How Shefali Jariwala's Kaanta Laga Became A Major Pop-Culture Moment In The 2000s

NDTV

8 hours ago

New Delhi:
In a tragic turn of events, Shefali Jariwala who shot to fame with her remix Kaanta Laga, has died at the age of 42. The actress-model was rushed to Bellevue Multispecialty Hospital but was unfortunately pronounced dead upon arrival.
Her husband Parag Tyagi was seen in tears outside the hospital. While the initial reports have suggested that the actress-model died of cardiac arrest, official post-mortem reports are still awaited.
Fans and industry colleagues are in shock as Shefali Jariwala was a big part of the defining remixes era in the 2000s. As fate would have it, she was spotted outside her engineering college by director duo Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru. Little did she know that she was on the brink of doing her biggest project that propelled her to become an overnight sensation.
In an older interview with the Times of India, Shefali Jariwala said how she teamed up with her mother to get her father's approval to be a part of Kaanta Laga.
She had said, "My father was completely against it. So first, I took my mom into confidence and then, we both convinced my father. And that song turned out to be such a hit that it was like a fairytale for me. It changed my life completely."
Sharing her excitement for Kaanta Laga, she added, "I was in college then and I come from a family of academicians, so my parents told me to focus on my studies. But I wanted to do it because I was getting paid for it. I earned Rs 7,000 from that song, and I wanted to see myself on TV."
Rewind Back To The Craze Of Kaanta Laga
Kaanta Laga was originally a part of the film titled Samadhi which was led by Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Asha Parekh. The song was then picked up for a remix version by T-Series for their album DJ Doll with an accompanying music video featuring Shefali Jariwala.
It was like Shefali Jariwala had a natural pop-star vibe on camera. Something that also drew in the audience and the song was an instant click with them.
Sung by Pallavi Kelkar and coupled with Shefali Jariwala's effortless dance moves, the song became a chartbuster in no time.
Kaanta Laga is particularly remembered for it came at a time when the trend of remixes was just gaining momentum in Bollywood. This song had an integral role to play in revolutionizing that moment and emerged to be a pop-culture phenomenon that people remember to date.
As they say, trends are a perpetual cyclic process, as it stands true with the remixes in Bollywood. While newer remixes and remakes have replaced Kaanta Laga in the Top 10 charts, Shefali Jariwala's career-defining moment is still considered a strong referral point in this context.
It solidified her position in pop culture and also invoked a sense of deep nostalgia for the 2000s. While the bold frames were met with certain objectionable remarks, they continued to survive the test of time and remain a fan-favourite.
Shefali Jariwala went on to do several other projects in the entertainment industry. She was a part of Big Boss 13 and Nach Baliye 5.