India's Got Talent
India's Got Talent is a televised Indian Hindi language talent show series and is part of the Got Talent franchise. The program is produced and distributed by Fremantle and Syco Entertainment. The show aired on Colors TV till season 8. Since season 9 the show is airing on Sony Entertainment Television.

Format

Auditions 
Each year's competition begins with a set of audition stages, the first being the "Producers' Auditions", is conducted across various cities in the India. This stage is open to all forms of acts and judged by an independent group, and thus determines who will take part in the next stage of auditions titled "Judges' Auditions". These are held in a public venue, within select cities across the country, and are attended by the judges handling that year's contest.

Each participant reaching this stage of auditions is held offstage from the main performing area in a waiting room, and given a number that denotes when they will perform. Upon being called before the judges, the participant is given few minutes to demonstrate their act, with a live audience present for all performances. Each judge is given a buzzer, and may use it during a performance if they are unimpressed, dislike 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. At the end of a performance, the judges give constructive criticism and feedback about what they saw, whereupon they are each given a vote. A participant requires a majority vote approving their performance to proceed to the next stage, otherwise they are eliminated from the program at that stage. Many acts that move on may be cut or forfeit their place, due to the limited slots available for the next stage. Filming for each season begins 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.

From the ninth season, acts who did not attend live auditions could instead submit a taped audition online via SonyLIV.

In the fifth season, the show added a new format to the auditions in the form of the "Golden Buzzer", which began to make appearances within the Got Talent franchise, since it was first introduced on Germany's Got Talent. During auditions, each judge is allowed to use the Golden Buzzer to send an act automatically into the semi-finals, regardless of the opinion of the other judges. The only rule to the buzzer was that a judge could use it only twice per season. The hosts were allowed to use the Golden Buzzer for an act in the eighth season only.

Filming for each series begins during the Judges' Auditions, and always consists of recording taken from each venue of auditions and backstage scenes within the wings and waiting area. Footage taken by production staff is then edited into a series of episodes consisting of montages of scenes from multiple venues, consisting of the most notable auditions (the best, worst and funniest made) – along with interviews with some of the notable participants that auditioned, and recorded backstage scenes of the hosts overseeing the performances from the wings.

Judge cuts 
This format for this has been varied for the seasons. Before season 6, the judges would choose the acts going into the semi-final in a separate room and can call a participant to view his performance again if required. 

After season 6, this set was divided into two steps- Hunar War (War of Talent) and Spotlight. All the contestants except the Golden buzzers have to compete against each other to win the seat the semi-finals. 

In season 9, with reduced number of contestants and change in format, this whole procedure was wrapped under 10 minutes with only 14 contestants making it to the quarter-finals.

Semi-finals and Finals 
Before season 9, participants who pass their auditions and secure a place in the semi-finals of the competitions, including those who received the Golden Buzzer after the format's introduction and subsequent amendment to match other Got Talent editions, are divided into groups and compete against each other to secure a place within the live final of the competition. Each semi-final can only have two participants advance into the final, and these are determined by two votes. The first is public phone-in vote (via a special phone-number), in which the last two digits correspond to each semi-finalist (via SonyLiv app from season 9). Once the vote period is ended and the results counted and fully verified, the semi-finalist with the highest total of votes is announced as the winner of the semi-final and secures their place in the final. The second vote involves the judges and takes place after the result, in which they vote between the two semi-finalists placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in the public vote, with the participant receiving the majority vote securing their place in the finals.

In season 9, the top 14 contestants performed every weekend and one gets eliminated each week. The bottom two/three contestants from the public vote are brought on the stage and judges have to choose one to safe. Before season 6, each judge vote was revealed but after that one of the judges tell the anonymously tell the final verdict. 

There are 2 wild-cards, public's and judges' which are brought upon either in the pre-final or during quarter final (as per season 9).

