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Chef Sanjeev Kapoor Reveals He Was Dropped from MasterChef India for Demanding Re 1 More Than Akshay Kumar

Famous chef Sanjeev Kapoor recently revealed that he was dropped from the first season of the reality show MasterChef India for insisting on being paid a rupee above what Akshay Kumar was being paid. The immensely popular Indian cooking program, acquired by the Indian audience in 2010, had Akshay Kumar as one of its judges in the inaugural season.

In an interview to Siddharth Kannan, Kapoor revealed that he was approached to become a fellow chef on the show. Although he was interested, he stipulated one condition: his fee should exceed Akshay Kumar’s by a single rupee, as he considered cooking to be his domain.

Kapoor recounted that his demand left the show’s producers stunned. “When MasterChef was announced, I was informed that one judge had already been secured—Akshay Kumar. At that time, I was told that there was no one bigger than me in the industry. The producers had signed Akshay because of his immense popularity. They wanted to bring me on board as well,” Kapoor explained.

He continued, “I said I was happy to join but with the condition that I would be paid Re 1 more than Akshay. They were surprised by this request. Eventually, they decided not to meet my terms and replaced Akshay Kumar instead. I then signed the show on my own terms.”

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Kapoor went on to join MasterChef India in its second season and remained a part of the series through its fourth season. The show has since aired eight seasons in Hindi, with other notable chefs such as Vikas Khanna and Ranveer Brar making long-term contributions after Kapoor’s exit.