MTV Roadies, which started in 2003, is what India has come to know as the longest-running adventure-based reality show. What it is known for is its intense physical challenges, emotional drama, and unexpected twists, which have in turn made it a favourite with large audiences. Here we take a season-by-season look at all the winners from Season 1 to Season 19, which also includes how the show has changed over the years.
Seasons 1–4 (2003–2007): The formative years
The series, which began in 2003 at the start of Season 1, saw Rannvijay Singh emerge as the first-ever winner, which went on to make him a role model for the next set of contestants. Also, setting a new bar was the judge’s pair of Raghu Ram and Rajiv Laxman.
In 2004, for Season 2, we saw the rise of Ayushmann Khurrana, who went on to become a successful Bollywood actor.
In Season 3 (2005 2006), Parul Shahi made history as the first female winner, which was followed by Anthony Yeh in Season 4 (2006 2007), who defeated Gurbani Judge (Bani J), yet another Roadies icon.
Seasons 5–7 (2007–2010): The Show is Taking Off
Roadies kept growing in popularity each season. In Season 5 (2007 2008), Ashutosh Kaushik claimed video.
In Season 6 (2008- 2009), it was Nauman Sait who came out on top, with Lonkiri Timung taking second place. In Season 7 (2010), Anwar Syed won out against Zaid Bin Nazir, which put the show into the Indian pop culture.
Seasons 8–11 (2011–2014): Greater Competitions and Ascent to Fame
Season 2011, which was the 8th, saw a new wave of female winners, which included Aanchal Khurana, who beat out Mohit Saggar for the title. The following year, in Season 9, which was 2012, saw victory for Vikas Khoker, who was followed by Palak Johal in Season 10 (2013), who defeated Kanak Raju.
In 2014, we had Nikhil Sachdeva emerge as the winner of Season 11, which also saw Utkarsh Khanna take the 2nd spot.
Seasons 12–14 (2015–2017): Age of Gang Bosses
In 2015, at the start of Season 12, Roadies introduced the “Gang Leader” format, which brought in a new strategy. Prince Narula won that season against Gurmeet Singh Rehal and thus began his run of reality show wins.
In 2016, Balraj Singh Khehra won Season 13, and in 2017 (Season 14), Shweta Mehta took over dominance, defeating Baseer Ali and proving with her performance of strength and determination.
Seasons 15–17 (2018–2020): Greater Stages, Braver Players
The season in 2018, which saw the end of the 15th season, had Kashish Thakur Pundir as the winner, and Preeti Kuntal took the 2nd place. We had great leaders that year in the person of Neha Dhupia, Prince Narula, Nikhil Chinapa, and Rannvijay Singh, who took the competition to new levels.
In the 16th season, which was in 2019, Arun Sharma came out to be the champ which defeating Bidhan Shrestha. In 2020, we had the 17th season, which saw the away leader format and out came Hamid Barkzi as the winner, which was also a win over Michael Ajay.
Seasons 18–19 (2022–2023): Revised Roadies
After in 2021 we had a break Roadies came back in 2022 with a revised format and Sonu Sood as host. In season 18, we saw a different turnout out which had two winners, Ashish Bhatia and Nandini G, who went against teams of Yukti Arora and Jaswanth Bopanna.
In 2023, Vashu Jain was the winner that year, which also saw Siwet Tomar in the final, which closed the season strong.
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