Judges and hosts

Notes:

 VJ Andy replaced Mantra midway for film shooting.
 Sidharth Shukla replaced Nakuul Mehta midway.
 Sugandha Mishra served as co-host during Pre-Finale and Grand-Finale episode of season 9. 
 Kirron Kher was only absent during episodes of Stunt Yard in season 9.
 Farah Khan replaced Malaika Arora midway.
 Malaika Arora served as guest judge in absence of Shilpa Shetty.
 Kirron Kher was absent on the World Record Episode and was not replaced by anyone.

Season synopses

Season 1 (2009) 

Season 1 was hosted by Nikhil Chinapa and Ayushmann Khurrana and the special segment called "India's Got More Talent" was hosted by Roshni Chopra. The show was judged by Sonali Bendre, Kirron Kher and Shekhar Kapur.

The winning act of the first season was the Prince Dance Group from Berhampur, Orissa. The group of 56 people performed a dance inspired by the Lord Vishnu's Dashavatara.

Season 2 (2010)

Season 2 was hosted by the same duo, Nikhil Chinapa and Ayushmann Khurrana, as they were selected through voting by the judges and the viewers. 

Sonali Bendre and Kirron Kher continued their roles as judges, however Shekher Kapur was replaced by Sajid Khan. 

The winners of season 2 were the Shillong Chamber Choir, led by Neil Nongkynrih from Shillong, Meghalaya.

Season 3 (2011)

Season 3 was hosted by singer Meiyang Chang and actor-model Gautam Rode. The judges of this season were Sonali Bendre, Kirron Kher and Dharmendra.

The second runner-up of season 2, SNV Group (named after members Suresh Mukund and Vernon Monteiro), emerged as the winner of the season.

Season 4 (2012)

Season 4 was hosted by Manish Paul and Cyrus Sahukar. Kirron Kher, Malaika Arora Khan, and Karan Johar were judges. Farah Khan later replaced 

Malaika Arora Khan.

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 (2014)

Season 5 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.  Ragini Makkhar's Naadyog Academy won the season. Indore, Madhya Pradesh-based Ragini Makkhar's Naadyog Academy is a 

25-year-old dance institution which consists of 360 students.

Season 6 (2015)

Season 6 was hosted by Bharti Singh, Nakuul Mehta and Sidharth Shukla. Malaika Arora Khan, Kirron Kher and Karan Johar reprised their roles as judges. Aerial dancer Manik Pauk won the season winning a cash prize of ₹50,00,000.

Season 7 (2016)

Season 7 was hosted by Bharti Singh and Sidharth Shukla.
Malaika Arora Khan, Kirron Kher and Karan Johar reprised their roles as judges.  Flautist Suleiman, a 13-year-old flute player from Amritsar, Punjab won the season, and Papai and antara bagged the runner-up positions.

Season 8 (2018)

Season 8 was hosted by Bharti Singh and Rithvik Dhanjani. Malaika Arora Khan, Kirron Kher and Karan Johar reprised their roles as judges.  27-year-old close-up magician Javed Khan 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.

Season 9 (2022)

Season 9 was hosted by Arjun Bijlani. Kirron Kher continue serving as judge for the ninth season along with Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Baadshah and Manoj Muntashir. The format of the show changed was changed.  Flute & beat box duo Divyansh & Manuraj won the season, whereas Ishita Vishwakarma and Bomb Fire Crew finished as runner-up and 2nd runner-up, respectively.

Season 10 (2023)

Auditions were held in various cities in May and June 2023.

Season 10 will air from 29 July 2023. It will be again hosted by Arjun Bijlani and Kirron Kher, Badshah and Shilpa Shetty will return as judges. According to some reports Manoj Muntashir was dropped owing to film Adipurush's dialogues controversy but the makers said, "Given Kirron Kher's health issues last season, they had four judges as a safety option. However, this time it's just the trio that will take on the panel."

Awards and Nominations

Notes and references

External links

Indian reality television series
Colors TV original programming
Got Talent
2009 Indian television series debuts
Television series by Fremantle (company)
Music competitions in India
Indian television series based on British television series