Chef Sanjeev Kapoor discloses that he was dropped from MasterChef India season 1: 'I asked for a higher fee than Akshay Kumar and they said...'

Aug. 21, 2024, 7:51 a.m.

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Akshay Kumar was one of the original judges on Masterchef India's first season, which premiered in 2010. In a conversation with Siddharth Kanan, renowned chef Sanjeev Kapoor shared how he was also approached for the show, but ultimately declined the offer.

He said, “When MasterChef came, we had already done a show and saw what future looked like for it. I was approached (for MasterChef). As soon as the conversation began, I was told that one judge has been signed. At that time, (I was told) 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.”

Advertisement 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 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. They came back to me again. They decided to replace Akshay Kumar. I signed the show on my terms.”

Akshay Kumar is a versatile Bollywood actor, known for excelling in various genres, from action to comedy, with equal ease. He has captivated audiences for over three decades, and is currently considered one of the most successful actors in the industry. However, like many other celebrities, Akshay Kumar's journey to success began in humble beginnings. In a recent interview with ANI, the Khiladi of Bollywood shared his early struggles.

Speaking to the news agency, Akshay Kumar revealed that when his family moved from Delhi's Chandni Chowk to Mumbai, they lived in a small room that rented for 100 rupees. “We were 24 people sharing the same house in Chandni Chowk. We all slept in the same room. In the morning, when we woke up to exercise, everyone would have to scramble over each other to get out,” he said.