All it took was 15 correct answers to change her life. And now Sanuja S. has become the first contestant to hit the Rs.1 crore jackpot on ‘Ningalkkum Aakam Kodeeswaran’, the popular quiz show on Asianet, hosted by actor Suresh Gopi.
Naturally, Sanuja is over the moon. “I’ve been a fan of the show from the very beginning. It’s God’s grace that I am standing here today with the check for Rs.1 crore in my hands. That and the support of my family and friends, especially my husband, Rajan, a head-load worker, who always insisted that I study and get a job,” says Sanuja, who hails from Kulappad village in Nedumangadu, Thiruvananthapuram. “I’m still a bit thunderstruck because I didn’t ever think that I would make it past the audition round or the fastest finger round or even the first question. Actually, the fastest finger round is the real hot seat. The actual ‘hot set’ is relatively tension free. What happened after I sat down in the hot seat is now a blur!” says the 38-year-old mother of two, with a laugh.
Sanuja, who now works as an attendant in the Rural Development section at the Collectorate, after working as a bus conductor, says that she did not do much in way of preparation for the show. “I had studied for the Public Services Commission exams so I had enough knowledge of a wide variety of subjects. To keep myself up-to-date on current affairs I made it a point to read at least one newspaper every day and listen to the news on television every night. It’s a routine I have been following for years, ever since my school days at Aryanad High School. My parents couldn’t afford to buy the newspaper nor did we have electricity at home. So I used to go to neighbouring houses to read and catch the news,” says Sanuja.
With the prize money, Sanuja hopes to fund the education of her sons, Sajan and Sagar, and that of her two nieces and also set “save” her husband from his hardship of a job. Catch Sanuja on ‘Ningalkkum Aakam Kodeeswaran’ on Tuesday (April 30) at 8 p.m.
