Filmmaker Vinay Sapru, who together with Radhika Rao directed the long-lasting Kaanta Laga music video that turned Shefali Jariwala into an in a single day sensation, has spoken completely to ETimes in regards to the late star’s sudden passing and the unforgettable journey they shared.“We got here to learn about Shefali’s passing away someplace across the nighttime, you realize, and it was only a message from Divya Khosla, who simply messaged and stated she’s handed away. And I have to say, it was virtually an unbelievable scenario as a result of 20 days again, we had been all sitting in our workplace and planning for future and what we’re going to be doing. And right here this information comes. I have to say it was completely surprising and unbelievable. It was like a member of the family, a closest affiliate member of the family passing away, you realize. And we simply could not imagine it. It was essentially the most surprising information we might have heard,” Vinay advised us. The day they discovered their ‘DJ Doll’Vinay took us again to the second Shefali entered their lives. “We found her when she was simply 19. It was not a piece association in a structured method—it was future. We had been planning to do that album known as DJ Doll and had this track Kaanta Laga. We had been looking for a lady who appears to be like like a doll whose emotional nature, habits, physique line, every little thing needs to be doll-like.We had been driving on Linking Highway and a scooter got here parallel to us with a mom driving and a younger lady hugging her. Radhika and I simply checked out her and stated, ‘I believe we’ve simply discovered our lady.’ We stopped them at a sign and requested if she’d have an interest. She stated she was an engineering pupil at Bhawan’s Faculty in Andheri and had no expertise. However we simply advised her that a lot that I believe we predict that you’re the one that simply suits the invoice. And we simply gave her a quantity and a card and we left and we stated, if you happen to’re , you may come over for the auditions to our workplace tomorrow.” From school pupil to star performerShefali turned up the very subsequent day. “With no digicam expertise, we stated, okay, let’s begin the audition. And we had been simply watching her doing the audition and he or she was identical to a bundle of power, and all arms and legs in all places. However the one factor which caught to us was the innocence of her. She was blowing these kisses to the digicam and simply doing these moments which a 19-year-old does in a nightclub. It simply struck us that we have now discovered our doll.” Vinay shared how Shefali would attend school within the day and rehearse late into the night time. “We advised her you have no digicam expertise and we wish you to have you ever to do rehearsals and all. She like leaping with pleasure and he or she stated, sure. And she or he stated, don’t fret in regards to the rehearsals, you may not have a grievance. On daily basis after ending the faculty of hers, she used to come back religiously and do the rehearsals until late night time, go to school subsequent day, come once more. From a lady who has by no means confronted the digicam to studying every skilled dance steps, motion, expressions, facial expressions, every little thing intimately, she was engaged on and perfecting day after day.” A birthday she by no means took offAnd it was not a straightforward journey. The rehearsals went on for over three months, each single day with out fail. No matter little child fats she had, she labored off with fitness center periods and rigorous coaching, continually pushing herself to realize the extent of perfection we had been aiming for.One anecdote that stayed with Vinay was Shefali’s birthday rehearsal. “It was her birthday, and he or she had simply acquired a pair of white denims from her sister. But, she confirmed up for rehearsals carrying them. We requested her why she hadn’t taken the break day—we even stated, ‘It’s your birthday, go take pleasure in it!’ However she smiled and stated, ‘No, I need to rehearse and work at the moment as a result of how I spend my birthday units the tone for the remainder of my yr.’So we stated to her, “However you’re carrying these white denims—your birthday reward! They’ll get spoiled.” She simply smiled and stated, “No, no, it’s advantageous.” After which she went forward and joined the rehearsals. I nonetheless keep in mind—by the top of it, these denims had mud stains. She was simply 19, celebrating her birthday, and her brand-new reward was all patched with mud. Her eyes welled up with tears when she noticed them. However she checked out us and stated, “I don’t thoughts. That is the perfect birthday I’ve ever had—rehearsing, chopping cake with all of you within the corridor… it was excellent.”The Japanese doll inspiration
Styling Shefali into the long-lasting Kaanta Laga lady took time. “It was a journey of grooming and mentoring—a technique of shaping a lady who, for us, was like a clean canvas. As administrators, the image we had been portray slowly started to take form, and the transformation was so shifting that it felt like watching a younger lady develop up inside a close-knit household.When it got here to her styling, we experimented with all types of outfits and hairstyles, however nothing appeared to click on. After which we noticed this Japanese doll—it had a really particular coiffure: a clear slit with sharp braids tied round a two-beat pitch. We requested the hairstylist to strive replicating it, and the second it was executed, it simply clicked. It was excellent. I keep in mind pondering, why did we glance to date and large when the reply was proper in entrance of us? All we needed to do was recreate what already existed—and it match Shefali prefer it was made for her.“Three powerful days of taking pictures, and historical past was made“We had been all set to go, and even on set, the schedule was extraordinarily tight—we had simply three days to finish the shoot. We might pack up previous midnight, generally round 2 a.m., solely to be again on set by 7 a.m. the following morning. However Shefali was all the time there, on time, totally current, as a result of your complete track revolved round her. Each body, each shot was centered on her.She gave it her all—day after day—via a gruelling schedule of dance, efficiency, and precision, assembly each expectation we had as administrators. It actually was a journey of mentoring a younger lady we randomly noticed on the highway and watching her rework into an icon. She went on to turn out to be a nationwide crush virtually in a single day.The whole nation was dancing to this one lady’s power—a lady who was simply learning engineering in school after we found her. After three months of intense preparation, the remainder grew to become historical past. Kaanta Laga become essentially the most iconic track of its technology. Even at the moment, greater than 20 years later, choose up any newspaper or article, and it’s nonetheless in regards to the Kaanta Laga lady—Shefali. She’s continually referred to by that title, and rightly so.
