Raja Ravindra, an inspector with Cyber Crimes Department of Telangana, has won ₹1 crore as he clinched the Telugu version of Meelo Evaru Koteeswarulu? (or Who Among You are Millionaire?), a game show hosted on Gemini TV.
He has become the first contestant on the game show (in all seasons), hosted by popular Telugu film actor Jr NTR, to clinch the full cash prize.
The 33-year-old cop, who hails from Bhadradri Kothagudem district, is presently working as a Cyber Crimes inspector in Hyderabad.
His answer (Fazal Ali) to the question (the 15th one that he faced) - Who chaired the States’ Reorganisation panel that resulted in the formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956 – won him the coveted prize.
He used his last ‘lifeline’ and called a friend to get a clarity on the answer to the last question.
A shooter that won many awards in various contests, the police inspector said he was ready to take risks and was willing to learn from the failures.
Into its fifth season now, the MEK show hit the small screen in 2014. Film actor-producer Nagarjuna hosted the first three seasons, with Chiranjeevi hosted the fourth season. The quiz shows, aired on Maa TV and Star Maa, generated huge interest in Telugu TV audience in the first phase ended in 2019.
In the second phase, the MEK shifted base to Gemini TV a few months ago. Jr NTR, who was busy with the shooting of RRR (directed by Rajamouli) till recently, joined the MEK team as a host in August. It completed over 30 episodes in its second avtar.