Kaanta Laga fame, Shefali Jariwala’s untimely demise has sent shockwaves throughout the entertainment industry. For the unversed, Shefali took her last breath on June 27, 2025. She was just 42 when she left for the heavenly abode. However, in a recent interview, one of the makers of Kaanta Laga, Vinay Sapru, recalled his first meeting with the talented actress. He shared that the news of her death is totally shocking and unbelievable to him. Vinay also recalled the days when he watched Shefali’s hard work that transformed her from an ordinary college student to an iconic star.
Vinay Sapru shares that Shefali Jariwala was just 19 years old when he met her for the first time
For the uninitiated, filmmaker, Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao were the masterminds behind the iconic song video, Kaanta Laga. Recently, Vinay sat for an interview with ETimes and recalled the days when he and Radhika found their ‘Kaanta Laga Girl’, Shefali. Vinay shared that they spotted Shefali sitting behind her mom on a scooter, and she was just a 19-year-old college student. Recalling the days, Vinay shared that Shefali was not experienced, but her innocent, doll-like look made them call her for an audition. In his words:
“We discovered her when she was just 19. We were planning to do this album called DJ Doll and had this song Kaanta Laga. We were looking out for a girl who looks like a doll whose emotional nature, behavior, body line, everything has to be doll-like. We were driving on Linking Road and a scooter came parallel to us with a mother driving and a young girl hugging her. Radhika and I just looked at her and said, ‘I think we’ve just found our girl.’ We stopped them at a signal and asked if she’d be interested. She said she was an engineering student at Bhawan’s College in Andheri and had no experience. we just gave her a number and a card and we left and we said, if you’re interested, you can come over for the auditions to our office tomorrow.”
Recalling the audition day, when Shefali appeared in front of the camera for the first time, Vinay shared it was her innocence that made them decide to take her in the iconic song, Kaanta Laga. He also praised Shefali for her hard work and dedication that she showed both in rehearsals and at the time of shooting. In his words:
“With no camera experience, we said, okay, let’s start the audition. And we were just watching her doing the audition and she was just like a bundle of energy. But the only thing which stuck to us was the innocence of her. It just struck us that we have found our doll. We told her you don’t have any camera experience and we would like you to have you to do rehearsals and all. She said, don’t worry about the rehearsals, you’ll not have a complaint. Every day after finishing the college of hers, she used to come religiously and do the rehearsals till late night, go to college next day. We had just three days to complete the shoot. We would pack up past midnight, sometimes around 2 a.m., only to be back on set by 7 a.m. the next morning. But Shefali was always there, on time, fully present, because the entire song revolved around her.”
Vinay Sapru recalls the day when Shefali Jariwala had her birthday, but still appeared for rehearsals
Further in the interview, Vinay shared an anecdote about when Shefali Jariwala had her birthday, yet still appeared for rehearsals, wearing a pair of white jeans gifted by her sister. Vinay recalled how Shefali did hard work to lose her baby fat through rigorous gym training sessions. Vinay also shared that the actress was very happy, as she had done rehearsals on her birthday and called it her best birthday ever. In his words:
“It was her birthday, and she had just received a pair of white jeans from her sister. Yet, she showed up for rehearsals wearing them. We asked her why she hadn’t taken the day off. She smiled and said, ‘No, I want to rehearse and work today because how I spend my birthday sets the tone for the rest of my year.’ ‘But you’re wearing those white jeans—your birthday gift! They’ll get spoiled.’ She just smiled and said, ‘No, no, it’s fine.’ And then she went ahead and joined the rehearsals. I still remember—by the end of it, those jeans had mud stain. She looked at us and said, ‘I don’t mind. This is the best birthday I’ve ever had—rehearsing, cutting cake with all of you in the hall… it was perfect.'”
What are your thoughts about Vinay Sapru’s revelation about the anecdote from Shefali Jariwala’s birthday rehearsal? Let us know.
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