Siddhartha Basu, who created a buzz with his quiz shows, set to return as host after almost 20 years

New Delhi [India], April 13 : Siddhartha Basu, a pioneer of Indian television quizzing who created new benchmarks with his popular show in the eighties, is set to make a comeback on the small screen.
He is remembered for hosting popular quiz show 'Mastermind India' and later for producing 'Kaun Banega Crorepati'. And after almost 20 years after his last show, he will be hosting another quiz challenge, 'Quizzer of the Year'.
He got candid about hosting a quiz show after such a long gap and the idea behind the entire concept.
His 'Quiz Time' on Doordarshan in the 1980s and 'Mastermind India' on BBC in 1998 paved the way for several quizzing stars.
In an interview with ANI, Basu said the first show he did was in 1985 and has since stayed behind the camera.
"The first show I did was way back in 1985, 'Quiz Time', which was a national inter-college contest, that was when only one or two slots were open for independent producers and independent shows on Doordarshan. Since then, I have been doing a number of shows but stayed behind the camera," he said.
Basu's quiz show on Doordarshan had a large fan following and was eagerly watched by students and those interested in increasing their knowledge.
"The last show I hosted was University Challenge. That was in 2004, 2005. So it's almost 20 years, I was very happy doing things from behind the scenes but Sony LIV said we want you to host the finals of this show and so I am in," he said. .
'Quizzer of The Year' (QOTY) is a quiz challenge aimed at students from grades IX to XII (9th to 12th) for the academic year 2023-24.
Talking about idea behind the entire concept, he said 'Quizzer of the Year' was introduced one year back as an interactive quiz game on platform's app.
"And the intention was that if you can play daily, it is something that will buttress a factual culture. It'll make quiz interactivity interesting and it will make it fun. The app game is also a gateway into the all-India inter-school contest, which is open to students from all over the country and they could play daily. There were also selection rounds, which were on the app itself," he said.
"You can play every day, 24X7. Anybody can log on and play. But for students, there was this contest where they could take part and see how good they were and improve their knowledge, keep learning all the time. That was the intention behind QOTY and introducing this app. Last April, we began and it's ended with an exciting series at the zonal rounds which has people from all over the country and now we're recording the final right here at the studio," he said.
Basu said there have been well over 2,000 school students from many schools who've registered and who have been playing regularly.
"The Zonal Rounds had 64 teams. who've come from various parts of the country and now we have the 32 teams who are going to narrow down to the end. The grand prize for the students is a scholarship worth one crore rupees," he said while sharing details about the show," he said.
"Because of our quiz shows and because of a series of books that we have for school students, I get to travel around the country meeting school students, both younger ones from class one to eight for whom the books are written as well as for senior school students and various kinds of cohorts and audiences and I sometimes conduct live quizzes for them and there's a lot of activity over the years," he added.
Basu said there has been a lot change in the media scenario since television held virtual monopoly in the evening hours.
"I think television was the driver. You don't see it much on television as much as you used to at one time when it dominated, the particular slots. Like 'Quiz Time', things would come to a halt on Sunday, 9 pm. So now a lot is going on in the ground and different corners of the country and there's a lot of live events and ground events, all of that is happening."
He said internet has also contributed to students gaining information at faster speed.
"Thanks to not only the kind of exposure they are now getting, but also to the internet. And the best of them are very well-informed, and it's a pleasure to quiz with them. And I think you'll see on the shows the kind of standards that they have, and how quick they are to make connections, which is what is important."
Apart from being a quiz master, Basu has also been associated with films like 'Madras Cafe', '36 Vayadhinile', 'Bombay Velvet' and 'Tiger Zinda Hai'.
"I've done a small cameo in the Boman Irani's directorial debut. 'The Mehta Boys'. I am also a creative consultant on a project on Mahatma Gandhi. The series is being done by Applause Entertainment with Hansal Mehta."
'Quizzer of the Year' will stream on Sony LIV from April 15.