Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007 is an Indian television singing competition that premiered on 4 May 2007 and ran until 13 October 2007. It is the 2nd instalment of the "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge" series and the 4th public voting competition in the "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa" series. Chronologically, the show is preceded by Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs, however systematically it is followed by Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005. The show features two of the previous mentors, Himesh Reshammiya and Ismail Darbar, and two new mentors to the Challenge series,

Bappi Lahiri Bappi Aparesh Lahiri (born Alokesh Aparesh Lahiri; 27 November 1952 – 15 February 2022), also known as Bappi Da, was an Indian singer, composer and record producer. He popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian music industry and ...

and

Vishal–Shekhar Vishal–Shekhar are an Indian music composition, production, singing, and songwriting duo consisting of Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani from Mumbai. Known predominantly for their work as music composers in Hindi cinema, Vishal–Shekhar h ...

. Shaan did not return to host and was replaced by

Aditya Narayan Aditya Narayan Jha (born 6 August 1987) is an Indian singer, host and actor. He is the son of singer Udit Narayan. He is known for hosting Indian Idol and participating in Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 9. Personal life Narayan was born t ...

, son of

playback singer A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync 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 ...

. The new logo is significantly different from the 2005 logo. It features

headphones Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an ...

on a

globe A globe is a spherical Earth, spherical Model#Physical model, model of Earth, of some other astronomical object, celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but, unlike maps, they do not distort the surface ...

to represent itself as an international competition, instead of a previous logo consisting of a portrayal of a duet singing. On 13 October at the

Grand Finale Grande Finale, Grand Final, Grande Final, Grand Finale, may refer to: Events * Grand Finale (''Cassini''), the final phase of the ''Cassini'' orbiter mission to Saturn *Grande Finale, Jackson County Apple Festival, Jackson, Jackson County, Ohio, ...

, the show broke voting records with a collection of 10,61,44,354 (10.6

crores Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the Indian ...

or 106

million 1,000,000 (one million), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the ...

) votes worldwide from 181 countries. In the final tally Aneek Dhar was declared the winner with 3,65,89,134 votes,

Raja Hasan Raja Hasan Sagar (born 25 December 1982) is an Indian playback singer from Bikaner, Rajasthan. He was a finalist on ''Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007'', in which he finished as runner-up to Aneek Dhar. He was a judge in the singing competition s ...

as the 1st runner-up with 3,52,40,963 votes and Amanat Ali as the 2nd runner-up with 3,43,14,257 votes.

''Gharana'' selection

The ''Gharana'' (literally "House") is utilised similarly to a

House system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. The school is divided into units called "houses" and each student is allocated to on ...

used in schools and

colleges A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...

. The contestants of the gharanas have been chosen by the mentors themselves. Two of the four previous gharanas that were featured on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005 have been replaced –

Aadesh Shrivastava Aadesh Shrivastava (4 September 1964 – 5 September 2015) was a music composer and playback singer who worked in Indian films. Initially, he had worked as a drummer to music composers including R. D. Burman, Rajesh Roshan before working indepe ...

's Jai Ho and

Jatin–Lalit Jatin–Lalit is a renowned Indian music director duo consisting of brothers Jatin Pandit and Lalit Pandit. They are celebrated for their contribution to Bollywood music during the 1990s and early 2000s. The duo is known for their melodious com ...

's Dum have now been replaced with "Josh" and "Hit Squad". The following list represents the initial 32 contestants who were chosen by the mentors and in the order they were introduced.

Yalgaar – Ismail Darbar

* Rimi Dhar from

Jabalpur Jabalpur, formerly Jubbulpore, is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the 3rd-largest urban agglomeration of the state and the 38th-largest of the country. Jabalpur is the administrative h ...

, Madhya Pradesh, India -Eliminated on Episode 21: 13 July * Jyoti Mishra from Azamgarh,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India – Eliminated on Episode 14: 16 June * Desh Gaurav Singh from Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India – Eliminated on Episode 6: 19 May * Wasi Efandi from

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, Pakistan – Eliminated on Episode 15: 22 June * Brijesh Shandilya from Basti,

, India – Eliminated on Episode 12: 9 June * Poonam Yadav from

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

, Uttar Pradesh, India – 3rd runner-up. Eliminated on Episode 43: 28 September * Amanat Ali from

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

, Pakistan – Mega finalist and 2nd runner-up.

