Model-actor Shefali Jariwala's sudden demise at the age of 42, sent shockwaves across the nation. Shefali, who became a pop culture icon with the 2002's iconic music video Kaanta Laga, passed away on Friday, June 27. The initial police findings and medical examination suggested cardiac arrest. Post her death, there were reports of Kaanta Laga sequel, which the makers have dismissed. Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru confirmed that they are retiring the song forever.
Shefali Jariwala's Kaanta Laga song won't have a sequel
Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, who had directed Shefali in the chartbuster song, paid a heartfelt tribute to the late actor and also refuted the rumours of Kaanta Laga sequel.
In a joint statement, the director duo wrote, "Yesterday Was The Prayer Meeting. Saying The Final Goodbyes... With Our First Photo Session Together.. 'Kaanta Laga' - CD Inlay Card (sic)."
Remembering Shefali, they further wrote, "You Always Said You Wanted To Be The One And Only 'Kaanta Laga' Girl. So We Never Made A Sequel -- And We Never Will. We're Retiring 'Kaanta Laga' Forever. It Was Always Yours. It Will Always Be Yours... Shefali...RIP (sic)."
How Shefali Jariwala became 'Kaanta Laga' girl
The remix version of Kaanta Laga, originally from the 1972 film Samadhi, starred Shefali Jariwala when she was just 19. In an interview with NDTV, Sapru recalled he and Radhika were planning an album called DJ Doll, under the T-Series with Bhushan Kumar.
He said Radhika and he were driving on Linking Road in Bandra, Mumbai, and they were looking out for the girl who was like a doll. "Here, passes a scooter next to her (Radhika's) car. There you have an elderly lady and a girl hugging her. Her complexion was almost like Snow White and all innocence," he added.
They stopped the mother and daughter duo and asked Shefali what she was studying. She was studying engineering at Bhavan's College in Andheri. They invited her to their office for audition, if she was interested, and gave her a number.
Next day, she reached for audition and the 19-year-old young girl, who belonged to a traditional family, had no experience of facing camera or auditions.
"We were watching the audition and she was just blowing these flying kisses towards the camera and winking and trying to be this girl who's visiting the club, which is part of the concept of the album and how the teenagers would be. And in her mind and her perception was this rebellion. Radhika and I knew that this girl was our doll," Sapru added.
