By Saurav Mehra Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, popularly known as JDJ, is one of India’s best-known celebrity dance reality shows. The programme pairs celebrities with professional dancers or choreographers, and the couples compete through different dance styles and themed performances. Judges award scores for the performances, while audience voting has also played an important role in deciding eliminations and winners during different seasons.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa premiered in 2006 and is the Indian adaptation of the British television competition Strictly Come Dancing. The first four seasons aired on Sony Entertainment Television before the programme moved to Colors TV from Season 5 to Season 10. It returned to Sony Entertainment Television for Season 11. Over the years, actors, singers, sportspersons and professional dancers have competed for the JDJ trophy.
List of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Winners
| Season | Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Winning Professional Partner |
| Season 1 | 2006 | Mona Singh | Shweta Salve | Toby Fernandez |
| Season 2 | 2007 | Prachi Desai | Sandhya Mridul | Deepak Singh |
| Season 3 | 2009 | Baichung Bhutia | Gauahar Khan | Sonia Jaffer |
| Season 4 | 2010–11 | Meiyang Chang | Sushant Singh Rajput | Marischa Fernandes |
| Season 5 | 2012 | Gurmeet Choudhary | Rashami Desai | Shampa Gopikrishna |
| Season 6 | 2013 | Drashti Dhami | Lauren Gottlieb | Salman Yusuff Khan |
| Season 7 | 2014 | Ashish Sharma | Karan Tacker | Shampa Gopikrishna |
| Season 8 | 2015 | Faisal Khan | Sanaya Irani | Vaishnavi Patil |
| Season 9 | 2016–17 | Teriya Magar | Salman Yusuff Khan | Aryan Patra |
| Season 10 | 2022 | Gunjan Sinha | Rubina Dilaik | Tejas Verma |
| Season 11 | 2023–24 | Manisha Rani | Shoaib Ibrahim and Adrija Sinha | Ashutosh Pawar |
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 1 Winner – Mona Singh
The first season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa premiered on 7 September 2006 on Sony Entertainment Television. Parmeet Sethi and Archana Puran Singh hosted the programme, while Farah Khan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Shilpa Shetty formed the judging panel.
Television actress Mona Singh, partnered with professional dancer Toby Fernandez, emerged as the first Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa winner.
Shweta Salve, partnered with Longines Fernandes, finished as runner-up. Mahesh Manjrekar secured third place.
Season 1 concluded on 4 November 2006.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 2 Winner – Prachi Desai
Season 2 premiered on 28 September 2007. Mona Singh returned to the programme as a host alongside Rohit Roy.
The judging panel consisted of Shiamak Davar, Urmila Matondkar and Jeetendra.
Actress Prachi Desai, partnered with Deepak Singh, won Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 2.
Sandhya Mridul and her professional partner Javed Sanadi finished as runners-up, while Jay Bhanushali secured third place.
The season concluded on 15 December 2007.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 3 Winner – Baichung Bhutia
Season 3 began on 27 February 2009. The judging panel included Saroj Khan, Juhi Chawla and Vaibhavi Merchant.
Indian football star Baichung Bhutia competed with professional dancer Sonia Jaffer and eventually won the season.
Gauahar Khan finished as runner-up, while Karan Singh Grover secured third place.
Baichung’s victory was notable because it showed that contestants without a professional entertainment background could successfully compete against experienced actors and performers.
The season concluded on 31 May 2009.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 4 Winner – Meiyang Chang
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 4 premiered on 12 December 2010 and was hosted by Mona Singh and Sumeet Raghavan.
Madhuri Dixit, Remo D’Souza and Malaika Arora were the principal judges.
Singer and actor Meiyang Chang, partnered with professional dancer Marischa Fernandes, emerged as the winner.
Actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who performed with Shampa Gopikrishna, finished as runner-up. Yana Gupta and Salman Yusuff Khan secured third place.
The finale aired on 6 March 2011.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 5 Winner – Gurmeet Choudhary
Season 5 premiered on 16 June 2012 and marked the programme’s move from Sony Entertainment Television to Colors TV.
Manish Paul and Ragini Khanna hosted the season, while Madhuri Dixit, Remo D’Souza and Karan Johar formed the judging panel.
Television actor Gurmeet Choudhary, partnered with Shampa Gopikrishna, won the competition.
Rashami Desai and Deepak Singh finished as runners-up, while Rithvik Dhanjani and Sneha Kapoor secured third place.
The season concluded on 30 September 2012.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 6 Winner – Drashti Dhami
Season 6 premiered on 1 June 2013. Manish Paul and Kapil Sharma hosted the programme.
Madhuri Dixit, Remo D’Souza and Karan Johar continued as judges.
Popular television actress Drashti Dhami competed with choreographer Salman Yusuff Khan and emerged as the winner.
Professional dancer and actress Lauren Gottlieb, partnered with Punit Pathak, finished as runner-up.
The grand finale was held on 14 September 2013.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 7 Winner – Ashish Sharma
Season 7 premiered on 7 June 2014 on Colors TV.
The season was initially hosted by Ranvir Shorey and Drashti Dhami, with Manish Paul later taking over hosting duties from Drashti.
Madhuri Dixit, Karan Johar and Remo D’Souza were among the main judges.
Television actor Ashish Sharma, partnered with Shampa Gopikrishna, won Season 7.
