Priyanka Deshpande is an Indian television presenter who works mainly in Tamil television. She is best known as the long-running host of the singing competition Super Singer on Star Vijay, which she has co-hosted with Ma Ka Pa Anand since the fourth season in 2013, a partnership that has made the pair one of the most familiar duos on Tamil television. Viewers often refer to her simply as Vijay TV Priyanka.
Beyond Super Singer she has fronted her own music game show Start Music, co-hosted The Wall and Oo Solriya Oo Oohm Solriya, and crossed over to the other side of the camera as a contestant. She finished as first runner-up on Bigg Boss Tamil season 5 in January 2022 and won the fifth season of the cooking show Cooku with Comali in 2024.
As of November 2026, her most recent assignments are the couples game show Happy Wife Happy Life, which ran on Star Vijay from March to July 2026, and Super Singer Junior season 11, which began on Star Vijay on 9 May 2026 with Ma Ka Pa Anand as her co-host.
Quick facts
Full name | Priyanka Deshpande |
Education | Ethiraj College for Women, Chennai |
Occupation | Television presenter |
Main channel | Star Vijay |
Hosting Super Singer since | 2013 (season 4) |
Known for | Super Singer, Start Music, Bigg Boss Tamil 5, Cooku with Comali 5 |
Latest show | Super Singer Junior season 11 (from May 2026) |
Spouse | Vasi Sachi (married 16 April 2025) |
Early life and education
Priyanka Deshpande is from Karnataka and moved to Chennai, where she graduated from Ethiraj College for Women. She has said that she was not fluent in Tamil when she entered the television industry, and that she now speaks Tamil, English, Hindi, Kannada and Marathi.
Career
Early television work (before 2013)
Deshpande has described her entry into hosting as accidental: she stepped in for a friend who worked as an anchor, and the stand-in job turned into a career. Her first anchoring work was on Zee Tamil, and before joining Star Vijay she hosted programmes for Sun TV, Chutti TV and Sun Music, among them Daddy My Hero and Mami's Day Out.
Super Singer and the Star Vijay years (2013 to 2018)
Her breakthrough came with Super Singer season 4, which aired on Star Vijay from 4 February 2013 to 1 February 2014. She hosted alongside Ma Ka Pa Anand and Bhavana Balakrishnan, and the season was won by Diwakar. The same trio returned for Super Singer Junior season 4 (2014 to 2015), Super Singer season 5 (1 June 2015 to 18 March 2016, won by Anand Aravindakshan) and Super Singer Junior season 5 (26 November 2016 to 17 June 2017). From Super Singer season 6 (21 January to 15 July 2018, won by Senthil Ganesh) the show settled on Deshpande and Ma Ka Pa Anand as its two hosts, and the pairing has continued in every senior season since.
In the same period she took on other Star Vijay formats. She was one of the judges on the comedy competition Kalakka Povathu Yaaru across seasons 5, 6 and 7 (2015 to 2018), appeared as a contestant on the stunt show Achcham Thavir in 2016, where she finished eleventh, and co-hosted the dance show Jodi Number One in its 2016 to 2017 season. In 2017 she won Favourite Anchor (Female) at the third Vijay Television Awards for Super Singer.
Start Music, The Wall and new formats (2019 to 2021)
Super Singer season 7 ran from 27 April to 10 November 2019 and was won by Murugan. That same year Star Vijay gave Deshpande a show built around her: the music game show Start Music, which she hosted on her own. Its first season aired from 26 May to 10 November 2019 and a second from 16 August 2020 to 25 April 2021. In October 2019 she and Ma Ka Pa Anand also began hosting The Wall, the Tamil version of the international game show in which contestants answer questions while balls drop down a giant pegboard.
She lent her voice to cinema in 2019, singing on "Madura Palapalakkudhu" from the film Devarattam with composer Nivas K. Prasanna, Vijay Sethupathi and Niranjana Ramanan. In 2020 she and Ma Ka Pa Anand hosted the special Super Singer Champion of Champions and began Super Singer Junior season 7, a season that was later halted because of the pandemic. Super Singer season 8 followed from 24 January to 26 September 2021 and was won by Sridhar Sena, and from June to November 2021 she co-hosted the comedy show Comedy Raja Kalakkal Rani with Rakshan.
Bigg Boss Tamil season 5 (2021 to 2022)
Deshpande entered the Bigg Boss Tamil house on the opening day of season 5, 3 October 2021, with Kamal Haasan as host. She stayed the full run of 105 days and finished as first runner-up at the finale on 16 January 2022, behind winner Raju Jeyamohan; Pavni Reddy was second runner-up. The third season of Start Music, which began while she was in the house, was hosted by Ma Ka Pa Anand, and she later appeared as a guest on both Start Music and the celebration special Bigg Boss 5 Kondattam.
Return to hosting and a cooking title (2022 to 2024)
After Bigg Boss she picked up a heavier hosting slate. She and Ma Ka Pa Anand launched the Sunday game show Oo Solriya Oo Oohm Solriya, whose first season ran from 4 September 2022 to 19 March 2023, with a second season from October 2023 to March 2024. Super Singer season 9 aired from 19 November 2022 to 25 June 2023 and was won by Aruna Sivaya; Super Singer Junior season 9 ran from 8 July to 10 December 2023 and was won by V. M. Shreenitha; and Super Singer season 10 aired from 16 December 2023 to 23 June 2024, with John Jerome as winner. She returned as host of Start Music for season 4 (26 March to 12 November 2023) and season 5 (2 June to 22 December 2024).
