Fame Gurukul was an Indian reality show on

Sony Entertainment Television Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel, that was launched on 30 September 1995, and is owned by Culver Max Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese Sony. SET India's You ...

which premiered on 27 June 2005. The program was produced by the same production house of ''

Indian Idol ''Indian Idol'' is the Indian Reality television, music competition television franchise based on the ''Pop Idol'' format. Versions : Currently airing – 1 : Upcoming for airing – 0 : Recently concluded – 3 : No longer airing – ...

''. The concept of the show was to select a pair of India's best singers/performers. It is based on the Spanish ''

Operación Triunfo ''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements. Format There are many versions of t ...

'' and international ''

Star Academy ''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements. Format There are many versions of t ...

'' format of

Endemol Endemol B.V. was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted genres, including drama, reality ...

, better known in English under the UK title ''

Fame Academy ''Fame Academy'' was a British television talent competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist and part of the international franchise ''Star Academy'' known under va ...

''; in Indian terms, it was essentially a mixture of ''Indian Idol'' and '' Big Brother'' TV shows. ''Fame Gurukul'' started out with 16 contestants living in a musical performance academy (Gurukul). Every week (normally) one contestant was voted out of the show, and so on until two remained in the end.

Prizes

The finalists received a Rs.1 crore music contract from

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

in addition to a Maruti

Alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

car each.

Season one

Contestants

* Qazi Touqeer (Winner) * Ruprekha Banerjee (Winner) * Rex D'Souza Runner Up * Arpita Mukherjee * Sandeep Batraa *

Arijit Singh Arijit Singh (born 25 April 1987) is an Indian singer and music composer. He sings predominantly in Bengali and Hindi, but has also performed in various other Indian languages. He is the recipient of a National Award and six Filmfare Awards ...

* Monica Gadgil * Shamit Tyagi *

Keerthi Sagathia Keerthi Sagathia (born 14 September 1979, in Mumbai) is a musician and singer. Keerthi is the son of famous Gujarati folk singer Karsan Sagathiya. In 2005 he was a contestant for Sony TV reality show ''Fame Gurukul''. He was a celebrity guest s ...

* Mona Bhatt * Ravi Tripathi * Anubhav Suman * Gurpreet Kaur * Amit Jadhav * Chhavi Sodhani * Deepshikha Sharma * Deepak Singh Meher

Faculty

Head Mistress

Ila Arun Ila Arun is an Indian actress, TV personality and Rajasthani folk and folk-pop singer. She has appeared in many prominent Bollywood movies such as ''Lamhe'', ''Jodhaa Akbar'', ''Shaadi Ke Side Effects'' and '' Begum Jaan''. Personal life Arun ...

Music

* Padma Wadkar * Prasant A Samadhar

Dance

* Caesar Gonsalves

Fitness

Deepika Mehta

Judges

Jury Members

Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is an Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter and political activist. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 200 ...

- Lyricist / Screenplay writer / Poet * KK (Krishnakumar Kunnath) - Singer *

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. Personal life and early career Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tami ...

- Singer / Composer

Celebrity Judges

Occasionally a

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

judge was called on the show to comment on the performances and to inspire the

singers Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

. The following was a list of special judges who appeared on ''Fame Gurukul'': *

Karan Johar Karan Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo in the Hindi Film Industry, is an Indian filmmaker and television personality, who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several s ...

Bipasha Basu Bipasha Basu Singh Grover (born 7 January 1979) is an Indian actress and former model. Primarily known for her work in Hindi films, she has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and English films. Basu is the recipient of numerous accolade ...

and

John Abraham John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor, film producer, writer and former model working in Hindi films. He has won a National Film Award and received five Filmfare nominations. After modelling for advertisements and companies ...

Diya Mirza Dia Mirza Rekhi (born Dia Handrich; 9 December 1981) is an Indian model, actress, producer, and social worker who predominantly works in Hindi films. Mirza won the title of Miss Asia Pacific International in 2000 after being crowned Femina Miss ...