Karan Tacker, partnered with Bhawna Khanduja, finished as runner-up, while Shakti Mohan and Tushar Kalia secured third place.
The season concluded on 20 September 2014.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 8 Winner – Faisal Khan
Season 8 premiered on 11 July 2015 and was presented as Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Reloaded. Manish Paul hosted the competition.
The judging panel included Shahid Kapoor, Ganesh Hegde and Lauren Gottlieb, with Malaika Arora also joining the judging duties during the season.
Young actor and dancer Faisal Khan, partnered with Vaishnavi Patil, won Season 8.
Sanaya Irani, partnered with Jai Kumar Nair, finished as runner-up. Shamita Shetty secured third place.
The finale aired on 10 October 2015.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 9 Winner – Teriya Magar
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 9 premiered on 30 July 2016 and was hosted by Manish Paul.
The judging panel included Karan Johar, Jacqueline Fernandez and Ganesh Hegde, with Farah Khan also appearing as a judge during the season.
Nepalese dancer Teriya Magar, partnered with Aryan Patra, eventually emerged as the winner.
Teriya had earlier been eliminated but returned to the competition and went on to claim the trophy.
Salman Yusuff Khan, partnered with Aishwarya Radhakrishnan, finished as runner-up. Shantanu Maheshwari secured third place.
The season concluded on 21 January 2017.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 10 Winner – Gunjan Sinha
After a gap of more than five years, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa returned with Season 10 on 3 September 2022.
Manish Paul returned as host. Madhuri Dixit and Karan Johar returned to the judging panel, while Nora Fatehi joined them. Terence Lewis also appeared as a judge during selected weeks.
Young dancer Gunjan Sinha, partnered with Tejas Verma, won Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 10.
Television actress Rubina Dilaik, partnered with Sanam Johar, finished as runner-up. Faisal Shaikh and Vaishnavi Patil secured third place.
The grand finale was held on 27 November 2022.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 11 Winner – Manisha Rani
Season 11 marked another major change for the programme as Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa returned to Sony Entertainment Television after several seasons on Colors TV.
The season premiered on 11 November 2023. Former contestants Gauahar Khan and Rithvik Dhanjani hosted the programme.
Farah Khan, Malaika Arora and Arshad Warsi formed the main judging panel.
Social media personality and reality television contestant Manisha Rani entered the competition as a wildcard contestant. She was partnered with professional dancer Ashutosh Pawar.
Despite joining after the season had already begun, Manisha became one of the strongest contestants and eventually won the competition.
The grand finale aired on 2 March 2024.
Shoaib Ibrahim and Adrija Sinha were announced among the runners-up, while Sreerama Chandra and Dhanashree Verma were also among the five finalists.
Manisha Rani’s victory was especially notable because she became the first wildcard contestant to win Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Hosts Over the Years
Several popular television and film personalities have hosted Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa since 2006.
The list includes Parmeet Sethi, Archana Puran Singh, Mona Singh, Rohit Roy, Shiv Panditt, Shweta Tiwari, Sumeet Raghavan, Ragini Khanna, Kapil Sharma, Drashti Dhami, Ranvir Shorey, Manish Paul, Rithvik Dhanjani and Gauahar Khan.
Among them, Manish Paul has been one of the presenters most closely associated with the programme, hosting several seasons between Season 5 and Season 10.
Gauahar Khan and Rithvik Dhanjani took over hosting responsibilities when the programme returned to Sony TV for Season 11.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Judges Over the Years
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa has featured several major personalities from the Indian film and dance industries as judges.
Judges across different seasons have included Farah Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Shiamak Davar, Urmila Matondkar, Jeetendra, Juhi Chawla, Saroj Khan, Vaibhavi Merchant, Remo D’Souza, Madhuri Dixit, Malaika Arora, Karan Johar, Shahid Kapoor, Lauren Gottlieb, Ganesh Hegde, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nora Fatehi and Arshad Warsi.
The judging panel has regularly changed as the programme has moved through different phases and television networks.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Format
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa generally pairs a celebrity contestant with a professional dancer or choreographer.
The couples prepare new performances every week and may have to perform different styles such as Bollywood, contemporary, hip-hop, salsa, freestyle, classical or ballroom dance.
Judges award points based on factors such as technique, choreography, creativity, presentation and overall performance.
Depending on the season, audience voting and judges’ scores are combined to determine which couples are safe and which face elimination. Some seasons have also used dance-offs or other elimination methods.
Wildcard entries have occasionally been introduced during a season, allowing new contestants or previously eliminated participants to enter the competition.
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 12 Status
As of August 2026, 11 seasons of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa have been completed.
Season 11 remains the latest completed edition, with Manisha Rani and Ashutosh Pawar winning the trophy in March 2024.
There has not yet been an officially completed Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 12, so no Season 12 winner should be added to the winners list until a new edition is officially produced and concluded.
Final Words
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa has remained one of India’s most recognisable celebrity dance reality shows since its debut in 2006. The programme has crowned contestants from television, sports, music and professional dance backgrounds.
Mona Singh became the first winner in 2006, followed by champions including Prachi Desai, Baichung Bhutia, Meiyang Chang, Gurmeet Choudhary, Drashti Dhami, Ashish Sharma, Faisal Khan, Teriya Magar and Gunjan Sinha.
The latest champion is Manisha Rani, who won Season 11 with professional partner Ashutosh Pawar on 2 March 2024. Until another regular season is officially completed, she remains the most recent Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa winner.