Siddharth Basu: India's access to info undergoing a revolution via internet and phones

Siddharth Basu is one of India's best-known quiz masters whose interventions from the 1970s onwards have changed India's knowledge game. Speaking with Robin Roy, Basu discussed big shifts in Indian quizzing, how technology is providing many with the right answers — and his own recent move from asking people questions to taking direction:How has quizzing changed in India — especially after the introduction of big money as the prize?It's just expanded the range. On TV, there's been the coexistence of big-ticket shows with whopping stakes, along with austere classics which offer nothing more than prestige and recognition. On the ground too, i've hosted quizzes which have given away computers, mobile phones, air tickets, even a car as prizes, along with those which offer nothing more than applause — this is how it should be.There have been huge social changes recently — what subjects do you find young people interested in today?Lots more of all sorts of things! By definition, general knowledge covers areas which cannot be easily labelled or defined. This is often what's not found in textbooks and restricted reading. With the explosion of information on the net and multimedia, it is open house now as far as content is concerned. From specialised quizzes on tech to a mixed bag of everything, the world of quizzing has grown.How has technology changed knowledge for India?Well, the very access to information has gone through a revolution, thanks to the internet, computers and smartphones. Even on the ground, quizzes have become tech-savvy in their formats and conducting.Quizzing used to be dominated by elite colleges in metros — is that true today?Quizzing has spread way beyond select institutions now — for instance, i've done an all-India quiz contest which was won by a school in Numaligarh, which most people have never even heard of.As a quasi-educational activity, as retraining, as interactive live events, you'll find the spread of quizzing far and wide, from schools, colleges, clubs, communities, organisations, everywhere in India. It's also part of the curriculum of many schools now.How did you yourself move from being a quiz master to an actor in the recent Madras Cafe?That happened because Shoojit Sircar was persistent that i do the role. He brushed aside all my reservations about not having enough command over Hindi, not having done anything on the big screen and so on. He just asked that i trust him. I had too much regard for his work, and personal regard as a friend, to say no. Shoojit thought i had the seniority, the seriousness and authority to play the part of a senior intelligence bureaucrat. The rest was being in the moment.It turned out to be a director's movie and i'm just very pleased for the film — and very relieved that i didn't make a hash of things!But you have acted before — please tell us about your stage career?Theatre was my ruling passion through college. We formed the Theatre Action Group when i was 17. I would have loved to have made a career of acting and directing on stage, if there was any kind of livelihood in it — sadly, there still isn't.But there are still a number of people who associate me mainly with theatre, amongst others, in the roles of Oedipus and Amadeus. The last play i did was Dance Like A Man.