''Indian Idol'' is an Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language singing

reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

on Sony TV. It is an Indian version of the British show ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

'' and is part of the '' Indian Idol'' series. It has aired on Sony Entertainment Television since 2004. Originally produced by Miditech Studios and its iconic producer-brothers, Niret Alva, Nikhil J Alva and Nivedith Alva, the series was an instant success. The brothers produced the first 5 seasons of the series and were instrumental in laying the foundation for its future success. Indian Idol's production and taping take place in

Mumbai, Maharashtra Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12.5& ...

. It broadcasts on Saturdays and Sundays and digitally airs on

SonyLIV Sony LIV is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Culver Max Entertainment. Sony LIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it provides live sports, origina ...

application.

Judges and hosts

Series overview

Season synopses

Season 1

* Judges

Anu Malik Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is the recipient of a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film ...

Farah Khan Farah Khan Kunder (; born 9 January 1965) is an Indian film director, writer, film producer, actress, dancer and choreographer who works predominantly in Hindi films. Khan has choreographed more than a hundred songs in over 80 films, winning th ...

Sonu Nigam * Host Aman Verma Mini Mathur Top 12 Contestants

Season 2

* Judges

Sonu Nigam * Host Mini Mathur Aman Verma Top 12 Contestants

Season 3

* Judges

Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 1945) is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and poet. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of India's highest civili ...

Alisha Chinai Alisha Chinai (born 18 March 1965) is an Indian pop singer known for her Indi-pop albums as well as playback singing in Hindi cinema. She began her singing career with the album ''Jadoo'' in 1985, and by the 1990s she had become known as the ' ...

Udit Narayan Udit Narayan Jha (born 1 December 1955) is an Nepali and Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured mainly in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. He has also sung in various other languages including Telugu language, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil ...

* Host

Hussain Kuwajerwala Hussain Kuwajerwala is an Indian television actor, host and model. After several modelling campaigns and commercials, Kuwajerwala landed a role in the popular soap opera ''Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'' which was followed by a lead role in ...

Mini Mathur Top 13 Contestants

Season 4

The fourth season of ''Indian Idol'' was aired on Sony TV from 19 September 2008 to 1 March 2009. For the first time in ''Indian Idol'' history, there were two women among the top three finalists. Sourabhee Debbarma who hails from

Agartala Agartala (, , ) is the capital and the List of cities and towns in Tripura, largest city of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tripura, situated on the banks of Haora River, Haora/Saidra River, about east of the border ...

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

won the competition and became the first female contestant to do so. By doing so, she also won a contract of Rs. 1 crore with

Sony Entertainment Television Sony Entertainment Television (abbreviated as SET) is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel that was launched in 1995 and is owned by Culver Max Entertainment, a division of Sony Pictures. History This chann ...

and a TATA Winger. She released an album, ''Meherbaan'', as per a contract with Sony. Kapil Thapa was runner-up while Torsha Sarkar finished third. One of the contestants, Bhavya Pandit, received an offer to sing the song "Aaja Lehraate" for the film ''

What's Your Raashee ''What's Your Raashee?'' () is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker and produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Sunita A. Gowariker. Based on the Gujarati language, Gujarati novel ''Kimball Rave ...

'', alongside singer Gautam Mrinaal. * Judges

Sonali Bendre Sonali Bendre Behl (born 1 January 1975), known professionally as Sonali Bendre, is an Indian actress predominantly known for her work in Hindi and Telugu films. Considered as one of the leading actresses of the 1990s and early 2000s, Bendre s ...

Kailash Kher * Host

Meiyang Chang Meiyang Chang (born 6 October 1982) is an Indian actor, television host, singer and a dentist. He came to prominence as a contestant on the third season of the singing reality show '' Indian Idol'' in which he was among the five finalists. He ...

Top 14 Contestants

Season 5

* Judges Shreya Ghoshal

Sunidhi Chauhan Sunidhi Chauhan (pronounced ; born Nidhi Chauhan, 14 August 1983) is an Indian playback singer. Known for her Bold vocal range, she has recorded songs for films in several Indian languages and List of awards and nominations received by Sunidhi ...

