Kaanta Laga director recalls chance meeting with Shefali Jariwala for song; how she reacted to not getting more work
Vinay Sapru, who directed the hit song Kaanta Laga starring Shefali Jariwala, has spoken about how their meeting was a chanced one. Speaking with India Today, Vinay recalled that he was driving with his wife Radhika when Shefali rode past them on a scooter along with her mother following which they called her for audition. Vinay also revealed that Shefali wasn't disappointed about "not getting more work". Vinay Sapru and Shefali Jariwala shared a warm bond.
Kaanta Laga director on how he met Shefali Jariwala
Recalling the time when he met Shefali for the first time, Vinay said it was in Mumbai. 'Radhika and I were driving on Linking Road, Bandra, in Mumbai, and parallel to us came a scooter. The mother was riding it, and the young girl was hugging her from behind. They just drove past us. Radhika and I looked at each other and said, 'What a pretty girl.' We stopped them, gave her a visiting card, and invited her to audition. It felt like it was meant to be,' he said.
Shefali was planning for 'next 20 years'
He said that Shefali remained grounded, adding that she "never expressed disappointment about not getting more work". Vinay added, "She was in our office just 20 days ago. She brought cookies from her favourite Japanese bakery for the whole team. She told me, 'The first 20 years were great, now let's plan the next 20.' She had so much energy and so many ideas. She was ready to take on the world."
About Shefali's death
Shefali died on Friday night. Her husband-actor Parag Tyagi rushed her to Bellevue Multispeciality Hospital in Mumbai. However, doctors declared her dead. Early reports suggested a cardiac arrest, but the exact cause of death is still not confirmed.
More about Shefali's career
Shefali became famous after starring in the music video of Kaanta Laga in 2002. She also featured in the 2004 film Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, alongside Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. Additionally, she gained recognition on television with appearances in popular reality shows, including Bigg Boss 13 (2019) and Nach Baliye (seasons 5 and 7), where she participated alongside Parag.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Gazette
44 minutes ago
- India Gazette
"She was a very positive soul..." 'Kaanta Laga' music director Harry Anand reacts to Shefali Jariwala's sudden death
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 30 (ANI): The sudden death of actress and dancer Shefali Jariwala has left many shocked and saddened. Music director Harry Anand, who worked closely with Shefali on 'Kaanta Laga, said he was deeply shaken and found it hard to believe, and also remembered his time working with Shefali and shared how positive and happy she always seemed. 'It's a shocking news. It's a very sad news. Because when you know someone so closely and you have worked with them, you don't believe such news after listening to it. And when I got this news, I couldn't digest it for a long time. And I waited the whole night for this news to get double confirmation. But when I was confirmed in the morning that this has happened, so it was really really very devastating news. May her soul rest in peace,' Anand told ANI. 'I have a lot of memories with Shefali. I met her during the song Kaanta Laga. She was a very happy person. She was a very positive soul. And we did a lot of shows together. And I can't digest this news after seeing it,' he added. Earlier, Harry also penned an emotional note on Instagram. He wrote, ' was a delight to work with you on our iconic hits. You will be missed and will always be remembered like you said as the one and ONLY 'Kaanta Laga Girl'.These CDs back then caused a rage, overnight, Shefali was known worldwide with her incredible performance on these tracks. It was destined to be. The second clip is from my other song 'Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar' where Shefali performed phenomenally, which again turned out to be a massive hit. I am still processing is too short and unfair at times May your soul rest in peace dear. Om shanti.' Shefali Jariwala, whose career skyrocketed after her appearance in the hit 2002 music video 'Kaanta Laga', was rushed to Bellevue Multispeciality Hospital in Mumbai on June 27 where she was declared dead upon arrival. While the exact cause of her death remains unclear, sources suggest that she may have suffered a cardiac arrest. Shefali was also featured in the 2004 film 'Mujhse Shaadi Karogi', alongside Salman Khan and Akshay she gained recognition on television with appearances in popular reality shows, including Bigg Boss 13 (2019) and Nach Baliye (seasons 5 and 7), where she participated alongside her husband, actor Parag Tyagi. (ANI)
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Jim Rion: 'Fair-play mystery is still alive and well in Japan'
How did you end up living in Yamaguchi? Jim Rion (Courtesy the subject) It was all just an accident, really. I was living and studying in Germany before I came here. Just as I was coming to the end of my time there and wondering where to go next, a friend from university emailed out of the blue. She said she was working at an English school in Yamaguchi that was looking for a teacher; was I interested? And I thought, 'Why not give it a try?' I'm glad I did it, because here I am, 20 years later, and happy as can be. What got you interested in sake and writing about the Yamaguchi breweries? The first thing was just enjoying the drink. I came here in 2004, and Yamaguchi was right at the start of a big jump in sake quality and recognition. So, the people around me were all excited to share the local drink with this new guy. Over time, as I began to learn more about the brewing process, I was attracted to all the craft skill that goes into it. I've always been a fan of traditional craft and making things by hand, and sake is certainly a good example. Then, when I started working as a translator, I saw my position as a way to both get closer to that craft and maybe also help share these wonderful local products with the world. 