Rock – Himesh Reshammiya

* Amrita Chatterjee from

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, West Bengal, India – Eliminated on Episode 6: 19 May * Yogendra Pathak from London, England, United Kingdom – Eliminated on Episode 4: 12 May * Tushar Sinha from Silchar,

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

, India – Eliminated on Episode 10: 2 June * Anita Bhatt from

, Uttar Pradesh, India – Eliminated on Episode 12: 9 June * Shreshta Banerjee from

, West Bengal, India – Eliminated on Episode 15: 22 June * Nirupama Dey 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, India – Eliminated on Episode 25: 27 July * Joy Chakraborty from

Lumding Lumding is a town with a municipal board in Hojai District in of Assam state in India. It is the location of Lumding Junction railway station, a hub for India's Northeast Frontier Railway network. Assamese and Meitei ( Manipuri) are the o ...

, Assam, India – Eliminated on Episode 29: 10 August * Mussarat Abbas Pakistan ki Shaan From

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, Pakistan - Eliminated on Episode 39: 14 September * Aneek Dhar from

, West Bengal, India – WINNER

Josh –
Bappi Lahiri Bappi Aparesh Lahiri (born Alokesh Aparesh Lahiri; 27 November 1952 – 15 February 2022), also known as Bappi Da, was an Indian singer, composer and record producer. He popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian music industry and ...

* Reecha Tripaathi from

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia, Canada – Eliminated on Episode 16: 23 June * Sunil Kumar from Sunder Nagar,

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

, India – Eliminated on Episode 16: 23 June * Koyel Chaterjee from Dhanbad,

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

, India – Eliminated on Episode 4: 12 May * Sikandar Ali from

, Pakistan – Eliminated on Episode 14: 16 June * Abhijeet Kosambi (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Marathi winner) from

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

, Maharashtra, India Eliminated on Episode 27: 3 August * Mauli Dave from

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, United States – Eliminated on Episode 37: 7 September * Sumedha Karmahe from

Rajnandgaon Rajnandgaon is a city in Rajnandgaon District, in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. the population of the city was 163,122. Rajnandgaon district came into existence on 26January 1973, as a result of the division of Durg district. History Or ...

, Chhattisgarh, India – 4th Runner-up. Eliminated on Episode 41: 21 September

Hit Squad –
Vishal–Shekhar Vishal–Shekhar are an Indian music composition, production, singing, and songwriting duo consisting of Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani from Mumbai. Known predominantly for their work as music composers in Hindi cinema, Vishal–Shekhar h ...

* Apurva Shah from

Mumbai 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 ...

, India Eliminated on Episode 23: 20 July * Saaberi Bhattacharya from

, West Bengal, India Eliminated on Episode 16: 23 June * Meghna Verma from

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, Maharashtra, India – Eliminated on Episode 10: 2 June * Sarika Singh from

Indore Indore (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...

, Madhya Pradesh, India – Eliminated on Episode 8: 26 May * Imran Aslam from

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa – Eliminated on Episode 8: 26 May * Sumana Ganguly from Toronto, Ontario, Canada – Eliminated on Episode 15: 22 June * Junaid Sheikh from

, Pakistan - Eliminated on Episode 33: 24 August * Harpreet Deol from

Ludhiana Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224 http://164.100.161.224 › filesPDF Ludhiana State: Punjab Business & Industrial Centre, Tier 2 1 ... The city has an estima ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, India – Eliminated on Episode 15: 22 June; voted back in the show during the "Bramhastra" week from the Josh Gharana. Finally Eliminated on Episode 35: 31 August *

from

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the States and territories of India, state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. It is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Fo ...

, Rajasthan, India – Eliminated on Episode 16: 23 June; voted back in the show during the "Bramhastra" week. Mega finalist and 1st runner-up.

Eklavya

In addition, there was another Gharana called the Eklavya Gharana – it was a "reserved force" of eight singers. The exact purpose of this Gharana was not mentioned during the initial days of the show but soon it was determined that it basically prevented a Gharana from getting eliminated in the initial rounds. The contestants in this Eklavya Gharana performed on the 2nd episode of the show. Later on, each week two contestants from this Gharana were chosen to join a mentor's Gharana after that mentor has had any of his contestants eliminated the previous week. * Sumana Ganguly from Toronto, Ontario, Canada – transferred to Hit Squad (15 June) * Sumedha Karmahe from

, Chhattisgarh, India – transferred to Josh Gharana (18 May) * Tushar Sinha from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

– transferred to Rock Gharana (18 May) * Anita Bhatt from

, India – transferred to Rock Gharana (25 May) * Raja Hasan from

, Rajasthan, India – transferred to Hit-Squad Gharana (15 June) * Brijesh Shandilya from Basti,

