Kaanta Laga girl Shefali Jariwala‘s sudden death has sent shockwaves in the entire entertainment industry. The actor passed away due to cardiac arrest at the age of 42. Around a year ago, Shefali had opened up about a false rumour of her demise and cancer diagnosis that did rounds when Kaanta Laga released. The iconic 2002 song also led to misinformation that her brother had murdered her. In Paras Chhabra’s podcast Abraa Ka Dabra Show on YouTube a year ago, Shefali had revealed how that personal trolling affected her back then.
She shared, “I am thick skinned now. I have been in the industry for 20 years now, jo trolling meri Kaanta Laga ke waqt hui thi na. There wasn’t social media, that was the real trolling. Back in the days, personal trolling hoti thi. How do you escape that?”
Kaanta Laga was considered way ahead of its time and Shefali Jariwala was a soft target for many people, even her relatives. “When I did that song, it was considered bold. I have seen times when my own relatives said, ‘Yeh kya kardia ladki ne, naam kharaab kardiya’. There were rumours that said ‘Shefali ke bhai ne usko maar daala’. I don’t even have a brother. That was actually trolling. Faceless trolling on social media that happens now doesn’t matter to me. Chandigarh mein baitha hua Chintu kya bolta hai, I don’t care,” she said.
Recalling the insensitive rumours, the actor added, “Tattoo kia isne, isko cancer hogaya and yeh marrgayi. It was a national news at that time. News channels had called me. Back then there wasn’t no social media, tab ki fan following kuch aur hi hoti thi. Information spreads quickly now. At that time, phones and landlines couldn’t stop ringing, ‘Arey Shefali Jariwala marr gayi!’ That was the funniest thing I heard. Jabki koi tattoo tha bhi nahi. It was only painting in the song. Vo sunke maine tattoo baad mein karva lia tha lekin (She got a tattoo, had cancer and died. It was national news. News channels called me. Back then there wasn’t no social media, fan following was different at that time. Information spreads quickly now. At that time, phones and landlines couldn’t stop ringing, ‘Arey Shefali Jariwala has died!’ That was the funniest thing I heard. I didn’t even have a tattoo. It was only painting in the song. I didn’t have a tattoo, but got one after the rumour).”
After the Bigg Boss 13 fame Shefali Jariwala’s death on Friday night, several celebrities have been calling out the ‘insensitivity’ of the paparazzi and media while covering the death of a public figure. According to reports, she suffered a cardiac arrest due to low blood pressure, as she took anti-ageing pills while fasting.
