KBC 11 winner: Know all about the season's first crorepati Sanoj Raj

Sanoj Raj battled one question after the other on the hot seat of Kaun Banega Crorepati 11, a game show hosted by Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, and eventually became the season's first ever crorepati. 25-year-old Sanoj won Rs one crore and received a round of applause from everyone in the audience and Big B himself.

Sanoj Raj hails from Bihar's Jehanabad district. Giving him company on the show were his father, a farmer, and uncle. He called his mother right after he won a crore and she was happy to learn his struggles had finally paid off.

Sanoj Raj is an IAS aspirant and currently based in Delhi, preparing for his UPSC exams. He believes by doing IAS, he'd have the power to bring about a change in the society.

Sanoj is greatly interested in policy making and implementation. He wants to make policies regarding health and environment. According to him, there is a need for stronger policies regarding rainwater harvesting, proper drainage systems in villages and plantation of more trees. When it comes to health, he wants to focus on the issue of malnutrition and promotion of organic and natural farming.

Sanoj believes in simple living and high thinking. Sanoj’s thoughts and ideologies impressed Mr. Bachchan who was appreciative of the fact that we need such strong minded and knowledgeable young guns to positively channelize the future of our country.

The IAS aspirant didn't study extra for the show. He said in his interview to IANS, "I was studying for civil services, so I didn't do any extra preparation."

The first crorepati of Season 11 earlier worked at Tata Consultancy Services in Delhi. Sanoj does not want to be on cloud nine, as he has bigger dreams and higher aims to achieve. "I am focusing on my civil services exams right now."

"I would like to do something I have an interest in, which is interacting with people and solving their problems. These are more important than money," he told IANS.

Sanoj added in the same interview that the 10 contestants including him stayed together in a hotel and became friends in no time. But what he found irritating was the clothes. He said, " I have always given importance to comfort while dressing up but on the show, fitting and colours were more important. So much effort went into choosing our clothes."

When Sanoj was faced with the 1 crore question, he knew the answer yet used the last remaining lifeline to everyone’s surprise. When asked by AB, why he chose the lifeline when he knew the answer, Sanoj humbly mentioned that since he wouldn’t be able to use the lifeline for the Rs 7 crore question, he may as well use it rather than it going waste. With the audience and AB in splits, this moment of Sanoj winning Rs 1 crore on Kaun Banega Crorepati became the highlight of the episode.