Siddhartha Basu
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Siddhartha Basu is widely regarded as the father of television quiz shows in India.
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[edit] Early life
Basu grew up in Bombay, delhi, Madras and Delhi, in that order. He did his early schooling from Besant Montessori and Cathedral in Bombay, moved to Frank Anthony in Delhi, and passed out from Kendriya Vidyalaya, IIT, Madras. An English literature graduate from Delhi's St. Stephen's College, and post graduate in the same subject from Arts Faculty, Delhi University, Basu is the head of a media business, BIG Synergy (Synergy Adlabs Media Ltd ). Starting with "Quiz Time" on the Doordarshan network, Basu moved on to host and produce "Spectrum", the 7 nation SAARC Quiz, "The IndiaQuiz",and "The Beanstalk Quiz Summit"(On Doordarshan), "Mastermind India", "University Challenge" on BBC World, and "India's Child Genius" on STAR World.
[edit] Career
Basu's biggest quiz show success came in the form of "Kaun Banega Crorepati," produced for STAR Plus. KBC, as the show is also known, is the licensed Indian version of Celador's globally successful format "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" with Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan as its host. The second edition of the show, KBC 2 or KBC "Dwiteeya", began airing in August 2005 and notched up the highest ever opening in the history of Indian television, going on to sustain its position among the most watched programmes in the country. The third series of KBC was hosted by superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
Other than on TV, Basu has conducted a number of live multimedia quiz contests on the corporate, college, and school circuits.
Siddhartha Basu's career in television began in 1977 as a documentary filmaker, after he completed a post-graduate degree in English Literature from Delhi University. His success in the quiz circuit may have been launched by Quiz Time in the 80's. He was the Quiz master of Quiz Time series in the 80's, the inter-collegiate quiz show produced by ITV India, sponsored by Limca and Amul Chocolates. Sony's autumn hit show of 2006, "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa", the Indian version of BBC's celebrity dance show, Dancing with the Stars, was produced by his production company, Synergy Communications, which is now in an alliance with Adlabs Films, of the Reliance ADA Group, as its television division.
Siddhartha Basu's BIG Synergy is currently producing Aap Ki Kachehri - Kiran ke Saath, Sach ka Saamna, and Khelo Jeeto Jiyo on Star Plus, India's Got Talent on Colors, and Dus ka Dum with superstar Salman Khan as host on Sony.
[edit] Personal life
He married Anita Kaul Basu, a journalist working with India Today magazine, in 1983. They have a son, Aditya and a daughter, Medha[1]
