India, June 24 -- Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor has been the architect of India's food entertainment industry since his cooking show Khana Khazana hit our TV screens in 1993, and later went on to judge MasterChef India season 3. Now, Kapoor revealed on Vir Sanghvi's podcast Culinary Culture that he was first approached to judge season 1 of the show in 2010 alongside actor Akshay Kumar, but refused because the makers "did not meet [his] condition". "My condition was that I should be paid more than Akshay Kumar, just Rs.1 more. This was the first season, and there was nobody else who could do it but me. It was quite obvious. They did not agree, and I didn't want to compromise," he said on Monday. Despite repeated requests and feelers from the makers, Kapoor refused to make even a guest appearance on the show. However, by the third season, the makers agreed to Kapoor's terms, including his fees. When Sanghvi asked if he was paid more than Kumar, Kapoor said: "Oh, obviously. That was not negotiable. If I can't command that, then what's the point?" Notably, Kumar did not appear on the show after the first season. Social media users agreed with Kapoor, praising him for demanding his worth. One user wrote, "An actor getting more than a chef in a cooking show is not a good sign." Another commented, "Not ego, this is pure value. It was the principle of the thing... He is synonymous with Indian cooking." htc...