Mahanadigai

Mahanadigai is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language reality show which premiered on 5 October 2024 on Zee Tamil, and is also available on the digital platform ZEE5. The first episode was aired on Saturday to Sunday at 20:30 (IST). It was aired every Sunday at 20:30 (IST).^[1][2] RJ Vijay is the host for this season. Vijay Antony, Saritha and Abhirami Gopikumar are judges.^[3]

Mahanadigai
Genre	Reality show
Presented by	RJ Vijay
Judges	Vijay Antony Saritha Abhirami Gopikumar
Country of origin	India
Original language	Tamil
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	18
Production
Production location	Tamil Nadu
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	approx. 50–60 minutes per episode
Original release
Network	Zee Tamil
Release	5 October 2024 (2024-10-05) – present
Related
Kadhanayagi

On 2 February 2025,^[4] during The Grand Finale of the show, 'Hemathi' emerged as the title winner of the inaugural edition of the Mahanadigai and 'Jofna' claimed the first runners-up.^[5]

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Original Broadcast		Winner	Aried
			First Aired	Last Aired
	1	18	5 October 2024 (2024-10-05)	2 February 2025 (2025-02-02)	Hemathi	Sunday @ 20:30

Overview

The show is designed to discover and nurture new female acting talents from across Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, providing a unique platform for aspiring actresses compete with each other to act as the protagonist to gain recognition in the entertainment industry.^[6]

The auditions are open to women aged between 18 and 30 years.

Season 1

The first season of Mahanadigai was aired on every Sunday at 20:30 from 5 October 2024 to 2 February 2025 and ended with 18 Episodes. Vijay Antony, Saritha and Abhirami Gopikumar as the judges, television host RJ Vijay as the host. The winner of the season was Hemathi and Aiswarya Ragupathi was the runner-up.^[5]

Prize Winners:

• Title Winner of Mahanadigai: Hemathi
• First Runners-Up: Jofna Alice

Contestants

S. No.	Name	Home town	Entry episode	Episode exited	Status
1	Kiruthika Swaminathan	Thanjavur	Episode 1	Episode 18	Finalist
2	Chandhini Kaur	Malaysia		Episode 18	Finalist
3	Kavipriya	Sri Lanka
4	Aiswarya	Erode
5	Hemathi	Salem	Episode 2	Episode 18	Winner
6	Aiswarya Ragupathi	Thoothukudi		Episode 18
7	Jofna Alice	Coimbatore			Runner Up
8	Agasthiya	Viluppuram		Episode 18	Finalist

