Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007

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 and Vishal-Shekhar. Shaan did not return to host and was replaced by Aditya Narayan, son of playback singer, Udit Narayan.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007
The "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007" logo.
Created byDr. Abhishek Dwivedi & Rajeev Arora
Written byDr. Abhishek Dwivedi & Rajeev Arora
Directed byGyan Sahay
Presented byAditya Narayan
StarringIsmail Darbar
Himesh Reshammiya
Bappi Lahiri
Vishal-Shekhar
Opening theme"Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007" by Aditya Narayan and Shriram Iyer
Country of originIndia
Original languageHindi
No. of episodes44 as of 29 September 2007
Production
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time52 minutes
Release
Picture format480i (SDTV)
Audio formatStereophonic sound
Original release4 May 2007 – 13 October 2007
Chronology
Preceded bySa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs
Followed bySa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs International
Related showsSa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009
External links
Website

The new logo is significantly different from the 2005 logo. It features headphones on a globe to represent itself as an international competition, instead of a previous logo consisting of a portrayal of a duet singing.

On 21 July, the show had topped the television ratings in India for the episode featuring Salman Khan according to Television Audience Measurement.[1]

On 13 October at the Grand Finale, the show broke voting records with a collection of 10,61,44,354 (10.6 crores or 106 million) votes worldwide from 181 countries. In the final tally Aneek Dhar was declared the winner with 3,65,89,134 votes, Raja Hasan 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 used in schools and colleges. 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's Jai Ho and Jatin-Lalit'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, Madhya Pradesh, India -Eliminated on Episode 21: 13 July
  • Jyoti Mishra from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, 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, Pakistan – Eliminated on Episode 15: 22 June
  • Brijesh Schandaliya from Basti, Uttar Pradesh, India – Eliminated on Episode 12: 9 June
  • Poonam Yadav from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India – 3rd runner-up. Eliminated on Episode 43: 28 September
  • Amanat Ali from Faisalabad, Pakistan – Mega finalist and 2nd runner-up.

Jai Mata Di Let's Rock - Himesh Reshammiya
  • Joy Chakraborty from Lumding, Assam, India – Eliminated on Episode 29: 10 August
  • Amrita Chatterjee from Kolkata, West Bengal, India – Eliminated on Episode 6: 19 May
  • Nirupama Dey from Agartala, Tripura, India – Eliminated on Episode 25: 27 July
  • Shreshta Banerjee from Kolkata, West Bengal, India – Eliminated on Episode 15: 22 June
  • Yogendra Pathak from London, England – Eliminated on Episode 4: 12 May
  • Tushar Sinha from Silchar, Assam, India – Eliminated on Episode 10: 2 June
  • Anita Bhatt from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India – Eliminated on Episode 12: 9 June
  • Mussarat Abbas Pakistan ki Shaan From Lahore, Pakistan - Eliminated on Episode 39: 14 September
  • Aneek Dhar from Kolkata, West Bengal, India - WINNER

Josh - Bappi Lahiri
  • Reecha Tripaathi from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – Eliminated on Episode 16: 23 June
  • Sunil Kumar from Sunder Nagar, Himachal Pradesh, India – Eliminated on Episode 16: 23 June
  • Koyel Chaterjee from Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India – Eliminated on Episode 4: 12 May
  • Sikandar Ali from Karachi, Pakistan – Eliminated on Episode 14: 16 June
  • Abhijeet Kosambi (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Marathi winner) from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India Eliminated on Episode 27: 3 August
  • Mauli Dave from Houston, United States – Eliminated on Episode 37: 7 September
  • Sumedha Karmahe from Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, India – 4th Runner-up. Eliminated on Episode 41: 21 September

