Shefali Jariwala, forever remembered as the iconic Kaanta Laga girl, passed away in Mumbai at the age of 42 following a sudden cardiac arrest. Shefali鈥檚 death news sent shockwaves across Bollywood, the television industry, and the nation, with fans mourning the loss of a pop culture icon.
Also read: Shefali Jariwala Revealed Adoption Plans On Bigg Boss 13, Husband Parag Said: 鈥榃hether You Give Birth Or鈥︹
Shefali shot to fame in the early 2000s with the remix of Kaanta Laga, which became a nationwide sensation overnight and etched her into pop culture history. Years later, in a 2020 interview with Rediff, Shefali had opened up about how the song completely transformed her life. She recalled how the opportunity came by chance when she was spotted outside her college by directors Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been 17 years since Kaanta Laga and I can鈥檛 believe it. It just seems like yesterday. Well, Kaanta Laga happened to me absolutely by chance. I was chilling outside my college, and the directors of the video, Radhika Rao and Vinay Sankar, they spotted me there, and they offered me the song. What I just did for fun, and a little bit of pocket money, it just completely changed my life. They were like fairy godmothers. They came and waved their magic wand and turned this ugly duckling into this beautiful swan. So yeah, it changed my life completely,鈥 she had said.
She also spoke about how she had never imagined a future in the entertainment industry. 鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 thought in my wildest imaginations and dreams that I would ever be a part of the entertainment industry. I was actually studying to be an engineer then. And nobody from our family actually had anything to do with the entertainment industry for I believe more than seven generations. I come from a very academic family. So yes, I did finish my education, but Kaanta Laga was such a huge hit that there was really no looking back.鈥
Shefali Jariwala was also a part of Salman Khan鈥檚 Bigg Boss 13 where she shared screen space with the late Sidharth Shukla, Rashami Desai, Shehnaaz Gill and others.