Roadies Rebirth: Contestant List and Standings

Roadies Rebirth, the 21st season of MTV Roadies, premiered on Friday, October 16, 2026, with Rannvijay Singha back as host. The big change is at the top: six gang leaders, split into two teams of three. The OGs are Nikhil Chinapa, Neha Dhupia and Prince Narula. The NewGs are Abhishek Malhan, Bani J and Baseer Ali.

Episodes 1 and 2 aired on October 16 and 17. Episode 1 introduced a new auction, where gang leaders bid for contestants using a currency called Roadiums. MTV, Netflix and JioHotstar have still not published a full contestant list, so this page adds a name only after it has been shown on the show and reported by a reliable outlet. Names from audition clips or social media are not used. The page is updated after each Friday and Saturday episode.

Roadies Rebirth at a Glance

Roadies Rebirth Contestant List: Who Is In

As of October 20, MTV, Netflix and JioHotstar have not published a full contestant list, so every name below is marked Reported. Some websites carry names taken from audition clips and social media, and Belloria is not using those. ReadersFusion reports four Episode 1 signings, all to the OGs: Preet (Gurgaon), Sneha (Kolkata), Shine (Shimla) and Karishma Talwar (Dehradun). IWMBuzz says only three were locked in, so the count is disputed. ReadersFusion also describes how each was won: Preet after a tie between Prince Narula and Neha Dhupia that Nikhil Chinapa settled in Prince’s favour, Sneha with Neha’s Mohar, Shine with Prince’s Mohar, and Karishma after bidding reached 22,000 Roadiums and the OGs used the snatch button to take her from the NewGs. Karishma was on Splitsvilla 8 in 2015, the season Prince Narula also took part in. Business Upturn has also published profiles of Sneha Yadav (Neha’s gang), Somya Yadav (a makeup artist on Nikhil’s team), Shravani Sarjerao (a digital creator picked by Neha) and Ganesh Baniya (a reported Himalaya Roadies runner-up and Nepalese rugby player backed by Neha with all 30K of her Roadiums). Belloria has only seen the headlines and summaries of those four, so they are Reported and the episode they appeared in is not specified. Kiaan Barde is also Reported only: two Instagram posts from entertainment pages say Baseer Ali selected him for the NewGs in the PI round, but neither is an official account, no news outlet has named him, and one post carries Instagram’s AI content label. The makers have not confirmed any surname, so treat them as unconfirmed until the show or an official channel gives full names.

Roadies Rebirth Gang Leaders: OGs vs NewGs

In a promo covered by NewsBytes, host Rannvijay Singha described the setup as two gangs run by six people, with three OGs facing three NewGs. Here is who they are.

Nikhil Chinapa (OG)

Nikhil Chinapa is a DJ and television host who has been associated with MTV India since the late 1990s and is often credited with popularising EDM among Indian youth, according to IANS. Wikipedia’s season table lists him as the winning gang leader of Roadies: Revolution. He says returning feels like coming home. Full profile: Nikhil Chinapa.

Neha Dhupia (OG)

Neha Dhupia has been a Roadies gang leader since 2016. Per Wikipedia’s season table, her gangs produced the winners of Roadies Rising (Shweta Mehta) and Roadies Xtreme (Kashish Thakur), and she led a gang again in Double Cross in 2025. Full profile: Neha Dhupia.

Prince Narula (OG)

Prince Narula won Roadies X2 in 2015 and later came back as a gang leader. Hartaaj Singh Gill, from his gang, finished as first runner-up in Double Cross in 2025, according to Daily Jagran. Full profile: Prince Narula.

Abhishek Malhan (NewG)

Abhishek Malhan, known as Fukra Insaan, is a YouTuber who started his channel in July 2019 and finished as runner-up on Bigg Boss OTT 2 in 2023, behind Elvish Yadav. He does not appear among the gang leaders of earlier seasons in Wikipedia’s season table, which makes Rebirth his first season in that role. Full profile: Abhishek Malhan.

Bani J (NewG)

Bani J, born Gurbani Judge, was first runner-up on Roadies 4 and again first runner-up on Bigg Boss 10. She has also presented Roadies in earlier seasons, so this is her first time leading a team from the judges’ side of the show. Full profile: Bani J.

Baseer Ali (NewG)

Baseer Ali was runner-up on Roadies Rising in 2017, won Splitsvilla 10 with Naina Singh, finished second runner-up on Ace of Space 2 and competed on Bigg Boss 19 in 2025. He returned to Roadies as a contestant in 2022 and finished 7th, according to Filmibeat. This season he is a gang leader, not a contestant.

Rannvijay Singha (host)

Rannvijay Singha returns as host. Wikipedia lists him as presenter for 2004 to 2012, 2018 to 2020 and again from 2025. Full profile: Rannvijay Singha.

Quick Reference: Roadies Rebirth Leaders

How the OGs vs NewGs Format Works

Instead of six separate gangs, the six leaders are divided into two larger teams. Contestants still face games, physical challenges, adventure tasks and eliminations, as Esquire India describes the season. Episode 1 added an auction: according to Flickonclick, contestants who impress in the auditions are not simply picked, the gang leaders bid for them, and the highest bidder wins. The same review says the two teams share contestants and strategies. How eliminations will work has not been published, and Belloria will add those details once the show confirms them.

Episode 1 showed how the auction works on screen, according to ReadersFusion. Each team starts with 1,00,000 Roadiums, and a gang leader presses a buzzer to show interest in an aspirant. Bids are paid in Roadiums, and the bidding on Karishma went up to 22,000. A Mohar is a special power that settled the pick for Sneha (Neha Dhupia) and Shine (Prince Narula), and the OGs used an alarm and the snatch button to take Karishma away from the NewGs mid-bid. IWMBuzz calls the same button a “Secret Steal” and says a leader who bids too high can have the contestant taken without the thief spending any tokens. MTV has not published a rulebook, so these are descriptions of what aired, and details may change.

