INTERVIEW WITH SIDDHARTHA BASU - II

Who : Siddhartha Basu

About : India's most famous quizmaster, Produced KBC, Mastermind India, etc.
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhartha_Basu

How it happened : Interview with Siddhartha Basu
Interview Date: March 28, 2007
Place: KBC Set, Film City (Goregaon) , Mumbai
Pics: The KBC Experience

Nikhil Taneja (NT) :From AIR to KBC. How has the journey been for Siddharth Basu?
Siddhartha Basu (SB) :It’s been a long journey. It’s been a number of decades as a matter of fact. I think it was 71 where that was the first exposure to electronic media. AIR had a youth channel called Yuv-Vaani. And that was great first exposure. That was quite an initiative I think, it was taken under the time of Indira Gandhi. A no. of fine talents came out of that, not just in the field of media, but other fields also – Shahi Tharoor, Rajiv Mehrotra who runs Public Service Broadcasting Trust, etc. A whole lot of people actually. And that was useful exposure, but that was a long time back. And it was, of course limited technology and exposure because you know, AIR was the only channel then. But, really, there have been some watersheds in media since then.. television first going colour, then opening up to independent producers. That’s when I did my first quiz program, quite by accident. Because I never was a quizzer in college or otherwise.

So that was really my root to quizzing. It was via theatre, and via being a, sort of Master of Ceremony by default. And so since then, after colour, there was the whole opening up of satellite television. And sponsored programs which feed us up by very strong state restrictions. We’ve seen exposure. And now you are seeing world class programs in India. And you are spoilt for choice. And so you really have to do something very distinctive and of quality to be noticed among the clutter. And, so there’s been a lot of plusses. Viewers have a lot of choice. However, I think, programming is largely determined by commercial considerations, which is a little, sort of limiting.. Public service broadcasting has taken a backseat. Also, certain kinds of programs, which are more challenging, which require you to think, or maybe, look at things differently have had to take a backseat, and that’s sad. So I think you need a balanced public service broadcasting in commercial television. Hopefully, things will happen in due course.

NT: How adversely had Amitabh Bachchan’s illness and his subsequent opting out of the show affected Synergy Communications and when did you finally think, it is time to bring someone else in?
SB: Well, as they say the show must go on. And to match the standards set by a superstar we had to find another superstar. And of course, the only person who came to mind was Shahrukh. And he is actually well versed with these kinds of things. Because they play such games very often in their circle too, they are all very avid trivia quizzers – Farha, Shahrukh and the rest. Actually when Shahrukh had come for KBC as a guest and we had seen his enthusiasm, since then, we had, sort of, had him in mind. That if there was need for a replacement, Shahrukh would be the most obvious choice. We didn’t have anyone else in mind. You can’t have a lesser known person to host KBC after Mr. Bachchan. And change on KBC has happen in over a 100 countries, it is sort of inevitable. But there was no question of having anyone else. We hadn’t thought of an alternative beyond Shahrukh.

NT: What did you expect from Shah Rukh Khan when you first roped him in?
SB: Shahrukh has been very professional, there was not much we needed to tell him. Lots of things were brought in by him, lots of ideas like freeze, the title song idea, the thinking cap – they were all his ideas. He always makes sure that he is professionally sound,so there isn’t too much to tell him. We just give him the script and he adds his own touch to it. He interacts with everyone on the set, he sits down with the script writers so the script can be adapted to something he is more likely to say. He is not anxious about hosting. He’s very smart and he keeps the energy at the sets high. So he has brought in his distinct restless energy to the show and I think that has worked in the show’s favour.

NT: Apart from the introduction of Mr. SRK, from the point of view of the perception as well as the production of the show, what changes did you want to introduce in KBC 3, and how far have they been successful?
SB: There weren’t many changes as such that we wanted to introduce… it was just that the biggest change was the man himself… thats why rather than calling it KBC 3, we preferred to call it KBC with Shahrukh Khan. Andthe response since the first show has been overwhelming.

Shahrukh is very charming. He has added a very young zing to the show. The viewership today is very young. Young girls especially are crazy about him. Having said that, it’s the format of the show – the drama combined with the cheekiness and charm of Shahrukh that makes the show such a big hit. Even in his second innings the ratings were higher than the first innings. And now the viewership is far more in numbers than it was before. The TRP’s have steadily been rising and in all, it has been good going.

NT: Please elaborate on the design of the questions asked on KBC - what makes a question a 1000 rs question and what makes a question worth 2 crores?
SB: We have stacks of questions. Questions are divided into the 1 – 20,000 questions, the 20- 6 lakh 40 thousand and the ones above them. The easy questions are put into the first one, the middle level into the second and the tough ones into the last level. They are all put into random computer generated stacks. The computer then creates a 1 – 15 questions stack on its own. It’s a very interesting process.

See there are people coming here from various backgrounds, so depending on that we pose the questions to them. The 2 crore question is also not totally arcane. It is always something you may have read of somewhere, in some newspaper or magazine or may have heard of sometime. It definitely won’t come to you in a jiffy but it isn’t something we pick that is so remote and so abstruse and arcane than no one would know it’s answer. It just depends on the extent to which the individual is informed. For example, take the question, what is the name of the first Chinese space shuttle into space? Now that was in news not too much time back. So people must have come across it sometime in newspapers. It’s a question of how much you observe around you. We want people to win 2 crores. So we won’t give them something that they would have never heard of.

