MUMBAI: The cash registers are going to start ringing in July. The telephone lines are going to start humming once again. Star is bringing back its runaway success, the Amitabh Bachchan-hosted game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) in July, possibly with more prize money.

Confirming this to indiantelevision.com, Star India chief operating officer Sameer .Nair said pre-production is slated to start in February.

“We have a balance of 85 episodes with Bachchan. We can also do more,” he said. Bachchan’s existing contract with Star was for 390 episodes.

On being queried whether the prize money would remain the same, Nair said “it may be more.” The show, which changed the fortunes of Star Plus, used to hand over a maximum award of Rs 1 crore (10 million) to the winner.

But would there be any change from the original KBC, which was launched on 3 July 2000 and which went off the air in 2002? “It is too early to state anything definite now,” said Nair. Though the basic format of the show taken from Who Wants to be a Millionaire can’t change, Star could introduce some element of novelty to revive its popularity which started waning towards the end before being put off air.

KBC 2005 will continue to be produced by Siddharth Basu’s Synergy Communications.

Bachchan had earlier confirmed to Subhash K Jha, a columnist with indiantelevision.com, that KBC was being revived in July. “I kept shifting the date because of my film commitments. But now I don’t think delaying KBC makes any sense. While I still have my wits I better get down to it. So I’ll make time for KBC in July,” Bachchan has told Jha.