Through his college days and after, Basu was active on
All India Radio as a
voice over artist,
announcer and feature producer on its
Yuva Vani and
General Overseas Services programmes. Shortly after completing his master’s degree, Basu also worked as a
documentary filmmaker for TV News Features (TVNF) starting in 1977, for about 8 years, directing numerous short features and popular science films such as
Life Before Birth, Avalanches, Frozen in Silver, Moving Images, and
Reading Rhesus Macaques. He briefly worked as a 'cultural attache' for the
Taj Group of Hotels from 1982-84. In 1985, he first hosted the inaugural "Quiz Time" programme on
Doordarshan. It was a national inter-college quiz show, and featured notable contestants such as
Rajdeep Sardesai,
Raghuram Rajan, and
Jayant Sinha. It quickly became a Sunday evening favourite on Doordarshan’s national network, then the only nationwide channel in the country (which was terrestrial) and was credited with popularizing quizzing across the country. Along with his wife, former India Today journalist Anita Kaul Basu, he formed the media company Synergy Communications Pvt. Ltd. in Delhi in 1988, which in due course became Synergy Adlabs, then
BIG Synergy - after its tie-up with
Reliance Mediaworks. Promoted by Siddhartha, Anita Kaul Basu, and Karun Prabhakaran, BIG Synergy built its reputation as a leader in the field of factual entertainment, starting off as one of the country's first independent television production houses. Following three seasons of
Quiz Time (1985, 1986 and 1988), Basu both hosted, produced, and directed a number of shows, namely
The India Quiz - The New Age (1989) on Doordarshan
, India Quiz Series on Freedom at 50 (1990) on Doordarshan
, Alpha Plus (1987) on Doordarshan,
Spectrum - A 7-Nation SAARC Quiz (1987),
Kissa Kursi Ka (1995),
Akshar Mela (1995) on Doordarshan,
The Beanstalk Quiz Summit (1997) on Doordarshan,
Aao Guess Kare (1997) and,
Jaane Kya Toone Kahi (1997) on Home TV,
A Question of Answers (1998) on
Star World,
3... 2... 1... (1999),
Eureka (1999) on
Star Plus,
Mastermind India (1998-2002) on
BBC World,
Bluffmaster (2003) on
Star One,
Kamzor Kadii Kaun (2003) on
Star TV,
University Challenge India (2003-05) on BBC World, ''
India's Child Genius (2004) on Star World, Howzzat (2004)
on Tara Bangla, Heartbeat – Dil Thhaam Ke Khelo (2005)
on Star One, Bollywood Ka Boss (2008)
on Sahara Filmy,
Dus Ka Dum (2008)
on Sony Entertainment Television,
Aap Ki Kachehri (2008–11)
on Star Plus,
Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? (2008)
on Star Plus,
Sach Ka Saamna (2009–12)
on Star Plus, Khelo Jeeto Jiyo (2009)
on Star TV, Big Money (2010)
on Imagine TV, Sports Ka Superstar (2010)
on Doordarshan,
Jawab Kinte Chai (2012)
on Sananda TV, Tech Grandmasters (2012–13)
on NDTV, Spell Bee India (2014–15)
on Discovery Channel India,
India Poochega Sabse Shaana Kaun? (2015)
on &TV, News Wiz (2016-19)
on India Today, The Big Picture (2021)
on Colors TV,
and Quizzer of the Year (2024)
on SonyLIV,
apart from the eight Indian regional adaptations of Kaun Banega Crorepati'' through the years. Basu's biggest television success came in the form of
Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), first produced for
STAR Plus in 2000.
KBC, as the show is also known, is the licensed Indian version of the globally successful format
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? with
Bollywood star
Amitabh Bachchan as its host. The second edition of the show 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
Kaun Banega Crorepati was hosted by
Shah Rukh Khan in 2007. BIG Synergy produced the show till 2014, whereas Basu continued as a creative consultant on the show till 2021. The first two seasons of Sony's hit show
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, the Indian version of
BBC's celebrity dance show,
Strictly Come Dancing or Dancing with the Stars, was produced by
BIG Synergy, as were the first two seasons of
India's Got Talent, on
Colors TV.
Big Synergy has also produced other landmark shows such as
Aap Ki Kachehri - Kiran Ke Saath (hosted by
Kiran Bedi),
Sacch Ka Saamna and
Dus Ka Dum, with
Salman Khan as host, on
Sony Entertainment Television. For two decades, Basu worked mainly behind the camera as Big Synergy’s CMD & creative head, but in 2024 he returned to hosting as the quizmaster of
Quizzer of The Year (QOTY) on Sony LIV, India’s first all-digital national quiz contest aimed at students in grades IX–XII. As Basu explained in an interview, the contest allowed anyone to play daily via a mobile app, adding points to a leaderboard, and eventually leading to a virtual faceoff. The contest aimed to “buttress a factual culture” among youth. Beyond television, Basu and Anita have also launched Tree of Knowledge Pvt. Ltd. (TOK), an edutainment venture focused on quizzes, e-learning and publishing. Basu, through TOK has produced
News Wiz,
The Indiannica Quiz League on
YouTube,
Quizzer of the Year, and
The Quizzitok Podcast on
YouTube. == Publications ==