We find out what an average Indian would know and come up with questions on those topics. For example, Mythology is more pan-Indian than cinema. The biggest responses on the phone questions are Mythology based more than anything else. This knowledge helps us in making the questions. We try to make questions accessible and not textbookish. You can't do well on the show by just cramming. At the same time, you should know your basic geography or history. What we ask is based on what you are likely to have studied in school. Everyone has studied about elements in chemistry, but it’s a question about whether you are able to recollect this or not.

We, sort of, capitalize more on the anxiousness of the contestant than anything else. Like there was a contestant yesterday, you would have seen. Even though she knew the answer to the 50 lakh question, she didn’t take the risk. Once you get something like 25 lakhs or around, you try not to take risk 25 lakhs in itself is a very big amount, and one wrong move may make you end up losing 18 lakhs. So even though the contestants would know the answer, they are unsure of themselves. That’s what makes the questions more difficult than the level in itself. The contestant needs to have a good head to win on the show. He should be able to make connections and stay calm.

NT: How did the idea of the promotional song for KBC 3 featuring SRK come?
SB: That, as I said earlier, was totally Shahrukh’s idea. We wanted to start off with a bang. And this was the best way in which we could have started off. Shahrukh gave the idea, we found it intriguing. Then Vishal Shekhar came in, then Ganesh came in, and the rest, and we had the song. The song is very Shahrukh, so people have enjoyed it a lot.

NT: Tell us something interesting about KBC 3 that we don’t already know
SB: We will definitely come back in sometime. Synergy has signed a contract with Star for another few years and hopefully we should be back with Shahrukh in the next series also.

NT: You have been hosting Young Times’ quizzes in Dubai and you have another one scheduled in the near future. How has the experience been so far?
SB: I was very pleased to see the response from many students who were present.. Students that went India, South East Asian and the rest, the response was really overwhelming It was a stiff competition. The competition got the whole crowd jumping. Students were very knowledgeable I am really looking forward to it this time around too.

NT: So far your favourite memory of KBC 3 - perhaps a funny/emotional/over the top incident that will forever stay in your memory?
SB: The best moments in a quiz show are always when a contestant has a good run or cracks a challenging question. That apart, KBC with SRK was an entertainer , and there were many memorable moments of impromptu exchanges and performances. An extraordinary incident happened off the sets, in fact at ShahRukh's home office, at Mannat, where the computer system had been set up for rehearsal. There was this 17 year old girl from Holland, I think, of Iranian origin, who was confined to a wheelchair, and had flown down with her family , TV crew, et al for an unusual encounter with SRK. At some live show where he'd performed, he'd asked her to dance, and she's actually stood up, and shown some progress in her physical condition, but wanted to take her first faltering steps only in front of SRK. So they'd all flown down for that. And it happened, amidst tears and hugs. What people project onto public person can be so amazing.

NT: What kind of relationship do you share with Mr Shah Rukh Khan? How different is it from the one you shared with Mr. Amitabh Bachchan?
SB: Its been a fun, friendly, easy working relationship with SRK. He's smart and talented, very conscientious in his preparation, and enjoys the creative process. He's a typical good student and sportsman, who is a fast learner and delights in excelling. He brings a lot on to the table, contributes freely to the process, and is always in an innovative, imaginative mode. He thinks on his feet, is a people's person, and this, together with a ready wit, charm, and a gift of the gab, makes him a natural anchor. His theatre background has given him an orientation to the process of rehearsal and systematic preparation, as well as collaborative teamwork and creativity. He's been most appreciative of our team and in turn we've had a terrific time working with him, and hold him in great affection.

The attitude of the team to the Big B is inevitably more respectful and somewhat formal, given his seniority, stature, and reserve. He's an awesome talent, who's pitch pefect, yet never takes performance for granted. . He's very diligent and serious in his preparation. He too has been generous in his appreciation of our teamwork and support in production. Our relationship remains warm and cordial. Its been a privilege working with him.

NT: You have tasted success with almost every gameshow of yours. Perhaps your weakest link was Kamzor Kadi Kaun. My question to you is, on what basis do you choose which show to bring to the Indian viewers? What makes you believe that this particular show will work whereas another may not?
SB: If its a tried and tested format, all concerned are bolstered in their confidence. But in the end you have to go with experience and a gut reaction. I thoroghly enjoyed the drama of the politics of competition and the politics of coalition of The Weakest Link, but the format hasn't found favour in societies used to indirection in expression, which found its bluntness offensive. Similarly , there are those hooked on to the adrenaline pumping tension of Mastermind, or Heartbeat, but the shows have niche appeal.

NT: How different is the quizzing environment in the Gulf than from that in India?
SB: An obvious difference is the range and volume of activity, and degree of exposure. Having said that, the standards of quizzing that I've experienced in the Gulf are impressive .

NT: Tell us something more about the recent Adlabs-Synergy Communications merger. How do you see the future of SC now? And where does Siddhartha Basu go from here?
SB: Synergy Adlabs is venturing into multi-production mode in different genres of television programming, and is looking to extend into emerging medias. The viewer deserves the best of original programming and what the world has to offer, and thats what we hope to do more actively. The resources and gains from the association with a dynamic player like Adlabs will strenghthen our hands to do precisely that. I sincerely believe in synergy - that the wholeis greater than the sum of the parts, and look forward keenly to producing super shows and content with super talent.

NT: What advice would you like to give to potential quizzers about how to improve their quizzing skills?
SB: Keep your eyes and ears and mind open, read widely and well and sharpen your recollection through practice.

© Nikhil Taneja (nikhiltaneja@gmail.com)