surprised to see that while only four to five people went to Amitabh Bachchan, my husband was surrounded by the audience. It made an unforgettable sight, which all of us will cherish for life," she says.

Neha says she was confident her father would win a big sum. "My dad was always good at GK. More than my contribution, it's dad's own genius that enabled him to create history."

And what will she now tell her friends who lent her their the GK books? "They all want to know if the books were of any help. I lie to them - I tell them many of the questions were from the books I borrowed from them," she says with glint if mischief in her eyes.

What does Dubey propose to do with the money?

"I have handed over the cheque to my father. Now it's up to him what he wants to do with the money. The first person whom I called after winning Rs 50 lakh was my dad. He couldn't hide his joy and burst into tears," Dubey remembers.

Dubey almost made it to the jackpot prize of Rs 10 million but faltered on the last question. Does he have any regrets?

"I am happy with whatever I have got. After all I am the first person to have reached this figure. I am satisfied...I have no regrets," he says.

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