Siddhartha Basu  Siddhartha Basu is an Indian television producer-director and quiz show host, widely regarded as the "Father of Indian television quizzing". He is best known for hosting shows such as "Quiz Time", "Mastermind India" and "University Challenge", and as producer-director of shows such as "Kaun Banega Crorepati", "Dus Ka Dum", "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa" and "India's Got Talent". Founder-Director of the television production house BIG Synergy, & later a creative mentor and consultant with the company, he stepped back from all roles in the company in December 2018. Along with Anita Kaul Basu, he is Founder-director of Tree of Knowledge Digital, a greenfield venture in the area of interactive edutainment events, e-learning, gaming, publishing and select television production. Born in Kolkata in a Bengali Hindu family, Basu grew up in Bombay, Delhi, and Madras. He did his early schooling from Besant Montessori School and Cathedral and John Connon School, Bombay, and later studied at Frank Anthony Public School, in Delhi. Next he moved to Chennai, and completed his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, IIT Madras. He did his graduate studies in English Literature from St Stephen's College Delhi, and earned his MA degree in English as a boarder in Hindu College, from the Arts Faculty, University of Delhi. As an undergrad, in 1973, he became a founding member of "Theatre Action Group"(TAG), a theatre group in Delhi, under the artistic direction of Barry John, and acted in numerous plays, most noted for his performance in and as "Oedipus" and Mozart in "Amadeus". After a hiatus of many years, he returned to the stage in Prime Time’s landmark production of Mahesh Dattani’s "Dance Like a Man", playing the roles of Jayaraj and Amritlal. Siddhartha Basu's career in television began in 1977 as a documentary filmmaker with a company called TVNF, after he completed his MA in English Literature from Delhi University. Meanwhile, he also worked with All India Radio as an announcer and hosted programs on General Overseas Service, and "Yuva Vani". In 1985, he first hosted the inaugural series "Quiz Time" on Doordarshan. It was an inter-collegiate quiz show, still well remembered for the quality of quizzing and quizzers.