The famous Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor recently appeared in an interview and made some startling revelations regarding the cooking reality show, Masterchef India.
He revealed that he was dropped from the first season of MasterChef India after he requested to be paid one rupee more than Akshay Kumar. For context, MasterChef was adapted for Indian audiences in 2010, with Akshay Kumar serving as one of the judges in its debut season. In a new interview, Sanjeev Kapoor shared that he was initially approached to be a fellow judge on the show. While he agreed to participate, he made a specific demand—that his payment be one rupee higher than Akshay Kumar’s, as cooking is his domain of expertise.
This demand reportedly left the show’s producers taken aback. Sanjeev Kapoor explained, “When MasterChef was being developed, we had already seen its potential. I was approached for the show, and as soon as the discussions began, I was informed that one judge had already been signed. At that time, there was no one bigger than Sanjeev Kapoor in the culinary world—not even in the top 100. They had signed Akshay Kumar. He’s a dear friend, a brilliant guy, and a great professional.”
He continued, “The producers told me, ‘We’ve signed him, and now we want to sign you as well.’ I responded, ‘Great, I’m happy to join, but I have one condition. Whatever you’re paying him, I will charge one rupee more.’ They were shocked and asked, ‘Charge more than him?’ I said, ‘Yes, this is my field.’ They were taken aback, and I was fine with it. They eventually came back and decided to replace Akshay Kumar. I signed the show on my terms.”
MasterChef India has aired eight seasons in Hindi so far. Sanjeev Kapoor joined the series in its second season and continued until the fourth. After his departure, several other chefs took part in the show, but Vikas Khanna and Ranveer Brar have remained among the longest-serving judges.
