MasterChef India started in 2010, with actor Akshay Kumar as one of the judges. The show was a big hit, and Pankaj Bhadouria won the first season. The show's makers reportedly didn't agree with Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's unique demand, despite offering him a role as a judge in the first season. So what exactly happened? Keep reading this space.
Chef Sanjeev Kapoor revealed in a recent interview that he only agreed to appear on the show if he received one rupee more than Akshay Kumar. The chef felt this was fair because cooking is his area of expertise. However, the show's producers were surprised by this demand and initially didn't accept it. Kapoor stated that the producers returned to him later and decided to replace Akshay Kumar, allowing Kapoor to join the show on his terms.
In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Kapoor said that at that time, he was told that there was no chef bigger than him. He was so exceptional that, even in the top 100, no one could compare to him. Sanjeev referred to the Phir Hera Pheri actor, whom Akshay replaced in Masterchef India season 1, as a dear friend and a brilliant and professional person.
Sanjeev Kapoor joined MasterChef India in the second season and stayed until the fourth season. After his exit, several other chefs came on board. However, Vikas Khanna and Ranveer Brar are the two chefs who have been associated with the cooking reality show the longest. Apart from MasterChef, Sanjeev has led several cooking shows, such as Khana Khazana, Sanjeev Kapoor Ke Kitchen Khiladi, and Food Food Maha Challenge.
Speaking of Akshay Kumar, he recently had his third theatrical release of 2024, Khel Khel Mein. Directed by Mudassar Aziz, the film also stars Fardeen Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Vaani Kapoor, Aditya Seal, Ammy Virk, and Pragya Jaiswal. Released on August 15, the movie faced competition from John Abraham and Sharvari's Vedaa and Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor's Stree 2. The actor's next project is Rohit Shetty's Singham Again. It also stars Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, and Tiger Shroff.
