He is back, producing a new quiz show on sports for Doordarshan. Priyanka Joshi catches up with everyone’s favourite quiz man.
Siddharth Basu is back to doing what he does best — quizzing people. Only this time the 56-year old quizmaster and television producer is happy to let Mini Mathur take centre stage and the cue cards. “Mathur is charming and is conducting the quiz, Sports Ka Superstar, very well,” says Basu, claiming that he had never fancied seeing himself on camera, or in the mirror for that matter. “I hope my hosting days are behind me,” he goes on. “I’m much happier being the mentor on shows and playing coach.”
Sports Ka Superstar — Khel Quiz will be a precursor to the 2010 Commonwealth Games being held in New Delhi between October 3 and 14, 2010. It’s being made by Basu’s production house, Big Synergy, the division of Reliance MediaWorks which has produced hit shows such as Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), Mastermind India, Dus ka Dum and Aap Ki Kacheri.
Despite debuting on Doordarshan with Quiz Time, Basu has not worked with the national broadcaster for more than a decade. “We did The Freedom Quiz in 1997 to mark 50 years of Independence on DD, but 13 years is a long time to be away. We definitely missed not being on the public service broadcaster,” he confesses. So when Aruna Sharma, director general of DD, requested him to make shows for the terrestrial network, Basu did not waste time.
Though most of Basu’s hit productions have been for satellite channels, he has no illusions about them. “Private broadcasters are very responsive,” he says, “but they are also completely commercial in their outlook. The public service broadcaster [DD], on the other hand, has a far wider mandate but is hampered by red tape.” For Basu and Big Synergy, Sports Ka Superstar is an opportunity to address a wider audience and do shows that commercial-minded broadcasters would not consider.
Clearly in high spirits, Basu is eager to discuss Sports Ka Superstar. The show has a homegrown format that was tested out by Basu’s team at Big Synergy. There were mock trials in Delhi and Mumbai where the format was fine-tuned. “The entire team has been working for several months now, collating information that will be relevant to the contest as well as have general appeal,” says Basu, a post-graduate in English literature from Delhi University, who began his career as a documentary filmmaker in 1977.
Now that he has a few episodes canned, Basu is satisfied. “It’s shaping up into a keen contest with competitors from all over the country,” he remarks.
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Being a producer, Basu says, has given him the chance to work with the who’s who of showbiz, including Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Boman Irani, Rajeev Khandelwal and Soha Ali Khan. “It’s quite a list, by any reckoning,” he says happily.
Basu and Synergy first hit the big time when they got Amitabh Bachchan to make his debut on the idiot box with KBC. But he remains unfazed with the hype surrounding stars. “As in films, the rationale of getting stars to host shows is two-fold,” he explains. “First, to get the larger-than-life wow factor for the show, which will attract the initial eyeballs and ensure sampling, and second, to get in revenues. After that, it’s the content and presentation of the show that keeps viewers hooked.”
But why does Basu shy away from being in front of the camera? “That question follows me wherever I go, but I have been trying to go beyond questions for some time, and look for answers,” he says a little cryptically.
Even though infotainment has been Big Synergy’s forté so far — KBC and Dus Ka Dum got Big Synergy very high TRPs — the production house has done a few fiction shows too. It is now concentrating on a variety of general entertainment shows.
Basu has also begun work on the next season of India’s Got Talent that will be broadcast on Colors. Next to go on the floors will be a new family game show for NDTV Imagine titled Big Money, that will be hosted by actor Madhavan. Adding to its production centres in Delhi and Mumbai, Big Synergy has also set up one in Chennai, intending to roll out shows for the south.
Shuttling between studios, Basu naturally works erratic hours. And unlike his viewers, TV is no stress-buster for Basu. “Television watching has become work rather than leisure. But whenever I can make time, I like to catch up on news and movies.”
What he likes, instead, is “doing absolutely nothing” — sleeping or relaxing with a good book. And, of course, good company, good food, travel, movies and music. “I’ve also been trying to work out regularly, but have not really succeeded,” he says a bit sheepishly.