Hit Squad - Vishal-Shekhar
  • Apurva Shah from Mumbai, India Eliminated on Episode 23: 20 July
  • Saaberi Bhattacharya from Kolkata, West Bengal, India Eliminated on Episode 16: 23 June
  • Meghna Verma from Pune, Maharashtra, India – Eliminated on Episode 10: 2 June
  • Sarika Singh from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India – Eliminated on Episode 8: 26 May
  • Imran Aslam from Johannesburg, South Africa – Eliminated on Episode 8: 26 May
  • Sumana Ganguly from Toronto, Ontario, Canada – Eliminated on Episode 15: 22 June
  • Junaid Sheikh from Karachi, PakistanVoted Out: 24 August
  • Harpreet Deol from Ludhiana, Punjab, 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
  • Raja Hassan from Bikaner, 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 Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, India – transferred to Josh Gharana (18 May)
  • Tushar Sinha from India – transferred to Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Gharana (18 May)
  • Anita Bhatt from Lucknow, India – transferred to Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Gharana (25 May)
  • Raja Hassan from Bikaner, Rajasthan, India – transferred to Hit-Squad Gharana (15 June)
  • Brijesh Schandaliya from Basti, Uttar Pradesh, 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 Kolkata, India
  • Binoy Mohanty from Raurkela, Orissa, India

Episode themes

Just as was done in previous Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 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
  • 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 Bappi Lahiri
  • 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
  • Episode 11 – Week 6 (Fri, 8 June) – Songs of Himesh Reshammiya
  • Episode 12 – Week 6 (Sat, 9 June) – Songs of Rajesh Roshan
  • Episode 13 – Week 7 (Fri, 15 June) – Songs of Vishal-Shekhar
  • 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 songs
  • Episode 23 – Week 12 (Fri, 20 July) – Club songs
  • Episode 24 – Week 12 (Sat, 21 July) – Songs of Salman Khan
  • 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 special
  • Episode 29 – Week 15 (Fri, 10 August) – Universal hits
  • Episode 30 – Week 15 (Sat, 11 August) – Independence Day special
  • Episode 31 – Week 16 (Fri, 17 August) – Dance songs
  • Episode 32 – Week 16 (Sat, 18 August) – Qawwali
  • Episode 33 – Week 17 (Fri, 24 August) – New romantic songs
  • Episode 34 – Week 17 (Sat, 25 August) – Songs of Akshay Kumar
  • Episode 35 – Week 18 (Fri, 31 August) – TV stars' choice songs
  • Episode 36 – Week 18 (Sat, 1 September) – Folk songs
  • 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 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
  • Episode 43 – Week 22 (Fri, 28 September) – Round 1: Ghazals | Round 2: Semi-classical songs
  • Episode 44 – Week 22 (Sat, 29 September) – Round 1: Songs of Om Shanti Om | Round 2: Song choice of Shah Rukh Khan
  • 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 Asha Bhosle
  • 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 Rajesh Roshan
  • 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

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). Vishal-Shekhar 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 15 Finalists

The 15 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 (Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Gharana)
  • Raja Hassan- 1st Runner Up (Hit-It Gharana)
  • Amanat Ali- 2nd Runner Up (Yalgaar Gharana)

Eliminated Contestants:

  • Poonam Yadav- (Yalgaar Gharana)
  • Sumedha Karmahe- (Josh Gharana)
  • Mussarat Abbas- (Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Gharana)
  • Mauli Dave- (Josh Gharana)
  • Shubhuanshu Kesharwani- (Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Gharana)
  • Harpreet Deol- (Hit-It Gharana)
  • Junaid Sheikh- (Hit-It Gharana)
  • Joy Chakraborty- (Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Gharana)
  • Abhijeet Kosambi- (Josh Gharana)
  • Nirupama Dey- (Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Gharana)
  • Apurva Shah- (Hit-It Gharana)
  • Rimi Dhar- (Yalgaar Gharana)