'I came here in 2004, and Yamaguchi was right at the start of a big jump in sake quality and recognition. So, the people around me were all excited to share the local drink with this new guy. ' Having interacted with Uketsu's work closely as a translator, what stood out for you as a dominant theme in the book? Strange Pictures is an unusual book that you can just read for the chills and the mysteries but also rewards some deeper reading and exploration of themes. As a translator, of course I wanted to get as deep as possible to make sure I didn't miss anything when I was bringing it into English. I won't go into spoiler territory, but as I went through the book over and over, I came to feel that the essential theme of Strange Pictures is motherhood, and how it can be both a source of boundless love and also a terribly dangerous thing. You've mentioned in your blog about the challenges of translating Strange Pictures – the Kanji characters, the name of the blog in chapter one, etc. What are some of the most common challenges when it comes to translating Japanese into English? I think there are two things about Japanese that make it particularly challenging to translate for me personally — other people surely have their own lists. One is purely linguistic, and one is stylistic. The linguistic issue is that sentences often leave out the subject, ie who it is that is speaking or doing some action, which we can't do as much in English. In Japanese, the subject is usually understood from context, but sometimes it is intentionally left vague. In the mystery and horror genres in particular, not knowing is often essential to the impact of a story. The need for English to know the subject of a sentence introduces a danger of ruining the surprise. The real challenge, then, is not necessarily that of deciding who did something, but how to write a meaningful English sentence without ruining some kind of plot point. The stylistic issue is that Japanese writing uses repetition in ways that English writing simply doesn't. For example, it's very common in written dialogue for one person to make a statement, then for the narrative text to repeat the idea in other words. So, you might get an exchange that would be directly translated like, 'This isn't just an accident. Someone killed him.' He was saying this was deliberate? In other words, murder? Which is three ways of saying the exact same thing, and people reading in English, without that kind of style, might get tired of a novel that did that for every major exchange. So, I have to both stay true to the tone and the meaning of the original while still making the English text something people will enjoy reading. 'Strange Picturesis an unusual book that you can just read for the chills and the mysteries but also rewards some deeper reading and exploration of themes.' What do you make of Uketsu's enigmatic disposition? With respect to the fact that he never shows his face, he has a somewhat unconventional profile of a YouTuber-turned-author, the narrative he chooses to engage in is quite different. I've heard Uketsu himself talk about this several times now, and I think that the way people are focused on his mask and body-stocking is an excellent example of organic identity building. He has said in several interviews that he was simple concerned about preserving anonymity as a guy making those 'weird videos' at the start of his YouTube career, but now they've become essential to the Uketsu mystique. I don't think he ever dreamed he would become as famous as he is, so I doubt he had much of a plan. So, the unconventional profile and narrative are probably just the result of him making it up as he goes along. Luckily, he seems to be quite good at that. It all really does work to build the mystery and fascination with everything he does, doesn't it? As for the YouTuber-turned-author path, he has said that he hadn't originally intended to become an author, but someone in publishing saw his mystery videos and said if he wrote books, they'd be hits. Clearly, that person was right. From a contemporary novel to the classics, tell us about your understanding of Seishi Yokomizo's novels and honkaku as a genre, something that was in vogue almost five decades ago. Honkaku mystery has been a significant presence in Japan's publishing market for decades, even as a target of rebellion as some writers in the 1960s started to feel it was getting too mired in orthodoxy and trope. Of course, Yokomizo was a foundational figure in the whole Japanese mystery genre, and his works are still popular in Japan today. One of the things that I find so interesting is just how dark his stories are, and how they seem to toy with supernatural elements, even while ending up being purely rooted in the natural world. I think in that, Yokomizo reflects the influence of Edogawa Ranpo, the 'founding father' of Japanese mystery who, in turn, was deeply influenced by Edgar Allan Poe. So, he includes an undercurrent of the grotesque, the corrupt, and the twisted that goes beyond the more mundane murders that populated the works of Agatha Christie or Ellery Queen. If you're looking for a Western writer for comparison, it's probably John Dickson Carr, who also tried to evoke horror fiction tropes like ghosts, vampires, and witches, while remaining purely natural and scientific in the end. And today, 'fair-play' mystery is still alive and well in Japan. This is the age of Shin-honkaku, the 'New orthodox' mystery