ABOUT US
Tree of Knowledge (TOK) creates quiz and game formats that live across television, apps, OTT, and live events. At heart, we design experiences that are playful, interactive, and rooted in knowledge.
The company is led by Siddhartha Basu and Anita Kaul Basu: a team long recognised as India’s foremost creators in quizzing and knowledge-based entertainment. Their work has shaped some of the country’s most enduring shows, from Kaun Banega Crorepati and Dus Ka Dum to Mastermind India, News Wiz, Quizzer of the Year, India’s Child Genius and more.
TOK builds properties for the information age: app-first quiz ecosystems like Quizzer of the Year, television formats with mass reach, and live quiz events that have engaged audiences across India and the Middle East. The aim is always the same — to turn information into an experience that is both entertaining and enriching.
Over the years, the team has also published best-selling GK and quiz series for schools, created high-scale events for corporates and campuses, and delivered shows with the biggest broadcasters in the country.
Our edge lies in combining strong editorial design with tech-enabled play. We develop formats that scale — from classrooms to primetime — and keep audiences hooked with interactivity, surprise, and storytelling. In short: we build knowledge into culture.
FOUNDING DIRECTORS
SIDDHARTHA BASU
Founder and Director
Siddhartha Basu is widely regarded as the 'father of Indian television quizzing'. A television producer, host and creative entrepreneur, he built a reputation for quiz formats that combine intellectual rigour with broad popular appeal.
Over four decades he has anchored and produced landmark shows such as Quiz Time, Mastermind India, University Challenge, and Quizzer of the Year. He later brought the global format Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? to India as Kaun Banega Crorepati, changing the face of prime time television in the process.
A graduate of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, Basu began his career directing documentary films in the late 1970s. He went on to found Synergy, which later became BIG Synergy, the production company behind many of his signature programmes. His work moves easily between hosting, directing and production. He pays close attention to research and format design, treating questions as both craft and content.
Accolades and industry recognition followed. His programmes have won awards and helped set new standards for factual entertainment on Indian television. Colleagues describe him as exacting and curious, a producer who remains engaged from concept through to broadcast. He has also mentored a generation of quizzers, writers and producers who now work across media.
Basu continues to create new quiz formats for schools, apps and digital platforms. He has returned repeatedly to student-focused projects and educational formats, adapting the traditions of quizzing to changing technology and audiences. The throughline of his work is simple: to make serious knowledge inviting and to turn learning into experience.
ANITA KAUL BASU
Founder and Director
Anita Kaul Basu is a media executive and producer who played a central role in building one of India’s most respected TV production houses.
She served as a Director at BIG Synergy, steering the company through its formative years and working hands-on across production and business operations. Her leadership at Synergy helped shape landmark factual and entertainment programming for Indian television.
Her academic path began at Tiffins’ Girls School in England. On returning to India she completed a BA (Hons) in English Literature at Miranda House, Delhi University. Anita then took a post-graduate course at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in New Delhi. Soon after, she joined the editorial board of India Today, where she spent five years on the magazine’s newsroom and editorial teams.
Anita eventually moved from journalism into television production. Over the years she has been an executive producer and producer on many high-profile shows, including Kaun Banega Crorepati, India’s Got Talent, Jhalak Dikhhla Ja, Dus Ka Dum, A Question of Answers, News Wiz and regional adaptations such as KBC Koshur.
Beyond individual programmes, Anita is known for being quietly strategic and fiercely involved in the day-to-day of production. Colleagues and profiles note that she and Siddhartha Basu ran Synergy in a very hands-on way, often steering projects personally from concept to broadcast. Today she co-leads Tree of Knowledge Pvt. Ltd., focusing on publishing, digital quiz formats, podcasts and educational content.