Reality TV personality Shiv Thakare says he is overwhelmed and grateful after winning The 50, a competition he described as both physically and mentally demanding.

Thakare emerged as the winner of the first season of the reality show, taking home the trophy along with a Rs 50 lakh prize in the grand finale.

As per the show’s unique format, the prize money was awarded to one of the winner’s registered followers, with Sitaram Pralhad Aghav declared the number one fan.

“The 50 was a completely new experience for me, and I wanted to show a different side of Shiv Thakare, one that believes you don't need to shout or fight to be heard. You can play with heart, stay true to yourself, and still win,” Shiv said.

Thakare secured his spot among the top contenders alongside finalists Krishna Shroff, Faisal Shaikh, Rajat Dalal and Immortal Kaka.

Earlier, the semi-final stage saw him face stiff competition from participants such as Prince Narula, Archana Gautam, Manisha Rani, Nehal Chudasama, Ridhi Dogra and Urvashi Dholakia.

A key moment in the semi-final saw Narula win the ticket to finale, which he later passed on to Thakare, helping secure his place in the final round.

The finale began with the previously evicted contestants making a grand entry into the palace on Dhurandhar’s title track, followed by a series of performances.

In the first task to determine the Top 4 contestants, the participants had their hands tied behind their backs and were required to choose one contestant they wanted to eliminate from the Top 5. Thakare, Shroff and Kaka chose Dalal. The task involved collecting gold stones from a box and placing them into Dalal’s basket.

Dalal lost the round, sealing the Top 4 and taking the fan prize pot to Rs 50 lakh.

The final task followed a multi-stage format, where contestants had to retrieve keys across four stages: a suspended target challenge, breaking walls, untangling ropes and solving a puzzle. The contestant who completed the task in the least amount of time would be declared the winner.

The 50 began with 50 contestants entering the house on February 1, eventually narrowing down to a top 12 that included Narula, Shaikh, Dalal, Thakare, Vikrant Singh Rajpoot, Dogra, Rani, Dholakia, Ravinder Singh, Shroff, Gautam and Chudasama.

The grand finale of the reality show streamed on JioHotstar, and aired on Colors TV, on Sunday.