Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor revealed that he had declined to judge MasterChef India's debut season because the makers had refused to meet his demand. He said he had asked them to pay him ₹1 more than Akshay Kumar, who was also a judge on the show. "They didn't agree...By...third season, they said, 'It’s not working...we'll do...what you say'," Sanjeev added.