Salim Merchant Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to: People *Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin **Salim (poet) (1800–1866), Kurdish poet **Saleem (playwright), Palestinian-American gay Muslim playwright, actor, DJ, and dancer * ...

* Host

Abhijeet Sawant Top 13 Contestants Note: Sreerama, Rakesh, and Bhoomi were the top 3. Sreeram was crowned the winner without announcing the 1st and 2nd runner-ups.

Season 6

The sixth season aired on Sony TV from 1 June 2012 to 1 September 2012. The winner of the sixth season was Vipul Mehta. * Judges

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; ; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur, actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the ...

* Host

Mini Mathur On 23 June 2012, the judges selected the top 16 contestants to perform in the Gala Rounds. Contestants

Indian Idol Junior Season 1

* Judges

Vishal Dadlani Vishal Dadlani (born 28 June 1973) is an Indian singer, songwriter, music composer and occasional actor. He is one half of the duo Vishal–Shekhar, and frontman and vocalist of one of India's leading rock bands Pentagram. As a great singer, ...

Shreya Ghoshal Shreya Ghoshal (; born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer. Noted for her wide vocal range and versatility, she is one of the most prolific and influential singers of India. Often referred to as the "Queen of Dynamics'' for her remarkable voc ...

Shekhar Ravjiani * Host Karan Wahi Mandira Bedi Top 11 Contestants

Indian Idol Junior Season 2

Indian Idol Junior Season 2 started on 30 May 2015 and finished on 6 September 2015. * Judges

Sonakshi Sinha Sonakshi Sinha (; born 2 June 1987) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and series. The daughter of actors and politicians Poonam Sinha, Poonam and Shatrughan Sinha, she has appeared in ''Forbes India'' Forbes Celebrity 100, Celebrity ...

replaced

Shalmali Kholgade Shalmali Kholgade is an Indian playback singer who predominantly sings for Bollywood films. In addition to Hindi, she has also sung in other Indian languages such as Marathi language, Marathi, Bengali language, Bengali, Telugu language, Telugu, ...

* Host

Asha Negi Top 13 Contestants

Season 9

* Judges

Sonu Nigam * Host Karan Wahi Paritosh Tripathi Top 14 Contestants

Season 10

* Judges

Javed Ali Javed Ali is an Indian playback singer who predominantly sings in Hindi. He has also sung in various Indian languages including Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Early life Javed Ali was born as ...

replaced

Neha Kakkar Neha Kakkar Singh (; née Kakkar; born 6 June 1988) is an Indian singer. She is the younger sister of playback singers Tony Kakkar and Sonu Kakkar. She began performing at a very early age at religious events. In 2005, she participated in the ...

* Host Manish Paul Top 14 Contestants

Season 11

The 11th season started to air on 12 October 2019 on Sony TV. It was being hosted by singer Aditya Narayan.

has returned as one of the judges on popular demand along with

and

, who came back to the show as a judge after his suspension from the judging panel for Me Too allegations. He was then replaced by Himesh Reshammiya. * Judges Himesh Reshammiya replaced Anu Malik Neha Kakkar Vishal Dadlani * Host Aditya Narayan Top 16 contestants

Season 12

The 12th season started on 28 November 2020 on Sony TV. The grand finale aired from 12 noon to 12 midnight on 15 August 2021. Pawandeep Rajan was declared the winner of the season and Arunita Kanjilal became the 1st Runner-up. This was the longest running season of Indian Idol. * Judges

Sonu Kakkar Himesh Reshammiya * Former judges

Although Vishal Dadlani, Neha Kakkar and Himesh Reshammiya were the original judges, when the shoot shifted out of Mumbai, then Vishal Dadlani, and Neha Kakkar couldn't join and makers replaced them by Anu Malik and Sonu Kakkar. * Host Aditya Narayan * Former Hosts Bharti Singh Haarsh Limbachiyaa Rithvik Dhanjani Jay Bhanushali Aditya Narayan was the original host but Bharti & Harsh, Rithvik and Jay replaced him when he came out to be COVID +ve. Bharti and Harsh replaced him on February 28. The judges have decided to do a power play for 9 weeks and let the audience decide who they want to see in the Top 8. Elimination will happen after the 9 weeks of power play. This season was extended because the contestants have given so much love and entertainment to the audience in the COVID pandemic. The 9 weeks of power play were completed and Anjali Gaikwad got eliminated. Top 15 contestants