Where to Watch Roadies Rebirth

Netflix India and JioHotstar both announced the premiere for October 16, with new episodes every Friday and Saturday at 7 PM, as reported by India TV. The show also airs on MTV at the same time. Esquire India notes it is the first Roadies season to stream on both platforms at once. Some early reports list only JioHotstar and MTV, but Netflix India’s own announcement includes Netflix.

Last Season: Roadies Double Cross (2025)

Season 20 ran from January 11 to June 1, 2025. According to Wikipedia’s season table, Kushal “Gullu” Tanwar won from Gang Elvish, and Hartaaj Singh Gill of Gang Prince was runner-up. Gullu is now in Bigg Boss 20, and Belloria’s profile of Kushal Tanwar (Gullu) covers his run.

Roadies Rebirth Episode 1: What Happened

Episode 1 covered auditions and the first contestant auction. The details below come from a Flickonclick review published on October 17, checked against ReadersFusion, IWMBuzz and Business Upturn. The makers have not published an official recap, so treat the details as reported rather than fully confirmed.

• The auction: gang leaders bid for contestants and the highest bidder wins. The first few bids, including one for a female arm-wrestler and one for a funny, confident contestant, drew debate among viewers about whether they were too high.
• Neha Dhupia signed Karishma, described as physically strong, with a strong personal backstory and earlier reality TV experience. The review calls it the pick of the auction. ReadersFusion and IWMBuzz both say the OGs took her from the NewGs mid-bid, and IWMBuzz says Neha took her from under Abhishek Malhan’s nose.
• A contestant from Bengal challenged Bani J to an arm-wrestling match, and Bani J won.
• In one audition, a contestant was questioned over remarks about women and their clothing, and the gang leaders said such views have no place on the show.
• Another contestant, Allen Choudhary, a YouTuber, stayed calm under heavy criticism in the room, and Abhishek Malhan appreciated how he handled it. Rannvijay Singha told him Roadies is not a place for a reset. He was not selected, according to ReadersFusion and Business Upturn, which say the gang leaders criticised him over his online content. Hrietik Walia from Delhi was also asked to leave, after being questioned over statements in his application form, according to ReadersFusion.

Roadies Rebirth Episode 2: What Happened

Episode 2, titled “Teen Tigada, Kaam Bigada!”, aired on October 17 and runs about 105 minutes, according to Serializd. Its listing says friendships flip, rivals change and new rules add twists as the auditions get wilder. The one result Belloria has confirmed is a cup challenge in which Abhishek Malhan and Baseer Ali (NewGs) faced Neha Dhupia and Nikhil Chinapa (OGs), with Roadiums at stake for the losing pair. Neha and Nikhil won, according to Filmibeat.

Belloria has not found a full recap of the episode, so who else was selected and how many Roadiums changed hands will be added once a reliable recap is available. Episodes 3 and 4 air on October 23 and 24 at 7 PM.

Roadies Rebirth Elimination Tracker

Roadies Rebirth FAQs

Related Belloria Stories

• Kushal Tanwar (Gullu), the Roadies Double Cross winner now in Bigg Boss 20
• Karan Kundrra, a former Roadies gang leader and host
• Divya Agarwal, whose Roadies Xtreme stint is part of her career story
• Karishma Talwar, the Splitsvilla 8 contestant reported as an OG signing
• Bigg Boss 20 updates, where Gullu is now in the house

Update Log

October 24, 2026: Added FAQs on who the judges are (the show has gang leaders, not judges) and when Episode 3 airs. Episode 3 and 4 recaps are still pending, as no reliable recap was available at the time of this update.

October 20, 2026: Updated through Episode 2. Added how each Episode 1 signing was won (buzzers, Mohar and the snatch button), the rejections of Hrietik Walia and Allen Choudhary, an Episode 2 section with the cup challenge result, and four names from Business Upturn headlines (Sneha Yadav, Somya Yadav, Shravani Sarjerao and Ganesh Baniya), all marked Reported. Updated the contestant table, the tracker, the format section and the FAQs. A full Episode 2 recap is still pending.

October 17, 2026 (Episode 1 names): Added Preet, Sneha and Shine, and Karishma’s reported surname and hometown, all marked Reported, from ReadersFusion and EkSukoon. IWMBuzz counts only three signings, so the figure is disputed. Episode 2 aired that evening, but no recap was available, so its tracker row is still open.

October 17, 2026 (reported entry): Added Kiaan Barde to the contestant table as Reported (NewGs, Baseer Ali), based on two Instagram collaboration posts. He will be marked Confirmed only after he appears on screen or an official channel names him.

October 17, 2026 (later update): Linked the profiles of all six gang leaders and the host from the leader sections, the quick reference table and the FAQs.

October 17, 2026: Updated after Episode 1. Added the auction format, the first reported signing (Karishma, to the OGs), an Episode 1 recap, an elimination tracker row and an auction FAQ. The Episode 1 details rest on one review (Flickonclick), and the contestant table will be revised when the show or an official channel confirms full names. The reported Karishma Talwar link comes from Business Upturn (October 13, citing Reality Scoop) and was not confirmed by the makers.

October 15, 2026: Original pre-premiere guide with the confirmed gang leaders, host, format, platforms and an empty contestant table. Facts were checked against the Netflix India and JioHotstar announcements as reported by India TV, MTV’s season announcement as reported by NewsBytes, IANS, Esquire India, Filmibeat and Wikipedia’s season tables. The contestant list and tracker will be updated after the premiere.