movement that started in the 1980s — or even the Shin-Shin-Honkaku, 'The new new-orthodox.' I think some might even call this a golden age, with young writers taking up the challenge of writing fair-play mysteries that bring fresh takes on the well-trodden ground of locked rooms and impossible murders. Which explains why Yokomizo's books are still in print, and the many film and television adaptations are still being watched. Of Strange Pictures and The Devil's Flute Murders, which one was more fun to translate and why? I have to say that in terms of 'fun,' Strange Pictures has to be the winner. It was just so satisfying to follow as all the threads wove together in the end to reveal... Well, I'll stop there. No spoilers! There was a lot that was rewarding about The Devil's Flute Murders, of course. It gave me a way to learn about Japanese history, such as the fall of short-lived noble classes that were modelled on Europe. But then, when I think of what I gain from translation, I have to say connections to authors is one of the biggest rewards — and unfortunately, Yokomizo is no longer with us. Uketsu, though, is and I have been lucky enough to get to speak and work with him. 'There was a lot that was rewarding about The Devil's Flute Murders, of course. It gave me a way to learn about Japanese history, such as the fall of short-lived noble classes that were modelled on Europe.' What are you working on next? The next book from Uketsu, Strange Houses, is coming out in the summer, and we're just finishing up edits on that. Then, I have another unannounced mystery translation coming from Pushkin sometime in 2025 or 2026, maybe, before the next Uketsu book, so my schedule is pretty full for the next year or so. But I'm also trying to find time to work on my own book, a non-fiction look at ceramic artists in Japan. I hope that by making this so public, I'll feel compelled to finish what I started! Arunima Mazumdar is an independent writer. She is @sermoninstone on Twitter and @sermonsinstone on Instagram.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
When Shefali Jariwala recalled bagging her iconic song 'Kaanta Laga'; revealed she faced a lot of difficulty convincing her family
Shefali Jariwala, fondly remembered for her unforgettable appearance in the iconic music video Kaanta Laga and her strong presence on Bigg Boss 13, passed away on June 27, reportedly due to cardiac arrest. Her untimely death at the age of 42 has left her family, friends, and fans devastated. In a throwback interview with The Times of India TV, Shefali Jariwala opened up about how she landed the iconic song Kaanta Laga. She also spoke candidly about the challenges she faced convincing her parents to let her take up the project, as she came from a family of professionals with no background in the entertainment industry. Speaking about bagging Kaanta Laga in a throwback interview in 2020, Shefali shared that it happened out of the blue, "Kaanta Laga happened completely unexpectedly. I was standing outside my college when Radhika and Vinay Sapru, the directors of the album, spotted me and offered me the song. At first, I wasn't sure because I came from a family of professionals—doctors, engineers, and chartered accountants. No one in my family had ever done anything related to the entertainment world. It was tough convincing my family, especially since I was quite young at the time. But Radhika and Vinay supported me a lot. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like They Were So Beautiful Before; Now Look At Them; Number 10 Will Shock You Reportingly Undo I took up the song just for fun, honestly, mainly because I was excited to see myself on TV and, of course, for the pocket money, which felt like a big deal back then. I had to work really hard because I didn't know how to dance. Radhika and Vinay put in a lot of effort with me, from rehearsals to grooming. When the song was released, it became an instant hit. It truly felt like a dream come true." While many viewed Kaanta Laga as bold for its time, Shefali Jariwala disagreed with that perception. She believed the song wasn't bold in terms of appearance but was impactful because of the rebellious attitude portrayed in it. "Kaanta Laga wasn't bold in the way people often think. If you actually watch the video, I was fully covered, no revealing clothes, no cleavage, nothing like that. The boldness came from the character's attitude, she was a rebel, and that's what stood out to people more than her appearance. In real life too, I've always been someone who doesn't take nonsense. I'm a bit of a rebel myself. At that time, my exams were around the corner, and I had to promise my parents that I wouldn't let my grades drop. My father also made me promise that I would never give up on my education. Even though the song became a huge hit and I started getting a lot of big offers, I stayed focused on my studies. I was pursuing engineering, and I made sure to complete it, I kept the promise I made to my parents." The actress was very proud of her song and in the interview, she expressed happiness on being called the 'Kaanta Laga girl', "I feel really happy because people spend their whole lives trying to build a name for themselves, and my very first song gave me a strong identity. There will never be another 'Kaanta Laga' girl, it's only me. I feel truly lucky and blessed that I didn't have to struggle much, and my debut song gave me so much recognition. I enjoy it when people call me the 'Kaanta Laga girl' wherever I go, even when I travel abroad for shows. I still get invited to perform on Kaanta Laga, and I always do it with joy. Not a single day goes by when I'm not thankful for that opportunity, it was truly a dream come true," she concluded. MYSTERY BEHIND SHEFALI JARIWALA'S DEATH: POLICE REVEAL SHOCKING DETAILS