And I really imagine it’s a becoming tribute. I keep in mind her as soon as saying in an interview, “I need to be identified ceaselessly because the Kaanta Laga lady.” And now, even within the face of such a tragic and premature passing, her want lives on. As heartbreaking as it’s, each newspaper, each channel, each submit says it—Kaanta Laga lady isn’t any extra.What can one say? Possibly it is true—God takes away His favourite youngsters early. Shefali was certainly one of our favorites too. It actually felt like she was despatched into our lives for a motive. We had been simply driving, and there she was—this lady on a scooter driving parallel to us. Who would’ve thought she’d go on to make historical past within the Indian music trade?She was vigorous. Filled with goals. Filled with the will to make one thing of herself. And she or he did. She grew to become unforgettable.”A go to simply 20 days earlier than her loss of lifeVinay additionally recalled their final assembly. “We had simply met 20 days in the past, so this information has come as a whole shock. She had come to our workplace, bringing muffins and pastries from a kind of Japanese bakeries she cherished. She was so vigorous—saying, “I’ve turned 40 now. I’ve had an unimaginable 20 years, all because of the place we started again then. And now I’ve come to plan the following 20 with you.She stayed for practically 5 hours—we had dinner collectively and spoke at size. We had been planning: songs we wished to create, the form of cinema we wished to discover, the occasions we had been going to curate. Her reside performances had been such a large success, and we had been all set to take that to the following degree. The whole lot was falling into place, and we had been nearly to start this thrilling new chapter.And now… all we will say is—it have to be God’s plan. We’re all mortals. Loss of life is inevitable. However to go so younger… the one rationalization is that you just had been certainly one of God’s favourites, and He wished you again with Him before the remainder of us.”
‘We’re retiring Kaanta Laga’Vinay ended with a agency choice to protect Shefali’s legacy. “The one factor we will maintain onto now’s the reminiscence of the unimaginable life she lived—these 20 magnificent years that started with Kaanta Laga. From the second we began that journey collectively, she breathed life into each thought, each concept, each visible we had as administrators. She didn’t simply meet our imaginative and prescient—she surpassed it. They are saying an actor can rise above the script, and that’s precisely what Shefali did.She grew to become the doll we had imagined twenty years in the past—and that doll went on to seize the hearts of not simply India, however Indians internationally. And she’s going to proceed to reside on of their recollections, as a result of that’s what she all the time wished—to be remembered.All we will do now’s pray for her peace, wherever she could also be. We miss you, Shefali. Take care.And as for Kaanta Laga—we received’t make one other. Through the years, so many individuals have requested us to do Kaanta Laga 2 or 3, however we by no means might. And now, we by no means will. Similar to a cricket crew retires a jersey quantity, we, Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, are retiring Kaanta Laga. It was the primary and the final—as a result of it belongs to Shefali. It all the time did. She wished to be remembered because the Kaanta Laga lady, and he or she all the time will likely be.God bless you, Shefali. Be blissful—wherever you’re.”On June 27, Shefali Jariwala died abruptly after struggling a suspected cardiac arrest on the age of 42. She was declared useless on arrival on the hospital. Preliminary investigations recommend that her loss of life could have been medically triggered moderately than involving any foul play.