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...

Alka Yagnik Alka, AlkA or ALKA may refer to: People * Alka Ajith (born c. 1997), Indian multilingual playback singer * Alka Amin (active from 2011), Indian television actress * Alka Balram Kshatriya, Indian politician, Member of the Parliament of India repr ...

Madhavan Madhavan may refer to: People * James Madhavan (died 1973), Fijian politician * Kavya Madhavan (born 1985), Indian actress * Mahesh Madhavan (born 1963/64), Indian businessman, CEO of Bacardi * N. S. Madhavan (born 1948), Indian writer * O. Madh ...

Shreya Ghoshal Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awar ...

Alisha Chinoy Alisha Chinai (born 18 March 1965) is an Indian pop singer known for her Indi-pop albums as well as playback singing in Hindi cinema. She began her singing career with the album ''Jadoo'' in 1985, and by the 1990s she had become known as the 'Qu ...

Aftab Shivdasani Aftab Shivdasani (born 25 June 1978) is an Indian actor, producer and model known for his works in Bollywood and also working for Tamil and Kannada film industry. Shivdasani was selected as the Farex baby at the age of 14 months and eventually ...

Bhumika Chawla Bhumika Chawla (born Rachna Chawla; 21 August 1978) is an Indian actress and former model known for her work predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi films. She began her acting career with the Telugu film ''Yuvakudu'' (2000) and the ...

Sarika Sarika Thakur is an Indian actress and costume designer. In 2005, she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for the English-language film ''Parzania''. She was also awarded the National Film Award for Best Costume Design for her work i ...

Neha Dhupia Neha Dhupia (born 27 August 1980) is an Indian actress and model who works predominantly in Hindi, and some Punjabi, Telugu and Malayalam films. She has won the Femina Miss India 2002 pageant and was among the top 10 finalists in Miss Universe ...

Presenters

Mandira Bedi Mandira Bedi (born 15 April 1972) is an Indian actress, fashion designer, and television presenter. She gained recognition by playing the titular role in the 1994 television show, '' Shanti'', which was telecast on India's national channel, Door ...

Manav Gohil Manav Gohil (born 9 November 1974) is an Indian television actor. He has been active in the Hindi film industry for more than a decade and is best known for his roles in Hindi television shows, including the soap opera ''Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii'' ...

TV Production

* Manav Dhanda - Creative Director & Project Head * Anupama Mandloi - Executive Producer, Sony Entertainment Television India * Paul Coueslant - Consultant Executive Producer, Endemol International * Nikhil Alva - Series Producer,

Miditech Miditech Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian television production company based in Gurgaon, Mumbai, and Bangalore, India. It was founded in 1992 by brothers, Niret Alva and Nikhil Alva and is today a Rs 50-crore television software company. The company cre ...

Results

On 20 October 2005, the final show of Fame Gurukul was broadcast in which the final three contestants - Qazi Touqeer, Rex D'Souza and Ruprekha Banerjee battled it for the top spots. After much waiting and various shows in between, the results were finally announced. Qazi Touqeer, the favourite was one of the winners, while Ruprekha Banerjee made up the pair with him.

''Celebrity Fame Gurukul''

After the claimed success of Fame Gurukul, Sony Entertainment Television brought what they claimed to be "a bigger, better, more exciting and entertaining" version of ''Fame Gurukul'' named ''Celebrity Fame Gurukul'' where now was the turn of some popular personalities to compete by going "back to school". ''Celebrity Fame Gurukul'' is based on the successful reality show called 'Comic Relief Does Fame Academy' which was a spin-off on 'Fame Academy' produced by the format owner Gestmusic, part of the Endemol Group. They were now given various tasks to learn becoming singers and performers, while competing for the grand prize. The show promised unlimited drama and excitement while watching the never-before-seen footage of the behind-the-scenes action and drama of the highly diverse group of celebrities, their behaviour, quirks, egos, trials, tribulations, inter-personal relationship, competitive spirit and their struggle to survive at the Gurukul uncensored, unscripted and very candid. And, for the very first time ever, viewers got to watch the celebrities in their new 'avataar' - as singers. The proceeds of the show would go to the

Make a Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headquart ...

