Facts and Truth: Unwavering Amidst Opinions and Beliefs - Siddhartha Basu

Truth and facts face a serious challenge in the age of social media, misinformation and propaganda, but one has to stand firm with what is correct, says quizmaster Siddhartha Basu.

Basu hopes his latest endeavour ''Quizzer of the Year'' (QOTY), a show on streaming platform Sony LIV, plays a significant role in strengthening the culture of speaking truth to power.

The 69-year-old industry veteran, known for quiz shows such as ''Mastermind India'' and ''Quiz Time'', is returning to hosting duties after a hiatus of two decades.

Quiz shows are all about encouraging critical thinking through correct answers. But at a time when the spread of fake information bests the efforts of an earnest fact check, what needs to be done? ''What's become worrying in this age of social media, misinformation, alternative facts, and propaganda is that truth and facts have been seriously challenged. You have to strengthen the effort to put things right. We have to make sure that our sources are clear. ''Now it's got to a situation where despite the facts people want to believe what they want to believe. But you still have to stand firm with what is correct and truthful,'' Basu told PTI in an interview here. Our motto is Satyameva Jayate, not Asatyameva Jayate (our motto is truth alone triumphs, not untruth), he said, referring to the motto inscribed below the national emblem of India.

''Facts and truth exist despite opinions and beliefs. And that is something like 'QOTY' tries to strengthen... That you try to get to the right facts, you know how to find out things for yourself, you value them, and you can spread the culture of facts which can be fascinating, which can also give you a picture which you may not otherwise have.'' Asking questions is as important as asking the right questions, according to Basu.

''The thirst and acquisition of knowledge is driven by curiosity and it's also driven to a certain degree by scepticism, questioning what is being given to you till you know exactly what it is, till you understand what it is. Just because it's in print or just because it's the first thing that pops up on Google doesn't mean it's accurate or gives you the full picture,'' he said.

It takes a village to create a show like ''QOTY'', Basu said describing the process of picking up questions to be included in the contest.

''Setting a question is both an art and a science. We put in at least three sources, cross check everything. This is checked randomly or otherwise by the auditors. You make sure those sources can't be some wonderful sites like Wikipedia because it's crowd sourced.'' The questions should also have an element of surprise and only one kind of answer which can be verified, which is why it is important to have reliable sources, he said. ''They have to be official sources, but sometimes we have found that official sources can also slip up on information -- it may not be updated or there may be some genuine human error. ''You have to keep cross checking and checking, because people can challenge and you have to be able to answer that challenge. Language is also an important aspect that you have to be careful about how to phrase the question so there's no ambiguity.'' Basu is happy with the response to ''QOTY'', which he said was the first all-digital engagement which was made available on the Sony LIV platform. ''This was an app which we developed at the Tree of Knowledge Digital and licensed it to Sony LIV. Then we worked together to offer it to everybody. So, everybody could play on the app, which was also a gateway to an all-India inter-school contest of quite a scale and rewards, cumulatively,'' he said.

While the top team took away the prize of Rs 1 crore, prizes to other teams added up to almost as much. Snap quizzes were also open to everyone who could play on the app daily, weekly and monthly. According to Basu, lakhs of games were played and in the school's contest itself, more than 2,000 students logged on and took part. That then led to the zonal rounds which are now being streamed on Sony LIV, he added.

Seasoned quiz masters Colonel Vembu Shankar and Joy Bhattacharjya conducted the zonal rounds virtually. Basu, who has conducted the ''QOTY'' quarter finals, semifinals and nationals, said these seven rounds were recorded at a studio.

''Teams came from all over and we had many rounds. So, people can look forward to that too in the programme. This year, there is to be a next season,'' he said.

Basu's biggest success came in 2000 with the Amitabh Bachchan-presented ''Kaun Banega Crorepati'' (KBC) with which his association lasted for 17 years. He served as ''a coach, guide and conductor'' on the popular reality quiz game show, whose third season was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan.

Bachchan and Khan as KBC hosts were two extremes of the spectrum, the former producer-director of the shows added.

''Mr Bachchan, of course, was the first big superstar who did a television show. He is magnificent to work with. He is a professional. He has a theatre background, he understands, and he does his homework. ''Then, you have someone like Shah Rukh, who is quick to absorb. He picks up cues fast, which is the other end of the spectrum. Unlike AB, he doesn't mind doing retakes or flubbing on the camera. Shah Rukh is easy in the sense that if he does something that hasn't come out as well in real time, he'll do it again. These are just two extremes.''