| Runtime: | 60 minutes |
| Executive Producer: | Sudarshan |
| Director: | Andrew Jones |
| Presenter: | Bhavna Balakrishnan |
| Judges: | M. S. Viswanathan Nithyasree Mahadevan Vani Jairam Sharreth |
| Country: | India |
| Network: | Zee Tamil |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
Zee Tamil's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2009 Challenge was a reality-based Indian singing competition that aired on Tamil language TV channel Zee Tamil. It was designed to be a talent hunt in Tamil Nadu. The top 15 contestants would have an opportunity to perform with celebrity singers during the main stage of the competition. The show was sponsored by Clinic Plus.
Prem Menon, Zee Tamil TV's business head, confirmed that more than 10,000 aspirants auditioned for the competition throughout Tamil Nadu from which 15 contestants were selected for the competition, before the competition was filtered down to 4 finalists.[1] Top 15 contestant performances and the finals were judged by music director M. S. Viswanathan, veteran playback singers Vani Jairam and Nithyasree Mahadevan, and composer Sharreth. The four finalists of the competition were Anand, Bhargavi, Deepak, and Gopalakrishnan. Contestant Anand was crowned the winner of the competition, with contestant Gopalakrishnan being crowned runner-up and contestant Bhargavi being third-placed in the competition.[1]
The show premiered on 22 June 2009, and episodes were telecast between Mondays and Tuesdays each week at 9:00 pm.[2] Encore telecasts were aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 5:00 pm, as well as Saturdays and Sundays each week at 8:00 pm..
| Episode # | Title | Original airdate |
|---|
Open auditions were held across Tamil Nadu. Prem Menon, Zee Tamil TV's business head, confirmed that more than 10,000 aspirants auditioned for the competition throughout Tamil Nadu from which 15 contestants were selected for the competition.[3]
| Episode # | Title | Original airdate |
|---|
The top 15 contestants selected through the main audition rounds and their pairings with the celebrity singers are as follows:
| Finalist | Gender | Celebrity Singer | Gender |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shiva Archana | Female | Mukesh | Male |
| Deepak | Male | Vinaya | Female |
| Anand | Male | Prashanthini | Female |
| Gopalakrishnan | Male | Vijayalakshmi | Female |
| Diwakaran | Male | Kalpana | Female |
| Shruti Vandana | Female | Jayadev | Male |
| Ramesh | Male | Roshini | Female |
| Kalaiwani | Female | Naveen Madhav (Raveendran's youngest son) | Male |
| Ashwath | Male | Mathangi | Female |
| Manasi | Female | Aslam | Male |
| Raghu | Male | Sangeetha | Female |
| Bhargavi | Female | Belly Raj | Male |
| Anush | Female | Srilekha Parthasarathy | Female |
| Aruna | Female | Sathyan | Male |
| Swathi | Female | VV Prasanna | Male |
| Air date | Contestant | Celebrity singer | Song | Original artist | Lyricist | Music composer/director | Source/Movie (year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 & 28 July 2009 | Shiva Archana | Mukesh | "Where Is The Party" | Priyadarshini & Mukesh | Silambarasan Rajendar | Yuvan Shankar Raja | Silambattam (2008) |
| Deepak | Vinaya | "Suppose Unnai Kaadhalichu" | Ranjith & Vinaya | Vijay Antony | Sukran (2005) | ||
| Anand | Prashanthini | "Mundhinam Parthene" | Naresh Iyer & Prashanthini | Thamarai | Harris Jayaraj | Vaaranam Aayiram (2008) | |
| Gopalakrishnan | Vijayalakshmi | "Pallanadhu Pallanadhu" | Vidyasagar & S. Rajalakshmi | Yugabharathi | Vidyasagar | Kuruvi (2008) | |
| Diwakaran | Kalpana | "Madurai Jilla" | Karthik & Kalpana | Vairamuthu, Na. Muthukumar, Viveka, & Thiraivannan | D. Imman | Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam (2006) | |
| Shruti Vandana | Jayadev | "Ean Enakku Mayakkam" | Sangeetha & Jayadev | Pa. Vijay | Vijay Antony & D. Imman | Naan Avan Illai (2007) | |
| Ramesh | Roshini | "Pottu Thakku" | Silambarasan & Roshini | Srikanth Deva | Kuththu (2004) | ||
| Kalaiwani | Navin Madhav | "Daddy Mummy Veetil Illai" | Mamta Mohandas & Naveen Madhav | Viveka | Devi Sri Prasad | Villu (2008) | |
| Ashwath | Mathangi | "X Machi" | Nakul & Mathangi | Vaali | Harris Jayaraj | Ghajini (2005) | |
| Manasi | Aslam | "Kodana Kodi" | Ranina Reddy, Suvi Suresh, & Rahul Nambiar | Gangai Amaran | Yuvan Shankar Raja | Saroja (2008) | |
| Raghu | Sangeetha | "Dialamo Dialamo" | Vijay Antony & Sangeetha | Vairamuthu, Vijay Antony, & Pugazhendhi | Vijay Antony | Dishyum (2006) | |
| Bhargavi | Belly Raj | "Kangal Irandal" | Deepa Miriam & Belly Raj | James Vasanthan | Subramaniapuram | ||
| Anush | Srilekha Parthasarathy | "Kalyanamthan Kattikittu Odi Pokkalama" | KK, Yugendran, & Srilekha Parthasarathy | Snehan | Harris Jayaraj | Saamy (2003) | |
| Aruna | Sathyan | "Kanavile Kanavile" | Swetha Mohan & Sathyan | Srikanth Deva | Nepali (2008) | ||
| Swathi | Prasanna | "Unnai Ninaithen" | Shreya Ghoshal & Prasanna | Vijay Antony | Mariyadhai (2009) | ||
This week, 15 contestant-singer duos would each present a duet song in front of judges M.S. Viswanathan and Nityashree Mahadevan.[4] Following the 15 performances which were described as "scintillating" by The Hindu,[2] a contestant-singer duo was eliminated from the competition, leaving 14 playback singers and 14 contestants remaining in the competition.
