Karan Thapar is a prominent Indian journalist, TV anchor and interviewer, known for his pioneering interviews with celebrities and politicians. An alumnus of The Doon School and Stowe School, Karan honed his journalism and writing skills early in his career as Editor-in-Chief of The Doon School Weekly. He graduated from Cambridge University in 1977 with degrees in economics and political philosophy. He later became head of the Cambridge Union.

Karan began his career at The Times in Lagos, Nigeria and became a prominent journalist in his native Indian subcontinent. He joined London Weekend Television in 1982 and began his career as a correspondent as a producer, editor and host. It is interesting to know that he is the only Indian journalist who has spent more than 10 years on TV outside India. The journalist returned to India in 1991 and became part of his former employer, Hindustan Times Television Group, Home TV and United Television before founding his own production company Infotainment Television in 2001 (currently Chairman). A compilation of weekly columns, Hindustan Times - Sunday Sentiments were published in two volumes from publishing houses such as The Wisdom Tree and HarperCollins. He left the company in 2014 and left CNN-IBN to join Headlines Today.

Karan's work has been featured in many of his most memorable shows such as Eyewitness, Tonight at 10, In Focus with Karan, Line of Fire and War of Words, which is hugely popular due to his bold and aggressive reporting style. In 2000, he gave two interviews that received worldwide acclaim. An interview was conducted with the then Chief Executive of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, who was the only general interviewed. Musharraf did not give it to any Indian journalist. Another interview with legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev became infamous because the interview with Mr. Dev broke down and cried for more than 10 seconds during the conversation.

Awards and recognition (not completed)

  1995 Oneida Pinnacle Award for Most Outstanding Presenter for Current Affairs Programme, The Chat Show

In 2003 2004, Karan became the first person to receive two awards for the news category at the Asian Television Awards.

2011, 2012 Devil's Advocate was named "Best Current Affairs Program". Additionally, Karan was recognized as "TV News Anchor of the Year-English" by the National Television Awards.

2013 - International Press Institute-India Award