The entertainment industry continues to mourn the untimely death of popular dancer and actress Shefali Jariwala, who passed away at the age of 42 due to cardiac arrest. She became a household name in 2002 with the sensational music video Kaanta Laga.
In a heartfelt tribute, directors Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, who directed the original video, shared an emotional post on Instagram remembering Shefali.
“Yesterday was the prayer meeting… the final goodbye… memories of our first photo shoot… the Kaanta Laga CD inlay card,” they wrote.
They continued, “You always wanted to be the one and only Kaanta Laga girl. That’s why we never made a sequel — and now, we never will. We are retiring the song forever. It was always yours and will forever remain yours. Om Shanti, Shefali.”
How Shefali Was Discovered on a Mumbai Street
Director Vinay Sapru once recalled in an interview how they discovered Shefali. It was purely by chance, he said.
While passing through Mumbai’s Linking Road, he and Radhika saw a young girl hugging her mother on a scooter.
“Radhika noticed her and said — there’s something special about this girl. We stopped the car and asked her if she would come to our office. That one moment changed everything,” Sapru shared.
That spontaneous encounter launched Shefali’s career. She later appeared in Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) alongside Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, and participated in reality shows like Nach Baliye Season 5 and 7 with her husband Parag Tyagi.
Due to health issues in recent years, Shefali had withdrawn from major projects. Yet her iconic appearance in Kaanta Laga remains unmatched — a legacy now sealed in time.