Mentors

• Britto Mano, a television actor. He played the main role in Thavamai thavamirundhu serial which aired on Zee Tamil.^[7]
• Mohammed Ansar, a Tamil anchor and comedian.
• Vimal, a television actor. He is best known for his role as Karikalan in the television series Ethirneechal.^[8]
• Vasanth Vasi, a television actor. He is mainly known for his role of Oru Oorla Oru Rajakumari and Agni Natchathiram.
• Balaji Thiyagarajan Dayalan, an actor, who works predominantly in Tamil cinema and a television series. He is best known for his performances in series such as Raja Rani 2.
• Saravana Vickram a television actor. He is known for portraying Kannan in Pandian Stores which aired on Star Vijay.^[9] He is also known for his participation in the reality show Bigg Boss 7.^[10]
• Viraat a television actor who mainly works in the Kannada and Tamil languages. He is mainly known for his lead role in the serials Perazhagi and Anbe Vaa.
• Irfan an actor, who has appeared in Tamil films and television serials. He is known for his roles as Vineeth in Kana Kaanum Kaalangal and as Shakthi Saravanan in Saravannan Meenatchi 2 which aired on Star Vijay.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date	Duration
1	1	"Episode 1 & 2: The Grand Launch"	5 October 2024 (2024-10-05)	120 minutes
2	2		6 October 2024 (2024-10-06)
The show was launched with the introduction of Host, Judges, Contestants, Mentors. film director, film producer and screenwriter N. Lingusamy joined as the guest with Zee Tamil's actress.[11]
3	3	"Episode 3: Iconic recreation (மறக்குமா நெஞ்சம்)"	13 October 2024 (2024-10-13)	127 minutes
Recreating a scene from Tamil films: (Chandhini Kaur, Aiswarya Ragupathi, Jofna Alice, Aiswarya are Won golden performance). Jofna won first Golden Ticket.
4	4	"Episode 4: Movie Recreation Round"	20 October 2024 (2024-10-20)	108 minutes
Movie Recreation from Tamil films: (Agasthiya, Kiruthika, Hemathi, Aiswarya Ragupathi and Aiswarya are Won golden performance). Aiswarya Ragupathi won Golden Ticket. Chandhini Kaur and Jofna's performances were not telecasted in this episode.
5	5	"Episode 5: Dance Recreation Round"	27 October 2024 (2024-10-27)	55 minutes
Dance Recreation from Tamil films: (Jofna, Hemathi, and Aiswarya Ragupathi won golden performance). Hemathi won Golden Ticket. Chandhini Kaur's performances was not telecasted in this episode.
6	6	"Episode 6: One on One Battle: Live Performance Round"	3 November 2024 (2024-11-03)	107 minutes
One on One Battle with 4 rounds of Live Skit Performances. Battles consists of Hemathi vs Agasthiya, Kavipriya vs Kiruthika, Aiswarya Ragupathi vs Jofna, and Aiswarya vs. Chandhini. (Agasthiya, Aiswarya Ragupathi, Chandhini, Jofna and Kiruthika won golden performances). Chandhini Kaur won Golden Ticket.
7	7	"Episode 6: Romantic Song Recreation"	10 November 2024 (2024-11-10)	72 minutes
Creating Iconic romantic film songs: All the teams won Golden Performances. Hemathi won Golden Ticket.
8	8	"Episode 8: Family Round (Part 1)"	17 November 2024 (2024-11-17)	72 minutes
Every contestant's family member joins them for a special live performances. AiswaryA, Chandhini, Jofna and Kiruthika performed in this episode.
9	9	"Episode 9: Family Round (Part 2)"	24 November 2024 (2024-11-24)	78 minutes
Every contestant's family member joins them for a special live performances. Hemathi, Aiswarya Ragupathi, Agasthiya & Kavipriya performed in this episode. Hemathi won Golden Ticket.
10	10	"Episode 10: Action Round"	1 December 2024 (2024-12-01)	74 minutes
Contestants are take part in stunt training. They are paired in duo and perform action scenes.
11	11	"Episode 11: Devotional Round"	8 December 2024 (2024-12-08)	0 minutes
Contestants deliver astounding live performances for devotional round.

Set performances

Iconic Recreation (episode: 3)

Contestant	Mentor	Film	Score			Round status
			Vijay Antony	Saritha	Abhirami
Chandhini Kaur	Viraat	Kushi				Golden Performance
Aiswarya Ragupathi	Balaji Thiyagarajan	Sindhu Bhairavi
Kiruthika	Saravana Vickram	7G Rainbow Colony
Aiswarya	Vasanth Vasi	Vallavan				Golden Performance
Hemathi	Sabaris	Pithamagan
Jofna	Irfan	Michael Madana Kama Rajan				Golden Performance
Agasthiya	Anser	Thimiru
Kavipriya	Britto Mano	Thevar Magan

Movie Recreation (episode: 4)

Contestant	Mentor	Film	Score			Round status
			Vijay Antony	Saritha	Abhirami
Agasthiya	Anser	Karakattakkaran				Golden Performance
Kiruthika	Saravana Vickram	Anbe Vaa
Hemathi	Sabaris	Paruthiveeran
Aiswarya Ragupathi	Balaji Thiyagarajan	Kizhakku Cheemayile
Aiswarya	Vasanth Vasi	Thillana Mohanambal
Kavipriya	Britto Mano	Mouna Ragam
Jofna	Irfan	Moondram Pirai				Not Telecasted
Chandhini Kaur	Viraat	Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa

Dance Recreation (episode: 5)

Contestant	Mentor	Song	Film	Score			Round status
				Vijay Antony	Saritha	Abhirami
Aiswarya Ragupathi	Balaji Thiyagarajan	Adiye Manam Nilluna	Neengal Kettavai				Golden Performance
Kiruthika	Saravana Vickram	Thillana Thillana	Muthu
Aiswarya	Vasanth Vasi	Vaadi Vaadi Naattu Katta	Alli Thandha Vaanam
Hemathi	Sabaris	Appadi Podu	Ghilli				Golden Performance
Jofna	Irfan	Adada Mazhaida	Paiyaa				Golden Performance
Agasthiya	Anser	Palakattu	Yaaradi Nee Mohini
Kavipriya	Britto Mano	Vennilave	Minsara Kanavu
Chandhini Kaur	Nagaraj	Kattipudi	Kushi				Not Telecasted

One on One Battle: Live Performance Recreation (episode: 6)

