After ‘KBC’ moment, Gita Gopinath says she is a ‘huge fan of Big B’

That Amitabh Bachchan has a cult following is well known. The legendary thespian’s on-screen charm and acting prowess have earned him fans across latitudes and languages.

On Friday, it emerged that Gita Gopinath, too, is a huge fan of the Big B, as the actor is popularly called. The 49-year-old Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) took to Twitter to express her ‘fangirl’ moment. And what made it more special for the Director of IMF's Research Department and the Economic Counsellor of the Fund was that it was a personal reference.

An elated Gopinath posted a video clipping from the famous quiz show, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, hosted by Bachchan on Sony. In the clipping, he is seen asking a participant to identify the picture shown on the screen. In the 35-second clip he is also seen as saying in Hindi something to the effect that ‘it is tough to correlate such a beautiful face with the domain of economy’.

Gopinath, who is now an American national, wrote on her verified Twitter account that she was unlikely to “get over this” moment, and it was “special”.


Gopinath, who studied at Princeton University, has written research articles on emerging markets, trade and investment, stock market and international financial crises. Gopinath is also a professor of economics at Harvard University.

An Economics graduate from Lady Shri Ram College for Women of the Delhi University in 1992, she joined the University of Washington for a five-year PhD programme. Her professor recommended her to Harvard and Princeton, stating she was the best student they had had in 20 years. She completed her PhD from Princeton University in 2001.