Celebrity Guests

Semi-finals and finals elimination charts

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

Semi-finals
Legend
Female Male Top 14 Top 24 Top 32
Contestant did not perform during that week
Top contestant of the week
Stage: Top 32 Top 24
Elimination Day: 12/5 19/5 26/5 2/6 9/6 16/6 22/6* 23/6*
Place Contestant Gharana Result
Amanat Ali Yalgaar Btm 3
Poonam Yadav Yalgaar
Sumedha Karmahe Josh
Mussarat Abbas Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Btm 3
Mauli Dave Josh Btm 3 Btm 3
Junaid Sheikh Hit Squad Btm 3 Btm 3
Joy Chakroborty Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Btm 3
Nirupama Dey Jai Mata Di Let's Rock
Apurva Shah Hit Squad Btm 3
Rimi Dhar Yalgaar Btm 3
11–12 Raja Hassan Hit Squad Btm 3 Elim
Saaberi Bhattacharya Hit Squad Btm 3 Btm 3
13–14 Reecha Tripaathi Josh Btm 3 Btm 3
Sunil Kumar Josh Btm 3 Btm 3
15–16 Shresta Banerjee Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Btm 3 Btm 3 Elim
Harpreet Deol Josh Btm 3
17–18 Sumana Ganguly Hit Squad Btm 3
Wasi Efandi Yalgaar Btm 3 Btm 3
19–20 Sikandar Ali Josh Elim
Jyoti Mishra Yalgaar Btm 3
21–22 Brijesh Schandaliya Yalgaar Elim
Anita Bhatt Jai Mata Di Let's Rock
23–24 Tushar Sinha Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Elim
Meghna Verma Hit Squad Btm 3
25–26 Sarika Singh Hit Squad Elim
Imran Aslam Hit Squad
27–28 Desh Gaurav Singh Yalgaar Elim
Amrita Chatterjee Jai Mata Di Let's Rock
29–30 Yogendra Pathak Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Elim
Koyal Chaterjee Josh
31–32 Sayan Chaudhary N/A
Binoy Mohanty N/A

* 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)
Stage: Agnipariksha (Top 14)
Elimination Day: 13/7 20/7 27/7 3/8 10/8 17/8† 24/8 31/8 7/9 14/9 21/9 28/9 5/10 13/10
Place Country Contestant Gharana Result
1 Aneek Dhar Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Btm 2 Third Winner
2 Raja Hassan Hit Squad Btm 2 Runner-up
3 Amanat Ali Yalgaar Btm 3 Btm 3 Second 2nd Runner-up
4 Poonam Yadav Yalgaar Btm 2 Elim
5 Sumedha Karmahe Josh Btm 3 Btm 2 Elim
6 Mussarat Abbas Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Btm 3 Btm 3 Btm 2 Elim
7 Mauli Dave Josh Btm 2 Btm 3 Elim
8 Harpreet Deol Hit Squad Btm 3 Btm 2 Btm 2 Elim
9 Junaid Shaikh Hit Squad Btm 2 Btm 3 Elim
10 Joy Chakroborty Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Elim
11 Abhjit Kosambi Josh Btm 2 Elim
12 Nirupama Dey Jai Mata Di Let's Rock Elim
13 Apurva Shah Hit Squad Btm 3 Elim
14 Rimi Dhar Yalgaar Elim

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 '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 Independence Day 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 and also dedicated to request and encourage people to vote for the Taj Mahal as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

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 Bhattyacharya, Diwakar Sharma and Sameer Mohammed.

Miscellaneous Observations
  • According to facts, there are six not four Pakistanis taking part in the competition unlike as shown on the show. The other two Pakistanis who got selected apart from the original Pakistani screening are Imran Aslam from South Africa whose hometown is Karachi and Amanat Ali from U.A.E. who hails from Faisalabad.[2]
  • Raja Hasan's father, Rafiq Sagar has been a playback singer himself and has sung a ghazal for a Bappi Lahiri composition in the 1980 film Pyaara Dushman.[3]

References
  1. "Zee's 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' on song, tops ratings charts". indiantelevision.com. August 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
  2. "Salman creates havoc on Sa Re Ga Ma sets". indya.com. 17 July 2007. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
  3. "Raja Hassan's father and the Bappi Lahiri connection". rajahasan.com. 21 July 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
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