‘Kaanta Laga’ star Shefali Jariwala dies of cardiac arrest at 42

Mumbai/New Delhi: Shefali Jariwala, whose sizzling gyration and rebellious abandon in the music video of the remixed track ‘Kaanta Laga' (original song from ‘Samadhi', 1972) became a dance floor favourite, annoyed social conservatives and helped sell over a million cassettes, CDs and albums, passed away following a cardiac arrest on Friday night. She was 42.Jariwala was rushed to a private hospital close to her Andheri West residence by husband-actor Parag Tyagi, but was declared dead on arrival. "Her family told doctors she was unwell with acidity and had not eaten the entire day," a senior police officer told TOI. As per legal procedure, the hospital alerted the Amboli police (because the patient had not been admitted before her death), and an accidental death report (ADR) under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was filed.Jariwala's body was taken to the post-mortem centre at Juhu's Cooper Hospital at around 1 am on Saturday. A mobile forensic team also visited her home late Friday to collect samples for toxicological analysis. Jariwala's viscera samples have been preserved for forensic analysis. Results of the post-mortem report and the chemical analysis are expected by Sunday and are likely to provide better clarity on what exactly caused the cardiac arrest.The police officer, who spoke with the doctors, told TOI that Zariwala was taking medications for skin whitening, hormonal tablets as well as vitamins with reportedly anti-ageing properties. "Jariwala was reportedly in the habit of taking 8–9 different vitamin supplements daily," the officer said.The Amboli police confirmed that they have recorded statements from Shefali Jariwala's husband, her parents, domestic help and her cook as part of routine inquiry in an ADR case.Jariwala's death ended a career which had peaked following the super success of the ‘Kaanta Laga' music video in 2003. The song accelerated the short-lived trend of sensuous music videos, many recreated from 1970s RD Burman classics, that flooded music television channels in early years of the new millennium. ‘Kaanta Laga' was part of the best-selling remix album, DJ Doll.‘Kaanta Laga' was reprised in the Salman-Priyanka-Akshay starrer, ‘Mujhse Shaadi Karoge' (2004) underlining the music video's eyeball-grabbing power. In the film, Shefali boogeyed with Akshay Kumar.In a telephone interview in 2003, Shefali had said that acting in the video was a turning point in her life. "I have been recognized even in Middle East countries," she said. She was an engineering student then.Her progression, thereafter, was modest. Jariwala performed in the dance show, ‘Nach Baliye', in ‘Bigg Boss 13', and, more recently, in the supernatural horror, ‘Shaitani Rasmein' (2024), where she played a powerful female spirit, Kapalika. Incidentally, another participant of ‘Bigg Boss 13', actor Sidharth Shukla, had died of a heart attack in 2021.Jariwala had a sizeable 3.4 million followers on Instagram. Last week, she had posted a reel while getting ready for a shoot to the words of athlete-turned-influencer JB Copeland, "It's time for us to start living life, like everything else is working out in our favour."Jariwala's sudden death was widely mourned on social media. Among those who posted tributes were singer Mika Singh, actors Kiku Sharda, Kamya Punjabi and All Indian Cine Workers Association.