, India – transferred to Yalgaar Gharana (25 May) The only two contestants who never appeared in the competition after their performance on 5 May 2007 were: * Sayan Chaudhary from

, India * Binoy Mohanty from Raurkela, Orissa, India

Episode themes

Just as was done in previous

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa ''Sa Re Ga Ma Pa'' is an Indian Hindi-language reality singing television show. It started airing on Zee TV in 1995 as ''Sa Re Ga Ma''. It is the oldest running game show in India as well as the oldest show on private television in India. The ...

shows, the idea of themes is featured to determine the contestants' versatility and ability to sing different genres. * Episode 01 – Week 1 (Fri, 4 May) – Introduction to Indian contestants in Gharanas * Episode 02 – Week 1 (Sat, 5 May) – Introduction to foreign contestants in Gharanas * Episode 03 – Week 2 (Fri, 11 May) – Songs of R.D. Burman and

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 ...

* Episode 04 – Week 2 (Sat, 12 May) – Modern hit songs * Episode 05 – Week 3 (Fri, 18 May) – Guru's choice * Episode 06 – Week 3 (Sat, 19 May) – Contestant's choice * Episode 07 – Week 4 (Fri, 25 May) – Songs of

* Episode 08 – Week 4 (Sat, 26 May) – Contestant's choice * Episode 09 – Week 5 (Fri, 1 June) – Songs of Ismail Darbar * Episode 10 – Week 5 (Sat, 2 June) – Songs of

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (; born as Shrishti Nath Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influen ...

* Episode 11 – Week 6 (Fri, 8 June) – Songs of Himesh Reshammiya * Episode 12 – Week 6 (Sat, 9 June) – Songs of

Rajesh Roshan Rajesh Roshanlal Nagrath (born 24 May 1953) is an Indian music director and composer. He is the son of music director Roshan and brother of actor, producer, director Rakesh Roshan. Career Rajesh Roshan had a frequent successful collaboratio ...

* Episode 13 – Week 7 (Fri, 15 June) – Songs of

* Episode 14 – Week 7 (Sat, 16 June) – Contestant's choice * Episode 15 – Week 8 (Fri, 22 June) – Contestant's choice (Chakravyuh phase) * Episode 16 – Week 8 (Sat, 23 June) – Contestant's choice (Chakravyuh phase) * Episode 17 – Week 9 (Fri, 29 June) – Contestant's choice (Bramhastra phase) * Episode 18 – Week 9 (Sat, 30 June) – Punjabi or Punjabi flavor songs (Bramhastra phase) * Episode 19 – Week 10 (Fri, 6 July) – Contestant's choice (Agnipariksha phase) * Episode 20 – Week 10 (Sat, 7 July) – Contestant's choice (Agnipariksha phase) * Episode 21 – Week 11 (Fri, 13 July) – Old romantic songs * Episode 22 – Week 11 (Sat, 14 July) – Rain/

Monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

songs * Episode 23 – Week 12 (Fri, 20 July) – Club songs * Episode 24 – Week 12 (Sat, 21 July) – Songs of

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; born 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who predominantly works in Hindi films. In a career spanning over three decades, his awards include two National Film Awa ...

* Episode 25 – Week 13 (Fri, 27 July) – Superhits of 60's and 70's * Episode 26 – Week 13 (Sat, 28 July) – Songs of the contestants' favorite singer * Episode 27 – Week 14 (Fri, 3 August) – Sad songs * Episode 28 – Week 14 (Sat, 4 August) –

Friendship Day Friendship Day (also known as the International Friendship Day or Friend's Day) is a list of minor secular observances#July, day in several countries for celebrating friendship. It was initially promoted by the greeting card industry; eviden ...

special * Episode 29 – Week 15 (Fri, 10 August) – Universal hits * Episode 30 – Week 15 (Sat, 11 August) –

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

special * Episode 31 – Week 16 (Fri, 17 August) – Dance songs * Episode 32 – Week 16 (Sat, 18 August) –

Qawwali Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing originating in the Indian subcontinent. Originally performed at Sufi shrines throughout the Indian subcontinent, it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has ...

* Episode 33 – Week 17 (Fri, 24 August) – New romantic songs * Episode 34 – Week 17 (Sat, 25 August) – Songs of

Akshay Kumar Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...

