In the wake of Shefali Jariwala’s untimely death at the age of 42 due to cardiac arrest, tributes are pouring in from fans and industry veterans alike. Fondly remembered as the Kaanta Laga girl, Shefali became a household name with the 2002 remix video that redefined the Indian music video landscape. However, not everyone welcomed the song’s bold and rebellious visuals back then, including superstar Salman Khan.In a recent interview with Hindi Rush, recorded just months before Shefali’s passing, the music video’s directors Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru shared how Kaanta Laga created a national uproar, leading even Salman Khan to intervene.“A big actor called us to his house and said, ‘Main tumhe samjha raha hoon Radhika Vinay, yeh jo sexy kaam hai kam kiya karo, acha nahi hota (I’m explaining to you—stop doing such sexy songs, it’s not good). You have nice, pure minds.’”The actor in question, they later revealed, was none other than Salman Khan.A remix that “disturbed the moral fibre of the nation”Radhika and Vinay recalled being summoned by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) soon after the song’s release.“We got a call from the censor board saying, ‘You have disturbed the moral fibre of the nation,’” they said.Interestingly, the inspiration for Kaanta Laga came from Salman himself. “One day, we went to Salman Khan’s house. He was working out while listening to a Jhankaar Beats remix of a Kishore Kumar song. That sparked the idea for a new kind of music video,” Vinay shared.The result was a bold departure from their earlier, more traditional music videos for Falguni Pathak, Jagjit Singh, and Pankaj Udhas. What followed was a new wave of remixes like Kaliyon Ka Chaman and Chadti Jawani, complete with sensual styling and edgy storytelling.
The scandal behind the styleRadhika revealed that the video’s rebellious vibe was rooted in personal anecdotes.“I went to a girls’ school. One of my friends refused to get a stamp on her hand at a club—she asked for it on her neck instead. That scene made it into the video. The porn magazine? I was once caught reading one in school—so we used that too.”Vinay added, “Even I didn’t know there were adult magazines for women with male models. Our assistants scouted all over Mumbai and found one on Hill Road in Bandra.”They also clarified that the much-talked-about thong worn by Shefali was simply a fashion choice.“We didn’t realise we were disturbing the ‘moral fibre’ of the country,” Vinay said, ironically referencing the CBFC’s words.From scandal to screen legendShefali Jariwala, who played the fierce, club-going rebel in the video, later went on to participate in Bigg Boss 13, ironically hosted by Salman Khan himself. Despite the controversy that surrounded Kaanta Laga, the song made Shefali an icon of early 2000s pop culture.In an interview recorded just 10 months before her passing, Shefali had said, “There can be only one Kaanta Laga girl in the whole world, and that is me. I love it. I want to be known as the Kaanta Laga girl till the day I die.”