Battle				Winners
Contestant	Mentor	Contestant	Mentor
Hemathi	Sabaris	Agasthiya	Anser	Agasthiya & Anser
Kavipriya	Britto Mano	Kiruthika	Saravana Vickram	Kiruthika &Saravana Vickram
Aiswarya Ragupathi	Balaji Thiyagarajan	Jofna	Irfan	Aiswarya Ragupathi, Balaji Thiyagarajan & Jofna, Irfan (Tie & 2 Winners)
Aiswarya	Vasanth Vasi	Chandhini Kaur	Nagaraj	Chandhini Kaur & Nagaraj

Romantic Song Recreation (episode: 7)

Contestant	Mentor	Song	Film	Score			Round status
				Vijay Antony	Saritha	Abhirami
Aiswarya Ragupathi	Balaji Thiyagarajan	Sandakozhi	Aayutha Ezhuthu				Golden Performance
Kiruthika	Saravana Vickram	Kanmani Anbodu	Guna				Golden Performance
Aiswarya	Vasanth Vasi	Panju Mitta	Ettupatti Rasa				Golden Performance
Hemathi	Sabaris	Innum Konjam Naeram	Maryan				Golden Performance
Jofna	Irfan	Sara Sara Saara Kathu	Vaagai Sooda Vaa				Golden Performance
Agasthiya	Anser	Marugo Marugo	Sathi Leelavathi				Golden Performance
Kavipriya	Britto Mano	Uppu Karuvadu	Mudhalvan				Golden Performance
Chandhini Kaur	Nagaraj	Thamarai Poovukum	Pasumpon				Golden Performance

Family Round [Part 1 & 2] (episode: 8 & 9)

Contestant	Mentor	Contestant's Family Member(s)	Score			Round status	Episode # & Date
			Vijay Antony	Saritha	Abhirami
Aiswarya Ragupathi	Balaji Thiyagarajan	Aiswarya's Sister					Episode 9 (24 November)
Kiruthika	Saravana Vickram	Kiruthika's Family Member				Golden Performance	Episode 8 (17 November)
Aiswarya	Vasanth Vasi	Aiswarya's Father					Episode 8 (17 November)
Hemathi	Sabaris	Hemathi's mother				Golden Performance	Episode 9 (24 November)
Jofna	Irfan	Jofna's Mother				Golden Performance	Episode 8 (17 November)
Agasthiya	Anser	Baboos				Golden Performance	Episode 9 (24 November)
Kavipriya	Britto Mano	Child from Shelter				Golden Performance	Episode 9 (24 November)
Chandhini Kaur	Nagaraj	Chandhini's Father				Golden Performance	Episode 8 (17 November)

Action Round (episode: 10)

Teams		Score			Round status
Contestant	Contestant	Vijay Antony	Saritha	Abhirami
Aiswarya	Chandhini Kaur				Golden Performance
Kavipriya	Kiruthika				Golden Performance
Agasthiya	Jofna				Golden Performance
Hemathi	Aiswarya Ragupathi				Golden Performance

Devotional Round (episode: 11)

Contestant	Mentor	Score			Round status
		Vijay Antony	Saritha	Abhirami
Aiswarya Ragupathi	Balaji Thiyagarajan
Kiruthika	Saravana Vickram
Aiswarya	Vasanth Vasi
Hemathi	Sabaris
Jofna	Irfan
Agasthiya	Anser
Kavipriya	Britto Mano
Chandhini Kaur	Nagaraj

Golden Ticket

Contestants individually receive a Golden Ticket from judge if they complete best Performance for every episodes. The Golden Ticket can be safe zone for no Elimination.

Contestants	Golden Tickets	Rounds
Jofna		Iconic Recreation (Episode 3)
Aiswarya Ragupathi		Movie Recreation (Episode 4)
Hemathi		Dance Recreation (Episode 5), Romantic Song Recreation (Episode 7), Family Round (Episode 8/9)
Chandhini Kaur		One on One Battle: Live Performance Round (Episode 6)
Kavipriya		Action Round (Episode 10)
Kiruthika		Action Round (Episode 10)

Production

In early August 2024, the show was announced by Zee Tamil. It will provide emerging young talent from across Tamil Nadu an opportunity to showcase their talent and gain recognition in the Tamil entertainment industry.^[12]

Actress Saritha,^[13] celebrated for her outstanding performances in South Indian cinema, known for her films like Kalyana Agathigal, Julie Ganapathi, Maaveeran. She will be joined by Tamil music director Vijay Antony who was cast as the first-time judge,^[13][14] along with the popular actress Abhirami Gopikumar, known for her films like Virumaandi. RJ Vijay has officially once again been appointed as the host for Zee Tamil's shows.^[13]

See also

• Kadhanayagi