In 2024 she competed on Cooku with Comali season 5, hosted by Rakshan and judged by Chef Damu and Madhampatty Rangaraj, and won the title, with Sujitha as runner-up. Later that year she and Ma Ka Pa Anand began Super Singer Junior season 10, which premiered on 16 November 2024 and ended on 25 May 2025 with Gayathri as winner.
2025 to 2026
The third season of Oo Solriya Oo Oohm Solriya aired from 23 February to 17 August 2025, and Start Music returned for a sixth season from 15 June 2025 to 1 March 2026. Super Singer season 11 ran from 2 August 2025 to 1 February 2026, with Deshpande and Ma Ka Pa Anand hosting and Nikhil taking the title. During Bigg Boss Tamil season 9 she returned to the house for a few days as a guest in a hotel-themed task.
In 2026 she hosted a new Star Vijay format, the couples game show Happy Wife Happy Life, which premiered on 8 March 2026 and completed its run in July 2026. On 9 May 2026 she and Ma Ka Pa Anand began Super Singer Junior season 11, with K. S. Chithra, Anuradha Sriram and D. Imman on the judging panel.
Television
Years | Show | Role | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
2013–2014 | Super Singer season 4 | Host | Star Vijay |
2014–2015 | Super Singer Junior season 4 | Host | Star Vijay |
2015–2016 | Super Singer season 5 | Host | Star Vijay |
2015–2018 | Kalakka Povathu Yaaru (seasons 5 to 7) | Judge | Star Vijay |
2016 | Achcham Thavir | Contestant | Star Vijay |
2016–2017 | Super Singer Junior season 5 | Host | Star Vijay |
2016–2017 | Jodi Number One | Host | Star Vijay |
2018 | Super Singer season 6 | Host | Star Vijay |
2019 | Super Singer season 7 | Host | Star Vijay |
2019 | Start Music season 1 | Host | Star Vijay |
2019 | The Wall | Host | Star Vijay |
2020 | Super Singer Champion of Champions | Host | Star Vijay |
2020 | Super Singer Junior season 7 | Host | Star Vijay |
2020–2021 | Start Music season 2 | Host | Star Vijay |
2021 | Super Singer season 8 | Host | Star Vijay |
2021 | Comedy Raja Kalakkal Rani | Host | Star Vijay |
2021–2022 | Bigg Boss Tamil season 5 | Contestant (first runner-up) | Star Vijay |
2022–2023 | Oo Solriya Oo Oohm Solriya season 1 | Host | Star Vijay |
2022–2023 | Super Singer season 9 | Host | Star Vijay |
2023 | Start Music season 4 | Host | Star Vijay |
2023 | Super Singer Junior season 9 | Host | Star Vijay |
2023–2024 | Oo Solriya Oo Oohm Solriya season 2 | Host | Star Vijay |
2023–2024 | Super Singer season 10 | Host | Star Vijay |
2024 | Cooku with Comali season 5 | Contestant (winner) | Star Vijay |
2024 | Start Music season 5 | Host | Star Vijay |
2024–2025 | Super Singer Junior season 10 | Host | Star Vijay |
2025 | Oo Solriya Oo Oohm Solriya season 3 | Host | Star Vijay |
2025–2026 | Start Music season 6 | Host | Star Vijay |
2025–2026 | Super Singer season 11 | Host | Star Vijay |
2025 | Bigg Boss Tamil season 9 | Guest | Star Vijay |
2026 | Happy Wife Happy Life | Host | Star Vijay |
2026 | Super Singer Junior season 11 | Host | Star Vijay |
Songs
Year | Film | Song | Composer | Co-singers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Devarattam | Madura Palapalakkudhu | Nivas K. Prasanna | Nivas K. Prasanna, Vijay Sethupathi, Niranjana Ramanan |
Awards
Priyanka Deshpande won Favourite Anchor (Female) for Super Singer at the third Vijay Television Awards in 2017.
Personal life
Priyanka Deshpande married Vasi Sachi on 16 April 2025.
FAQ
Who is Priyanka Deshpande?
She is a Tamil television presenter best known for hosting Super Singer on Star Vijay with Ma Ka Pa Anand since 2013. Viewers often call her Vijay TV Priyanka.
Did Priyanka Deshpande win Bigg Boss Tamil 5?
No. She was the first runner-up of Bigg Boss Tamil season 5, which ended on 16 January 2022; Raju Jeyamohan won the season.
Which show did Priyanka Deshpande win?
She won Cooku with Comali season 5 on Star Vijay in 2024, with Sujitha finishing as runner-up.
What is Priyanka Deshpande's latest show?
As of November 2026 her latest shows are Happy Wife Happy Life, which ran from March to July 2026, and Super Singer Junior season 11, which began on 9 May 2026.
Who is Priyanka Deshpande's husband?
She married Vasi Sachi on 16 April 2025.
Where did Priyanka Deshpande study?
She is from Karnataka and graduated from Ethiraj College for Women in Chennai.
