(From top) The winners, Prasun, Joyjyoti and Moushumi; hosts June and Mir; the judges, Vashu Bhagnani, Prosenjit, Probhat Roy, Haranath Chakraborty and Anindita Sarbadhicary, and Jojo performing with dance group Toxic. Pictures by Pabitra Das

The contestants: The 5,000-plus written applications were screened in several stages and pruned to just 20 participants at the Science City auditorium on Friday evening. Groomed by Dream Merchants, the aspirants ranged from a retired serviceman out to have some fun to a young guy from Dhaka who wants to become Jackie Hero Shroff to a bubbly babe from Darjeeling ready to play someone twice her age.

All 20 were given one-and-a-half minutes each to perform an act of their choice followed by one minute to bring alive a situation described by the judges. Said Rupak Saha, editor of Anandalok and ideator of Tarar Khonje: ?A contest like this needed to happen. We have started modestly this year and hope to grow bigger and better in the years to come.?

The judges: The best of Tolly and telly were present to pick the best of local talent. Adding the Bollywood bit was producer Vashu Bhagnani known for hit ventures like Hero No. 1, Coolie No. 1 and Mujhe Kuchh Kehna Hai. But the star judges were Tollywood?s top pair Prosenjit and Rachana Banerjee, who made fleeting appearances in the ?musical judge?s chair?. The men behind commercial Bengali potboilers, Haranath Chakraborty and Probhat Roy, and telefilm director Anindita Sarbadhicary were also filling up the marksheet. Other known faces in the audience included actors Arindam Sil, Shankar Chakraborty, Subhashish Mukherjee, Deboleena Dutta and Pallavi Chatterjee.

The hosts: If the show belonged to anybody, it had to be Mir, who made sure that the hushed sniggers were replaced by roars of unalloyed laughter in the audience. Cracking jokes every other minute, Mir?s one-liners kept everyone in the right spirit. A sample: ?I am Sanjay Leela Bhansali, I sell Black tickets. Dus ka kitna? Dus ka kitna? Maine khud bhi abhi decide nahin kiya!? His chemistry with co-host June was electric to put it mildly. The actress-turned-director was quick in her retorts, too, trying her best to keep Mir mum: ?Men never grow up, do they? And boys don?t cry!?

The two, in fact, completely overshadowed the inconsistent performances from the contestants, forcing Bhagnani to say: ?I want to take some of these contestants to Mumbai but I am definitely taking Mir to Bollywood. He is just too good. And as for June, I am planning to shoot with her in June when we go for an outdoor schedule to the Netherlands,? joked the producer.

The performances: The contest was punctuated with some hi-voltage performances from the seasoned and the not-so-seasoned. Piyali Acharya, in her first major on-stage performance, stunned one and all with her rendition of two Lata Mangeshkar numbers ? Nijhum sandhay from Monihar and Mere haathon mein from Chandni.

Jojo was her usual power-packed self as she sang Zara zara from Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, which happened to be a Bhagnani production. She was joined on stage by the dance group Toxic whose poisonous paces matched chartbusters like Babuji zara dheere chalo and Shake your body. The last performance of the evening came from Raghav Chatterjee who sang his own hit Chand keno ashena, followed by Kailash Kher?s Allah ke bande.

The winners: After the 20 contestants emoted in full force, the judges decided on three names who not only took home the top honours but also bagged the chance to work for a series of television soaps and serials, produced by SPS telefilms. They would also be featured round the year in Anandalok. Joyjyoti Dasgupta, who played a physically-challenged man egging on his brother to run a race faster, came first. Prasun Banerjee, who uttered 17 ?no?s in different emotional tones and overtones, was adjudged first runners-up. Moushumi Chatterjee came in third.

Bipin Vohra, the man behind SPS Telefilms, said: ?This is the only way we can find talent. I am tired of seeing the Deboleenas on the small screen. With us needing to produce loads of television software, fresh talent is a must and Tarar Khonje is the starting point.?

The party: Once the winners were declared, the action shifted to BED, where Soumitra Chatterjee, Locket Chatterjee and Saswata Chatterjee were waiting to get the party started. In a more relaxed ambience at the Ballygunge Circular Road address, the contestants chilled out over mocktails and cocktails, discussing where they went wrong and what lay ahead. The winners were in a jubilant mood. ?It feels good,? said the new star of the evening, Joyjyoti. ?I have done a cameo in Probhat Roy?s Manik releasing next Friday and I am set to join the theatre group Nandikar.? Those who missed the bus, though, can look forward to next year?s Tarar Khonje. Till then, keep struggling...