Ottapalam: “Reaching the hot seat is no easy task. But once you're there, you're sitting in front of none other than Amitabh Bachchan.” These are the words of Harigovind Menon (66), a native of Thottakkara in Ottapalam, who won ₹5 lakh on the popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).

The competition consists of 16 stages, and Harigovind successfully reached the 12th level. Though he had won up to ₹7.5 lakh, a wrong answer at that stage brought his final winnings down to ₹5 lakh.

A retired assistant general manager of State Bank of Travancore, Harigovind later worked as a manager at Global Exchange in Dubai. Currently, he is dedicated to mentoring students in quiz competitions and encouraging reading habits.

He belongs to the Thelakatt family of Kunduvampadam, Kadambazhipuram. His father, late Sankaranarayanan Menon of Kuruppath, Palakkad, was an employee at the Central Ordnance Depot, Kanpur. His mother was late Meenakshi.

Harigovind’s wife is Sudha from Malappuram. Their son Rohith G Menon and daughter-in-law Anagha live in Muscat.