* Episode 35 – Week 18 (Fri, 31 August) – TV stars' choice songs * Episode 36 – Week 18 (Sat, 1 September) –

Folk songs Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

* Episode 37 – Week 19 (Fri, 7 September) – Comedy songs * Episode 38 – Week 19 (Sat, 8 September) – Songs of the contestants' favorite actor * Episode 39 – Week 20 (Fri, 14 September) –

Black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

films' songs * Episode 40 – Week 20 (Sat, 15 September) – Wedding songs * Episode 41 – Week 21 (Fri, 21 September) – Stage songs * Episode 42 – Week 21 (Sat, 22 September) – Round 1: (Raj) Kapoor Family Songs , Round 2: Songs of

Kareena Kapoor Kareena Kapoor Khan (; ; born 21 September 1980) is an Indian actress. A prolific leading lady of Hindi cinema since 2000, she is noted for her roles in a range of film genres—from romantic comedies to crime dramas. Kapoor is the recipient ...

* Episode 43 – Week 22 (Fri, 28 September) – Round 1:

Ghazals ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

, Round 2: Semi-classical songs * Episode 44 – Week 22 (Sat, 29 September) – Round 1: Songs of

Om Shanti Om ''Om Shanti Om'' (transl. literally to ''Peace Be With You'') is a 2007 Hindi-language romantic fantasy film written and directed by Farah Khan, co-written by Mayur Puri and Mushtaq Shiekh, and produced by Gauri Khan under Red Chillies E ...

, Round 2: Song choice of

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Padishah, Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has Shah Rukh K ...

* Episode 45 – Week 23 (Fri, 5 October) – Round 1: Violin Songs , Round 2: Guitar Songs , Round 3: Songs to express yourself (Nokia Express) * Episode 46 – Week 23 (Sat, 6 October) – Round 1: White Feather Films' songs , Round 2: White Feather Films' emotional songs , Round 3: Song for one of the cast/crew of Dus Kahaniyan

"Mahagurus"

The Mahagurus appeared as judges in the semi-finals. They "commented" and decided who the top contestants were on the performance episodes and also decided who got eliminated on the "elimination day" during the initial rounds. * Episode 1 & 2 – Week 1 (4 May & 5 May) – None * Episode 3 & 4 – Week 2 (11 May & 12 May) – Ghulam Ali and

* Episode 5 & 6 – Week 3 (18 May & 19 May) – Asha Bhosle * Episode 7 & 8 – Week 4 (25 May & 26 May) – Asha Bhosle * Episode 9 & 10 – Week 5 (1 June & 2 June) – Mohammed Zahur Khayyam and

* Episode 11 & 12 – Week 6 (8 June & 9 June) – Mohammed Zahur Khayyam and Rajesh Roshan * Episode 13 & 14 – Week 7 (15 June & 16 June) – Mohammed Zahur Khayyam and Rajesh Roshan (Roshan was not present on 16 June) * Episode 15 & 16 – Week 8 (22 June & 23 June) –

Anandji Virji Shah Anandji Virji Shah (born 2 March 1933) is an Indian music director. Together with his brother he formed the Kalyanji-Anandji duo, and won the 1975 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, for ''Kora Kagaz''. In 1992, Anandji Shah received the ...

Bramhastra

The "Bramhastra" round ran through Week 9. This round basically allowed the public to bring an eliminated contestant back into the competition. The gharana who received the Bramhastra got to choose two eliminated contestants for the finals (Agnipariksha).

received this Bramhastra and they chose 6 contestants. The six contestants were: * Sarika Singh (Hit Squad) * Sunil Kumar (Josh) * Raja Hassan (Hit Squad) * Saaberi Bhattacharya (Hit Squad) * Harpreet Deol (Hit Squad) * Desh Gaurav Singh (Yalgaar) Of the six contestants that were chosen by Vishal–Shekhar, the two contestants with most votes from the public and subsequently elected and brought back into the competition were: * Raja Hassan with 31% of the votes * Harpreet Deol with 20% of the votes

