'Hope to build factual culture in age of alternate narratives': Quizmaster Siddhartha Basu

New Delhi: Siddhartha Basu returns to his quizmaster role with "Quizzer of the Year," hoping to recapture the magic of "Quiz Time" and "Mastermind India" from decades past. He claims he wants to develop a "factual culture" in an era of alternate facts and narratives.

The national quiz show, which will air on the streaming service SonyLIV in the academic year 2023–2024 and is primarily targeted at Classes 9–12 but is also open to others, will be broadcast statewide. The competition will start with zonal championships and progress to the national finals, where a Rs 1 crore scholarship for college will be awarded.

"Hopefully, this round the year activity will build a community... that is a very important motive so people can keep playing and we can build a knowledge community and also build a factual culture,” Basu said, PTI reported.

In an age of "alternate facts and alternate narratives all over the world", there is a need to "encourage people to find things out for themselves, get to the root of the matter, as journalists do and to be able to share that and be on top of that. That is something that I hope will be encouraged".

Popular for hosting "Quiz Time" on Doordarshan in 1985 and BBC's "Mastermind India" (1998), Basu's biggest success came in 2000 with the Amitabh Bachchan-presented "Kaun Banega Crorepati" with which his association lasted for 17 years.

As someone who has been in the business of knowledge and information gathering for decades, the 68-year-old said some quiz shows have enjoyed "extraordinary longevity" on Indian television and he wants to recreate the same magic with "Quizzer of the Year" (QOTY).

According to the makers, "QOTY" seeks to engage young minds with passion and curiosity for learning and quizzing. It is hosted by Basu, co-designed, and created along with Anita Kaul Basu and the team at Tree of Knowledge Digital (Digitok).

Asked what was important to get right in a quiz show, the industry veteran said it is all about "participation and interactivity".

"I would invite all students from this age group from Classes 9 to 12 and as a matter of fact everyone else to play every day and see where they stand. That is the inclusive nature of this app outreach. There will be very bright kids from all over the country." "We will have those champions playing up for the national finals which I will be conducting. Before that, we will have 'webisodes' which will also be on a digital platform where people can see city-zone champions being found. Other than that, the app will go on so everyone can play every day," Basu said.

The general public can log on to the SonyLIV app to participate in the show and win prizes.

Discussing the extraordinary popularity of "Kaun Banega Crorepati", which will see its 15th season this year, Basu said, "One reason is the X factor of Amitabh Bachchan because he is one in a billion and he does exceptionally well. Apart from that, it has globally been a very strong format. You get chances, you get an escalation." Popularly called "KBC", the series is the Hindi version of the original British game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" "You are able to leave the game when you want or you keep persisting and the human story unspooling through a knowledge game. That is the secret sauce... Some of those elements, the participation, the openness, the fact that anyone can try and get on to it..." he added.

Basu, a graduate of English Literature from St Stephen's College and a postgraduate from Delhi University's Arts Faculty, said he got interested in quizzing in college. Some of his juniors, including Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, author Ramchandra Guha, and late diplomat Ramu Damodaran, would quiz and he used to do theatre.

Basu began his career in television by directing documentary films in 1977.

With "QOTY", he said, he and his team have tried to "combine the world of quizzing with engagement and the drama of competition with reaching out".

"We have tried to make it inclusive and that has been a learning experience. My background is theatre, then documentary filmmaking and then finally a whole lot of varied kinds of shows. We did the first two seasons of 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa', the first two seasons of 'India's Got Talent. We did a live court case show like Kiran Bedi's 'Aap Ki Kachehri'," he added.

He has also done guest appearances in films such as "Madras Cafe", "36 Vayadhinile", "Bombay Velvet", and "Tiger Zinda Hai".

"I have never looked for a career in films as an actor. I have done a few cameos for friends and I am happy to do that," he added.