Darsheel Safary out of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5!

The Taare Zameen Par star was the first child artiste to be introduced in the dance reality show and was the judges’ fave

Child actor Darsheel Safary’s journey on the fifth season of dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa came to an end as he was voted out of the show Saturday night. Darsheel, who rose to fame for his role as a dyslexic child Ishaan in Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par, was the first child artiste to be introduced in the dance show alongside other adult contestants, from the field of sports and showbiz. He was paired with young dancer Avneet Kaur, while Jai Kumar Nair of Dance India Dance fame was roped in as their choreographer.

Darsheel is all of 16, but his age didn’t deter him from trying new and innovative dance forms – from Afro Jazz, Lyrical Hip-Hop to Aerial and Kalaripayattu and Indian semi-classical and Kathak. The youngest contestant on the show turned out to be a tough competitor to other celebrities. He was one of the favourites of judges Madhuri Dixit, Remo D’Souza and Karan Johar, and Madhuri fondly called him “Chhota Packet”.