Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge Tamil 2009

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Indian TV series or program

Zee Tamil’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2009 Challenge was a reality-based Indian singing competition that aired on Tamil language TV channel Zee Tamil. It was designed to be a talent hunt in Tamil Nadu. The top 15 contestants would have an opportunity to perform with celebrity singers during the main stage of the competition. The show was sponsored by Clinic Plus.

Prem Menon, Zee Tamil TV’s business head, confirmed that more than 10,000 aspirants auditioned for the competition throughout Tamil Nadu from which 15 contestants were selected for the competition, before the competition was filtered down to 4 finalists.^[1] Top 15 contestant performances and the finals were judged by music director M. S. Viswanathan, veteran playback singers Vani Jairam and Nithyasree Mahadevan, and composer Sharreth. The four finalists of the competition were Anand, Bhargavi, Deepak, and Gopalakrishnan. Contestant Anand was crowned the winner of the competition, with contestant Gopalakrishnan being crowned runner-up and contestant Bhargavi being third-placed in the competition.^[1]

The show premiered on 22 June 2009, and episodes were telecast between Mondays and Tuesdays each week at 9:00pm.^[2] Encore telecasts were aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 5:00pm, as well as Saturdays and Sundays each week at 8:00pm..

Table of Contents

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Debut episodes[edit]

Auditions[edit]

Open auditions were held across Tamil Nadu. Prem Menon, Zee Tamil TV’s business head, confirmed that more than 10,000 aspirants auditioned for the competition throughout Tamil Nadu from which 15 contestants were selected for the competition.^[1]

Competition Rounds[edit]

Top 15 contestants and celebrity singers[edit]

The top 15 contestants selected through the main audition rounds and their pairings with the celebrity singers are as follows:

Finalist	Gender	Celebrity Singer	Gender
Shiva Archana	Female	Mukesh	Male
Deepak	Male	Vinaya	Female
Anand	Male	Prashanthini	Female
Gopalakrishnan	Male	Vijayalakshmi	Female
Diwakaran	Male	Kalpana	Female
Shruti Vandana	Female	Jayadev	Male
Ramesh	Male	Roshini	Female
Kalaiwani	Female	~~Vijay Yesudas~~(opted out of the show before main competition round) Naveen Madhav (Raveendran’s youngest son)	Male
Ashwath	Male	Mathangi	Female
Manasi	Female	Aslam	Male
Raghu	Male	Sangeetha	Female
Bhargavi	Female	Belly Raj	Male
Anush	Female	Srilekha Parthasarathy	Female
Aruna	Female	Sathyan	Male
Swathi	Female	VV Prasanna	Male

Performances[edit]

Introduction Round (27 July 2009 – 28 July 2009)[edit]

Permanent Compere: Bhavna Balakrishnan
Judges: M. S. Viswanathan (music director) & Noyal James (music coordinator of music director A. R. Rahman)
Performances:

Round of 15 (4 August 2009 – 5 August 2009)[edit]

This week, 15 contestant-singer duos would each present a duet song in front of judges M.S. Viswanathan and Nityashree Mahadevan.^[2] Following the 15 performances which were described as “scintillating” by The Hindu,^[2] a contestant-singer duo was eliminated from the competition, leaving 14 playback singers and 14 contestants remaining in the competition.

Air date	Contestant	Celebrity singer	Song	Source/Movie (year)
4 & 5 August 2009	Ramesh	Roshini	“Aaiyaiyo en usurukkule”
	Bhargavi	Belly Raj	“Pudhu Vellai Mazhai”	Roja
	Diwakaran	Kalpana	“Vaa Vaa Pakkam Vaa”
	Shruti Vandana	Jaydev	“Sorgame Endralum”
	Raghu	Sangeetha	“Idhazhil kathai yezhudum”
	Shiva Archana	Mukesh	“Madurai Marikozhunthu”
	Ashwath	Mathangi	“Andru Vandhadum Adhe Nilaa”
	Deepak	Vinaya	“Sundhari Kannal Oru”
	Anand	Prashanthini	“Malare Mounamaa”
	Manasi	Aslam	“Rathiriyl Poothrikkum”
	Anush	Srilekha Parthasarathy	“Oho Endhan Baby”
	Aruna	Sathyan	“Urugude Marugude”
	Swathi	Prasanna	“Oru Kaadhal Dhevadhai Vandhaal”
	Kalaiwani	Naveen Madhav

Round of 14 (10 August 2009 – 11 August 2009)[edit]

– Contestant is eliminated

Air date	Contestant	Celebrity singer	Song	Original artist	Lyricist	Music composer/director	Source/Movie (year)
10 & 11 August 2009

Round of 13 (17 August 2009 – 18 August 2009)[edit]

Permanent Compere: Bhavna Balakrishnan
Judges: M. S. Viswanathan (music director)
Performances:

– Contestant is eliminated

Air date	Contestant	Celebrity singer	Song	Original artist	Lyricist	Music composer/director	Source/Movie (year)
17 & 18 August 2009

Round of 12 (24 August 2009 – 25 August 2009)[edit]

Permanent Compere: Bhavna Balakrishnan
Judges: Nithyasree Mahadevan (Carnatic music exponent & veteran playback singer) & Sharreth (composer)

Round of 11 (31 August 2009 – 1 September 2009)[edit]

Permanent Compere: Bhavna Balakrishnan
Judges: Nithyasree Mahadevan (Carnatic music exponent & veteran playback singer) & Sharreth (composer)

Round of 10 (7 September 2009 – 8 September 2009)[edit]

Permanent Compere: Bhavna Balakrishnan
Judges: Nithyasree Mahadevan (Carnatic music exponent & veteran playback singer) & Sharreth (composer)

Round of 9 (14 September 2009 – 15 September 2009)[edit]

Permanent Compere: Bhavna Balakrishnan
Judges: Vani Jairam (veteran playback singer)

Round of 8: Jai Ho (21 September 2009 – 22 September 2009)[edit]

Permanent Compere: Bhavna Balakrishnan
Judges: Vani Jairam (veteran playback singer)

This round required the top 8 to perform songs of an Indian patriotic theme.

Round of 7: Freestyle Round (28 September 2009 – 29 September 2009)[edit]

Permanent Compere: Bhavna Balakrishnan
Judges: Vani Jairam (veteran playback singer)

This round was a freestyle contestant which permitted the contestants to perform any song they wish. Contestant Deepak and celebrity Vinaya were selected last, and sang the song “Chippi Irukkuthu” originally sung by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam & S. Janaki, with lyrics penned by Kannadasan and music composed by M. S. Viswanathan from the 1980 film Varumayin Niram Sivappu. Anshu and Mansi remained in the elimination circle to face elimination.

Finals[edit]

The finals were held at Kamarajar Arangam.^[1] The competition was judged by renowned music personalities, including music director M. S. Viswanathan, as well as veteran playback singers Vani Jairam and Nithyasree Mahadevan,^[1] and composer Sharreth. Celebrity playback singers and eliminated contestants also attended the event to support the finalists. Other celebrity personalities were also in attendance at the event and spotted in the audience, including in particular actor-director Cheran, music composer Ramesh Vinayakam, playback singer Chinmayi, and others.

Performances by the finalists of the competition included the following:^[1]

At the conclusion of the performances, the judges selected the winner of the competition.

Contestant Anand was crowned the winner of the competition, with contestant Gopalakrishnan being crowned runner-up and contestant Bhargavi being third-placed in the competition.^[1]