Season 9 of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa holds the distinction of being the franchise’s longest single season to date, running nearly six months on Colors TV between July 2016 and January 2017. It also introduced a notable format change to how eliminations were decided, and delivered one of the show’s youngest-ever champions. Here’s the complete breakdown.
Season 9 at a Glance
The season premiered July 30, 2016, and concluded January 21, 2017, spanning 26 episodes. Manish Paul returned as host for his fifth consecutive season. The judging panel launched with Jacqueline Fernandez, Karan Johar, and Ganesh Hegde — though both saw mid-season changes: Govinda stepped in for Johar for a single episode in September 2016, and Farah Khan permanently replaced Hegde in November 2016.
The season also changed how eliminations worked: rather than relying on audience voting throughout, eliminations were decided purely by judges’ scores and live studio audience scores, with public voting only reintroduced at the semi-finale stage for a brief five-day window to help decide the winner.
Who Won Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 9?
Teriya Magar, a 15-year-old dancer from Nepal who had previously won DID Li’l Masters Season 3, was crowned the winner alongside professional partner Aryan Patra. Notably, Magar joined the main season as part of a later wildcard entry group rather than as one of the original twelve contestants — making her run to the title one of the more dramatic underdog stories in the franchise’s history.
Runner-Up and Top Finishers
Professional dancer Salman Yusuff Khan — himself a former Jhalak winner as a professional partner in earlier seasons — competed as a celebrity contestant this time, paired with Aishwarya Radhakrishnan, and finished as first runner-up. Actor and dancer Shantanu Maheshwari, paired with Alisha Singh, placed third. Actor Siddharth Nigam, another wildcard entrant, paired with Vaishnavi Patil, finished fourth.
Full Contestant List
Season 9 launched with twelve original contestants and later added wildcard entries mid-season:
Original Contestants:
- Gaurav Gera (Comedian) with Diwakar Nayal — Eliminated 1st, August 13, 2016
- Priyanka Shah (Dancer) with Poonam Shah — Eliminated 2nd, August 22, 2016
- Harpal Singh Sokhi (Celebrity Chef) with Bhavna Purohit — Eliminated 3rd, August 27, 2016
- Helly Shah (Actress) with Jai Kumar Nair — Eliminated, September 3, 2016
- Sidhant Gupta (Actor) with Pranalini Atul, later Sneha Singh — Eliminated, September 3, 2016
- Arjun Bijlani (Actor) with Bhavna Khanduja — Eliminated 7th, October 1, 2016
- Surveen Chawla (Actress) with Sanam Johar — Eliminated 7th, October 1, 2016
- Karishma Tanna with Rajit Dev — Eliminated, December 10, 2016
- Shakti Arora with Suchitra Sawant — Eliminated, November 26, 2016
- Nora Fatehi with Cornel Rodrigues — Eliminated, November 12, 2016
Wildcard Entries:
- Spandan Chaturvedi with Hardik — Eliminated, November 19, 2016
- Gracy Goswami (Actress) with Sachin Sharma — Eliminated 9th, November 5, 2016
- Siddharth Nigam (Actor) with Vaishnavi Patil — Fourth place, January 21, 2017
- Teriya Magar with Aryan Patra — Winner, January 21, 2017
Top 5 Finalists heading into the closing stretch: Karishma Tanna & Rajit Dev, Nora Fatehi & Cornel Rodrigues, Salman Yusuff Khan & Aishwarya Radhakrishnan, Shakti Arora & Suchitra Sawant, and Shantanu Maheshwari & Alisha Singh — with Teriya Magar and Siddharth Nigam entering as later wildcards to challenge this group for the title.
Judges and What They Brought to the Panel
Jacqueline Fernandez brought fresh Bollywood star power to her first major judging stint on the franchise. Karan Johar continued his familiar sharp, industry-savvy commentary before Govinda’s brief guest stint and Farah Khan’s later permanent takeover reshuffled the panel’s dynamic partway through. Ganesh Hegde’s early run brought a choreographer’s technical eye before Farah Khan — herself an accomplished choreographer — stepped in for the season’s back half.
Hosting Duties
Manish Paul anchored the entire season solo, continuing his run as one of the franchise’s most dependable hosts.
Final Thoughts
Season 9’s long run, unusual elimination format, and a wildcard-to-winner storyline in Teriya Magar made it one of the more structurally distinctive chapters in the Jhalak franchise. The mid-season judging changes — Govinda’s cameo, Farah Khan’s permanent arrival — also gave the season a sense of ongoing evolution that few other years of the show experienced to the same degree.