Posted:
Shaan is definitely the most popular among all the contestants. I belong to the same demographic you speak of- ages 16-25, but one of my favorite childhood memories is watching Shaan host a music talent show on Doordarshan in the late 90's. My non-Hindi speaking parents just loved that show, esp.my mother. He used to be very effervescent as a host, very sweet. And of course, later Sa Re Ga...on Zee.
He is an awesome singer and has been the voice behind many famous BW songs. And also many in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, etc,.
But does that popularity translate into votes? No.
1. Because people identify more with faces that they see everyday on TV. And that would be these TV actors whom they cast in a particular mould depending on the shows that they follow.
2. He himself been inactive somewhat on the TV front lately.
So Shaan is definitely more famous than any of these TV stars can ever hope to be. But since his appeal is mostly auditory and not visual (anymore), he might not have that kind of a hold over whatever constitutes this 'voting audience'.
And most people identify with him as a singer, so I even think that some of them would raise their eyebrows on his dancing avatar.
For eg, if you asked my Tamil-speaking mother who Shaan is, she'd definitely smile and tell you that he's that famous singer and music show host we used to admire on TV back then. But if you ask her about any of the current TV stars and mention their names, she'd just give you a blank look.
But she's not going to be voting for Shaan in 'Jhalak.." anyway, and doesn't follow the show, so she doesn't matter;)
