India's Got Talent is an Indian reality television series on Colorstelevision network, founded by Sakib Zakir Ahmed and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a cooperative effort between Colors and Britain's FremantleMedia. The first episode of India's Got Talent premiered on 27 June 2009. India's Got Talent follows the global Got Talent format, in which contestants audition in front of three judges and a studio audience. Up until the semifinal and final rounds, the judges decide whether or not a contestant advances in the competition. During the semifinal and final rounds, viewers vote on which contestants will advance. It is currently unknown if Colors will renew the program for a ninth season.
Format
Auditions
The general selection process of each season is begun by the production team with open auditions held in various cities across the India. Dubbed "Producers' Auditions", they are held months before the main stage of auditions are held. Those that make it through the initial stage, become participants in the "Judges' Auditions", which are held in select cities across the country, and attended by the judges. Each participant is held offstage and awaits their turn to perform before the judges, whereupon they are given 90 seconds to demonstrate their act, with a live audience present for all performances. At the end of a performance, the judges give constructive criticism and feedback about what they saw, whereupon they each give a vote - a participant who receives a majority vote approving their performance, moves on to the next stage, otherwise they are eliminated from the show at that stage. Each judge has a buzzer, and may use it during a performance if they are unimpressed, hate what is being performed, or feel the act is a waste of their time; if a participant is buzzed by all judges, their performance is automatically over and they are eliminated without being given a vote. Many acts that move on may be cut by producers and may forfeit due to the limited slots available for the second performance. Filming for each season always takes place when the Judges' Auditions are taking place, with the show's presenter standing in the wings of each venue's stage to interview and give personal commentary on a participant's performance.
Quarter Finals/Semi-Finals
During this round, the final selection of participants, which has ranged from between 20 and 60 acts and include those that were chosen as Wildcards by the judges or received the Golden Buzzer, are divided into groups and compete against each other for viewers' and judges' votes. The general structure of the live episodes focuses first on four quarterfinals, and then two semi-finals, aimed at finding that season's finalists. Additional rounds are conducted when required. During these stages, the judges still provide feedback on an act's performance when it is over, and can use buzzers to prematurely end a performance before it is over; in the first season, the judges could not end a performance before it was over. Acts which do not secure a sufficient number of votes by the public and/or the judges, are eliminated from the competition.
The Season 2 of the show started from 30 July 2010 with Sonali Bendre and Kirron Kher continuing their roles of judging the contestant. The film director Shekher Kapur however was replaced with another film director and TV show hostSajid Khan. The show was presented by the same duo Nikhil Chinapa and Ayushmann Khurrana as they were selected through voting by the judges and the viewers. The winning act of the second season of India's Got Talent was the Shillong Chamber Choir from Shillong, Meghalaya. The Choir is led by Neil Nongkynrieh.
Season 3
The Season 3 of the show started from 29 July 2011. The judges of this season were Sonali Bendre, Kirron Kher and veteran Bollywood actor turned politician Dharmendra. The show was now hosted by singer Meiyang Chang and actor-model Gautam Rode. The Suresh and Vernon group emerged as the winner of the season.
Season 4
The Season 4 of the show started airing from 22 September 2012. The show was hosted by Manish Paul and Cyrus Sahukar and judged by actress Kirron Kher, director Karan Johar and model-actress Malaika Arora Khan. The position of the third judge of the show was later taken by Farah Khan. Two young dancers Sonali Majumdar and Maraju Sumanth who formed the duo Bad Salsa from Kolkata's Bivash dance academy were crowned winners of the fourth season.
Season 5
Season 5 of India's Got Talent premiered on 11 January 2014. This season was hosted by Mantra and Bharti Singh. Later, Mantra was replaced by VJ Andy. Malaika Arora Khan, Kirron Kher and Karan Johar reprised their roles as judges for this season. This season consisted of 17 episodes. Ragini Makkhar and her Naadyog Academy won the season. Indore based Ragini Makkhar's Naadyog Academy is a 25-year-old dance institution which consists of 360 students.
Season 6
Season 6 of India's Got Talent premiered on 18 April 2015 and consisted of 21 episodes. The season was hosted by Bharti Singh, Nakuul Mehta and Sidharth Shukla for the final episodes. Malaika Arora Khan, Kirron Kher and Karan Johar reprised their roles as judges. The season finale was aired on 27 June 2015. AerialDancer Manik Paul of Barpeta, Assam was declared the winner.
Season 7
Season 7 of India's Got Talent premiered on 30 April 2016. The season was hosted by Bharti Singh and Sidharth Shukla. Malaika Arora Khan, Kirron Kher and Karan Johar reprised their roles as judges. The season finale was aired on 9 July 2016. Flautist Suleiman, a 13 year old flute player from Amritsar, won the 7th season of India's Got Talent. Papai And Antara bagged the second position.
Season 8
Season 8 of India's Got Talent premiered on Colors TV on 20 October 2018. The season was hosted by Bharti Singh and Rithvik Dhanjani. Malaika Arora Khan, Kirron Kher and Karan Johar reprised their roles as judges. Grand finale of season 8 was aired on 29 December 2018. Mumbai's magician Javed Khan was the winner. The 27-year-old had a tie with Live 100 Experience Band in the final stage. But with more votes coming his way, he was awarded the trophy and prize money of Rs 25 lakh.
