Poor clerk first to win $1M in India game show

NEW DELHI (AP) — A poor government clerk from a desolate region of eastern India has become the first person ever to win $1 million on an Indian game show.

Sushil Kumar's staggering win on the popular Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" has transformed him into a role model for millions of aspiring youth yearning to escape from lives of poverty and find a role in India's burgeoning economy.

His win echoes the plot of the 2008 Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire," whose impoverished protagonist won the grand prize on the show.

Kumar and his wife of four months wept when Indian movie legend Amitabh Bachchan, the show's host, handed them a check for 50 million rupees (just over $1 million) after the contestant gave all the right answers.

"You have created history. Your grit and determination has made you come so far in this show," Bachchan said.

"We're happy of course but mostly we're just really stunned," Kumar told The Associated Press.