, a non-profit organization dedicated to granting the most cherished wishes of children living with life-threatening illnesses.

Making of the ''Fame Singer''

After receiving close to 50 million votes, ''Celebrity Fame Gurukul'' took the popularity of the show to new heights. The television celebrities who were all non-singers now trained together and competed at the Gurukul - where discipline and their raw talent would be professionally tested by the well-known team of Ila Arun, Prasant Samadar, Padma Wadkar and Bosco-Caesar. The format once again allowed votes by the faculty, contestants as well as viewers who would ultimately decide the best singer and performer out of the nine television personalities, spiced up with entertaining musical performances, gripping drama and high emotions entertaining the viewers.

Contestants

* Ajay Gehi *

Amit Sareen Amit Sarin is an Indian television actor. His first role was on ''Kkusum'', followed by roles in '' Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'', ''Risshton Ki Dor'' and ''Doli Saja Ke'', ''Humse Hai Liife'' . Personal life He was born in Varanasi, Utta ...

Bakhtiyaar Irani Bakhtiyaar Irani (born 19 November 1979) is an Indian film and television actor who has participated in Indian television reality shows. He has appeared in the reality dance series ''Nach Baliye#Nach Baliye 2, Nach Baliye'', paired with his wif ...

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Jayati Bhatia Jayati Bhatia (born July 28, 1970) is an Indian actress. She is best known for her role as Nirmala "Mataji" Bharadwaj in ''Sasural Simar Ka'' (2011–18), one of the most longest-running TV shows that aired on Colors TV. Currently she's essay ...

Smita Bansal Smita Bansal (born 21 February 1977) is an Indian television and Bollywood film actress. Her notable roles include the Zee TV's '' Amanat'', '' Aashirwad,'' ''Sarhadein'' and Sony SAB's ''Aladdin – Naam Toh Suna Hoga''. She has also acted i ...

Utkarsh Sharma Utkarsh Sharma (born 22 May 1994) is an Indian actor. The son of director Anil Sharma (director), Anil Sharma, he made his first screen appearance as a child in the 2001 Blockbuster film ''Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'', which starred Sunny Deol and Amee ...

Tanaaz Currim Tannaz Irani (née Lal) is an Indian actress. She has acted in Bollywood films and Hindi television serials. She has also been credited as Tannaz Lal, her maiden name, and Tannaz Gupta (during her first marriage). Career Tannaz was born to an ...

Tisca Chopra Tisca Zareen Chopra (née Arora; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress, author and film producer who has appeared in over 45 feature films, predominantly in Hindi language. ''Taare Zameen Par'', her best known feature film, was India's off ...

* Vinod Singh *

Hansika Motwani Hansika Motwani (born 9 August 1991) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu films. Hansika began her career as a child actor in Hindi films, and later went on to appear in lead roles in Telugu films, including ''Des ...

* Ashutosh Jain Amit Sareen finished winner, with Vinod Singh as 1st runner-up and Tanaaz Currim as 2nd runner-up.

Judges

* KK *

References

External links

Official website

Celebrity Fame Gurukul Official website
{{Star Academy Indian reality television series Sony Entertainment Television original programming 2005 Indian television series debuts 2005 Indian television series endings Star Academy Indian television series based on non-Indian television series

Prizes

Season one

Contestants

Faculty

Head Mistress

Music

Dance

Fitness

Judges

Jury Members

Celebrity Judges

Presenters

TV Production

Results

''Celebrity Fame Gurukul''

Making of the ''Fame Singer''

Contestants

Judges

See also

References

External links