Season 13

The Ground Auditions started in July 2022. The show started on 10 September 2022. The finale was held on April 2, 2023, with Rishi Singh being declared as the winner of the season along with Deboshmita Roy as the 1st runner up. * Judges Himesh Reshammiya

* Host Aditya Narayan * Former Judge

* Guest Hosts Haarsh Limbachiyaa Bharti Singh Top 15 Contestants The judges have decided to do a power play for 4 weeks and let the audience decide who they want to see in the Top 7. Elimination will happen after the 4 weeks of power play. The 4 weeks of power play were completed and Navdeep Wadali got eliminated on February 26, 2023. The last contestant who got eliminated from the show was Senjuti Das on March 25, 2023, leaving the top 6 finalists to compete for the Indian Idol trophy.

Season 14

The fourteenth season premiered on 7 October 2023, with the theme ''Ek Awaz Lakhon Ehsaas'' (lit. ''One Voice, Million Emotion''). The season was hosted by

. Aditya Narayan hosted the show for a week, in the absence of Kuwajerwala.

Kumar Sanu Kedarnath Bhattacharya (born 20 October 1957), professionally known as Kumar Sanu, is a leading Indian playback singer who primarily sings in Hindi film songs. He is widely regarded as the Melody King of Bollywood. He holds the record for winn ...

and

were the judges. On 3 March 2024, the season concluded, with Vaibhav Gupta crowned as the winner, with Subhadeep Das Choudhary finishing as the runner-up.

Season 15

The fifteenth season premiered in October 2024, with the theme ''Jo Gayega, Wo Nazar Aayega'' (lit. ''--''). The season was hosted by Aditya Narayan. Badshah,

, and

are the judges. The grand finale aired on 5th and 6th April 2025, with Manasi Ghosh crowned as the winner, with Subhajit Chakraborty finishing as the runner-up.

Criticism

who judged this show's seasons 7,14 and 15, in her interview with Baibhav Dutta of ''

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. Owned by The Times Group, ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961 and it is sold in all major cities in India. As of 2012, it is the world's secon ...

'' YouTube channel revealed that this show's makers asked her and other judges to praise every contestant. According to Dutta since 2022, judges of Indian Idol do not give critical comments or point out flaws in singing after a contestant performed, and they praise everyone, and the audience also gets confused. In 2021,

Amit Kumar Amit Kumar (born 3 July 1952) is an Indian playback singer, actor, music composer. Kumar launched his own music production company, named Kumar Brothers Music. He predominantly worked in Bollywood and regional film songs since the 1970s, ...

also expressed the same thing after he appeared as a guest judge, he said that the makers of Indian Idol specifically told him while filming that you have to praise every contestant and not criticize. In 2018, a participant Nishant Kaushik revealed on Twitter the suffering and ill-treatment of the people who come for the auditions of this show. He expressed his experience with his Indian Idol audition. He elaborated that, he participated in the 2012 Indian Idol audition, people of this show do not give any service to the participants, and contestants kept standing with no access to food, drinking water, or toilet. Former host of Indian idol Mini Mathur in response to this tweet thread wrote these kinds of things happened in Indian reality shows, that is why she quit doing work in them. In 2021 many fans alleged the show for showing scripted stories to gain TRP. In the season fans expressed on social media that the love angle of Pawandeep Rajan and Arunita Kanjilal was fake, and makers are deliberately trying to show the love angle. The show frequently alleged of showing fake emotional, drama and sob stories of the contestants. Amid the 12th season viewers slammed makers for altering the performance of Pawandeep Rajan.

References

{{Sony Entertainment Television India Shows Sony Entertainment Television original programming Television series by Fremantle (company) 2004 Indian television series debuts Indian television series based on British television series Indian Idol (Hindi TV series) Indian Idol