Top 14 finalists

The 14 finalists were announced at the end of the episode broadcast on 29 June 2007. That year, Aneek Dhar and Abhijeet Kosambi, winners of the regional spinoffs, ''Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Bangla'' and ''Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Marathi'', got direct entry as finalists. Their direct entry into the finals caused some controversy that Ismail Darbar had the courage point out. However, after Himesh Reshammiya pleaded with Ismail, the issue dissolved. See Aneek-Abhijit controversy section for further details. These are the names of the top fifteen finalists listed in order. * Aneek Dhar- Winner (Rock Gharana) * Raja Hassan- 1st Runner Up (Hit-Squad Gharana) * Amanat Ali- 2nd Runner Up (Yalgaar Gharana) Eliminated Contestants: * Poonam Yadav- (Yalgaar Gharana) * Sumedha Karmahe- (Josh Gharana) * Mussarat Abbas- (Rock Gharana) * Mauli Dave- (Josh Gharana) * Harpreet Deol- (Hit-Squad Gharana) * Junaid Sheikh- (Hit-Squad Gharana) * Joy Chakraborty- (Rock Gharana) * Abhijeet Kosambi- (Josh Gharana) * Nirupama Dey- (Rock Gharana) * Apurva Shah- (Hit-Squad Gharana) * Rimi Dhar- (Yalgaar Gharana)

Celebrity guests

* Week 6 (8 June) – Mr. Vipin Reshammiya – Father of Himesh Reshammiya * Week 9 (28 June) – Mrs. Madhu Reshammiya – Mother of Himesh Reshammiya * Week 9 (29 June) – Director Anil Sharma and

Sunny Deol Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1957), better known as Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, and politician. One of the highest grossing actors of Indian cinema, he has worked in Sunny Deol filmography, more than 100 Hindi ...

* Week 11 (14 July) –

Shamita Shetty Shamita Shetty (born 2 February 1979) is an Indian actress and interior designer. The younger sister of actress Shilpa Shetty, she made her acting with the romantic drama ''Mohabbatein'' (2000), which earned her the IIFA Award for Star Debut of ...

and

Dia Mirza Dia Mirza Rekhi (born Dia Handrich; 9 December 1981) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. She won the title of Miss Asia Pacific International in 2000 after being crowned Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 2000. Mirza made her ...

* Week 12 (21 July) –

and

Lara Dutta Lara Dutta Bhupathi ( Dutta; born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress. She won the Miss Universe 2000, and has since predominantly worked in Hindi films and series. Dutta is a recipient of a Filmfare Awards, Filmfare Award and established hers ...

* Week 13 (27 July) –

Ritesh Deshmukh Riteish Deshmukh (born 17 December 1978) is an Indian actor, filmmaker and television presenter who predominantly works in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Marathi cinema, Marathi films. Known for his comic portrayals, Deshmukh is a recipient of several ...

and

Anubhav Sinha Anubhav Sinha (born 22 June 1965) is an Indian film director, producer and writer known for his work in Hindi film industry. His films include ''Tum Bin'' (2001), ''Dus'' (2005) and ''Ra.One'' (2011) He also directed a series of socio-political ...

* Week 13 (28 July) –

Vidya Balan Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fil ...

and Sajid Khan * Week 14 (4 August) –

Fardeen Khan Fardeen Khan (; born 8 March 1974) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Hindi films. Born to actor and film producer Feroz Khan, he is part of the Khan family. He made his acting debut in the film '' Prem Aggan'' (1998), for which he won the ...

* Week 15 (11 August) –

Kapil Dev Kapildev Ramlal Nikhanj (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, əpil deːʋborn 6 January 1959) is an Indian former cricket team captain. He is regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of cricket, he was a Fast bowling, ...

* Week 17 (25 August) –

* Week 18 (1 September) –

Daler Mehndi Daler Singh (born 18 August 1967), better known as Daler Mehndi, is an Indian singer, songwriter, author, and record producer. He has helped to make Bhangra (music), Bhangra popular worldwide, as well as Indian pop music independent of Bollywoo ...

and

Lalu Prasad Yadav Lalu Prasad (born 11 June 1948) is an Indian politician who served as the chief minister of Bihar from 1990 to 1997 with a brief interruption in 1995 and as the union minister for Railways from 2004 to 2009. He is the founder and president o ...

* Week 19 (7 September) –

Aashish Chaudhary Ashish Chaudhary (born ) is an Indian actor who has acted in many Hindi films and television productions. He is best known for portraying Boman in the comedies ''Dhamaal'' (2007) and ''Double Dhamaal ''Double Dhamaal'', also known as ''420s ...

and

Asrani Govardhan Asrani (born 1 January 1941), known popularly by mononym Asrani, is an Indian actor and director whose Bollywood career has spanned over five decades. He has acted in over 350 Hindi films. Asrani has played the lead roles, character ...