| Air date | Contestant | Celebrity singer | Song | Original artist | Lyricist | Music composer/director | Source/Movie (year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 & 5 August 2009 | Ramesh | Roshini | "Aaiyaiyo en usurukkule" | ||||
| Bhargavi | Belly Raj | "Pudhu Vellai Mazhai" | Roja | ||||
| Diwakaran | Kalpana | "Vaa Vaa Pakkam Vaa" | |||||
| Shruti Vandana | Jaydev | "Sorgame Endralum" | |||||
| Raghu | Sangeetha | "Idhazhil kathai yezhudum" | |||||
| Shiva Archana | Mukesh | "Madurai Marikozhunthu" | |||||
| Ashwath | Mathangi | "Andru Vandhadum Adhe Nilaa" | |||||
| Deepak | Vinaya | "Sundhari Kannal Oru" | |||||
| Anand | Prashanthini | "Malare Mounamaa" | |||||
| Manasi | Aslam | "Rathiriyl Poothrikkum" | |||||
| Anush | Srilekha Parthasarathy | "Oho Endhan Baby" | |||||
| Aruna | Sathyan | "Urugude Marugude" | |||||
| Swathi | Prasanna | "Oru Kaadhal Dhevadhai Vandhaal" | |||||
| Kalaiwani | Naveen Madhav | ||||||
– Contestant is eliminated
| Air date | Contestant | Celebrity singer | Song | Original artist | Lyricist | Music composer/director | Source/Movie (year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 & 11 August 2009 | |||||||
– Contestant is eliminated
| Air date | Contestant | Celebrity singer | Song | Original artist | Lyricist | Music composer/director | Source/Movie (year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 & 18 August 2009 | |||||||
This round required the top 8 to perform songs of an Indian patriotic theme.
This round was a freestyle contestant which permitted the contestants to perform any song they wish. Contestant Deepak and celebrity Vinaya were selected last, and sang the song "Chippi Irukkuthu" originally sung by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam & S. Janaki, with lyrics penned by Kannadasan and music composed by M. S. Viswanathan from the 1980 film Varumayin Niram Sivappu. Anshu and Mansi remained in the elimination circle to face elimination.
The finals were held at Kamarajar Arangam.[1] The competition was judged by renowned music personalities, including music director M. S. Viswanathan, as well as veteran playback singers Vani Jairam and Nithyasree Mahadevan,[1] and composer Sharreth. Celebrity playback singers and eliminated contestants also attended the event to support the finalists. Other celebrity personalities were also in attendance at the event and spotted in the audience, including in particular actor-director Cheran, music composer Ramesh Vinayakam, playback singer Chinmayi, and others.
Performances by the finalists of the competition included the following:[1]
| Contestant | Song | Original artist | Lyricist | Music composer/director | Source/Movie (year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anand | "Oru Naal Podhumaa" | M. Balamuralikrishna | Kannadasan | K. V. Mahadevan | Thiruvilaiyadal (1967) |
| Bhargavi | "Maalai Pozhuthin Mayakkathile" | P. Susheela | Kannadasan | Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy | Bhagyalakshmi (1961) |
| Gopalakrishnan | "Ullathil Nalla Ullam" | Sirkazhi Govindarajan | Kannadasan | Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy | Karnan (1964) |
At the conclusion of the performances, the judges selected the winner of the competition.
Contestant Anand was crowned the winner of the competition, with contestant Gopalakrishnan being crowned runner-up and contestant Bhargavi being third-placed in the competition.[1]