* Week 20 (15 September) – Tusshar Kapoor,

Rajpal Yadav Rajpal Naurang Yadav (born 16 March 1971) is an Indian actor and comedian. His breakthrough came in Ram Gopal Varma's ''Jungle'' (2000) with a negative role. Although Yadav has gained widespread recognition for his slapstick comic performances ...

and

Kunal Khemu Kunal Khemu (born 25 May 1983) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. Early life and background Kunal Khemu was born on 25 May 1983 in Srinagar, in the Kashmir Valley of the erstwhile Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, into a Kashmiri ...

* Week 21 (22 September) –

* Week 22 (28 September) – Pandit Jasraj and

Jagjit Singh Jagjit Singh (born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman; 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011) was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in List of languages by number of native speakers in India, numerous languages and is credite ...

* Week 22 (29 September) –

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 ...

Deepika Padukone Deepika Padukone (; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Hindi films. She is India's highest-paid actress, as of 2023, and List of awards and nominations received by Deepika Padukone, her accolades include thre ...

and Shreyas Talpade * Week 23 (5 October) –

Adnan Sami Adnan Sami Khan (born 15 August 1969) is an Indian singer, musician, composer, actor and pianist. He performs Indian and Western music in many languages, such as Hindi, Urdu, English, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. He has been awarded ...

* Week 23 (6 October) – Cast of Dus Kahaniyan (22 guests!) * Week 24 (13 October) (Finale) – Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan and

Semi-finals and finals elimination charts

Contestants are in alphabetical order by last name, then by reverse chronological order of elimination.

Semi-finals

* During the week of 22 June, there was no separate performance/elimination episode as the week marked the beginning of the "Chakravyuh" phase. However, eight contestants were eliminated that week.

Finals (top 14)

In the Agnipariksha round, eliminations are based on public voting. Public voting is done through SMS, telephone or online. Each week, the contestant with lowest votes is eliminated. Additionally, if all the contestants of a Gharana get eliminated, the Gharana also gets eliminated and subsequently the mentor(s) have to leave the show. ^† During the week of 17 August, there was no eliminated contestant. That week's votes were added to the votes for the week of 24 August, and Junaid was then eliminated on the episode airing on 24 August.

Controversies

Aneek-Abhijit controversy

On 29 June, Aditya Narayan announced that Aneek Dhar and Abhijeet Kosambi, the winners of the regional spinoffs of ''Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Bangla'' and ''Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Marathi'', would be getting direct entry as a Top 14 finalist. This was a pre decided qualification as it was a part of their respective prizes of winning the regional contests. The viewers of Marathi and Bangla had already seen and heard this announcement at live telecast on stage when Abhijeet Kosambi and Aneek Dhar had won the respective competitions, so in fact there was no need for any controversy in that case. Yet the mentors did not approve of this saying they should not be allowed to enter the competition in the middle and that they should have come from the beginning. Ismail Darbar tried to walk away from the show stalling the shooting of the program. In the latter episodes, Abhijeet Kosambi was eliminated with the fewest votes. Aneek Dhar is the only contestant in Himesh Reshammiya's Rock 'gharana'. However, Aneek Dhar has been in the Bottom 2 once. Aneek was also the top contestant thrice in the show and eventually ended up winning it all.

Independence Day controversy

The

special episode shot on 10 August (Week 15) ran into a controversy when the issue came up of the Pakistani contestants, Junaid, Mussarat and Amanat refused to sing Indian patriotic songs on 15 August special. All work on the sets was stalled for 6 hours. Finally, the Zee TV officials decided that the Pakistani contestants should sing Pakistani patriotic songs as a solution. However, the next week, the three Pakistani singers were the Bottom Three. It was then decided that no contestant would be eliminated that week and the week's votes would be added to the votes of the following week to decide the next elimination.

''Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Ek Shaam Taj Ke Naam''

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Ek Shaam Taj Ke Naam was a one-day special episode organised by the SRGMP team as a tribute to the

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

and also dedicated to request and encourage people to vote for the Taj Mahal as one of the ''

New Seven Wonders of the World The New 7 Wonders of the World was a campaign started in 2001 to choose Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments. The popularity poll via free web-based voting and telephone voting was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber ...

''. As well as performances from the contestants of the season, the special episode also featured performances from contestants of previous SRGMP seasons such as Twinkle Bajpai,

Sanchita Bhattacharya Sanchita Bhattacharya (born 19 February 1992) is an Indian playback singer, composer and television personality. At the age of 14, this makes her the oldest winner in the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs history as well as the first female winner wi ...

, Diwakar Sharma and Sameer Mohammed.

References

External links

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007 Official Site
{{Zee TV Programmes Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2007 Indian television seasons Zee TV original programming