All of 19, innocent and just like the human incarnate of the Disney princess Snow White.
This was Shefali Jariwala when the Kaanta Laga co-directors Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao first spotted their "DJ Doll" while driving on Mumbai's famed Linking Road before they cast her in the popular remix video of the song, originally from the 1972 film Samadhi. After the video became a rage across the country, back in 2002, Shefali Jariwala went viral at a time when viral was not even a term in pop culture.
Vinay Sapru, one-half of the director duo behind Kaanta Laga, spoke to NDTV in an exclusive interview where he remembered Shefali Jariwala as a thorough professional who was content being the Kaanta Laga girl, a destiny's child who was all heart, and grateful. He also spoke about how conspiracy theories around her untimely death is an organic phenomenon.
How Vinay Sapru And Radhika Rao Found Their DJ Doll In Shefali Jariwala
Vinay Sapru recalls he and Radhika Rao were planning an album called DJ Doll, under the T-Series label with Bhushan Kumar at the helm.
"We were looking around for a person who's of that particular age, who can be a doll like innocent in character, innocent in human feelings, human relations and all that because casting is not about how you look, casting is all about the touch and feel also and and the emotions you carry at that particular time, eyes and in your behaviour and all that," the director told NDTV.
According to him, it was destiny that Shefali Jariwala died so young at the age of 42 on June 27. How he and Radhika Rao discovered her was also "a play of destiny".
"Radhika and I were driving on Linking Road in Bandra, Mumbai, and as you said we were looking out for the girl who was like a doll. Here, passes a scooter next to her (Radhika's) car. There you have an elderly lady and a girl hugging her. Her complexion was almost like Snow White and all innocence.
"Radhika and I just looked at her and said, 'How can somebody we have been looking around for so long just parallel to us while we are driving?' We then stopped at the next signal and hailed her. We stopped that mother and daughter duo and we asked her (what she did). Then she said she was studying engineering at Bhavan's College in Andheri. We said, 'Okay, so if you are interested then come for auditions to the office'. We left our number and left," Vinay Sapru recalled.
"Shefali Jariwala Was All Over The Place In Her First Audition For Kaanta Laga"
Next day, without fail, Shefali Jariwala reached for the audition with no experience in acting or facing the camera.
"All of 19 years old, studying, belonging to a traditional family, coming right in front (of the camera), and auditioning. She was all hands and legs, all over the place.
"We were watching the audition and she was just blowing these flying kisses towards the camera and winking and trying to be this girl who's visiting the club, which is part of the concept of the album and how the teenagers would be. And in her mind and her perception was this rebellion. Radhika and I knew that this girl was our doll."
The director duo told her that she needed to work hard and put in a lot of effort, recounted Vinay Sapru.
"We told her 'You are all over the place. Your hands and body are not coordinated at all. So we'll need a lot of hard work. You have got the look, feel, expression and the body line. She said, 'Sir, ma'am, I'm ready to work hard'. We said, 'You are studying in college. How are you going to do it?'
"She said, 'Post college I'm going to come every night and do it.' Then it took one-three months. It was gruelling and we're not reaching anywhere. But she continued day and night, working Sundays six-seven hours. She was, what we call, the destiny's child who met us on Linking Road. In four-five months, our Kaanta Laga girl was ready."
Her Look As DJ Doll And Those White Denims
After she was set to shoot, the makers encountered another roadblock. What to do with her hair? After trying several looks, inspiration struck.
"Her look was inspired by a Japanese doll. If you see all those poker straight braids of hers. They're very doll-like, like my daughter's doll at my house," said Vinay Sapru.
Even at 19, Shefali Jariwala's work ethic was on point. She came to the rehearsals on her birthday too.
"We said, 'It's her birthday. Why is she not taking a break?' She said, 'No, no'. She believed that whatever she did on her birthday will happen all through the year. So I said, 'Okay'. She was wearing these white denims and that's one memory which is etched in our minds.
"I think those white denims were a gift from her sister. She got a mud patch on it during rehearsals. I said, 'Why did you do it?' She said, 'No, sir, I want to rehearse'. She was all teary eyed afterwards. She got her denims spoiled but she was all life, soul, heart, and so much of hard work," he added.
"Kaanta Laga Was Not An Easy Shoot"
Vinay Sapru said the shooting of the Kaanta Laga video was a bit tricky as there were less budgets at the time. The set was erected at the Filmistan Studios in Mumbai over a period of four days.
"It was around Rs 8-10 lakh. It was a very tiny budget as the per day cost comes so much higher... I think we also invested Rs 2 lakh from our pocket... We shot three days and three nights...
"We would shoot till midnight, even till 2 am and start work again at 7 am. She was all there smiling and dancing. I remember she was not used to eating the food that would be available on the set. Then one day she developed acidity and she drank milk the whole day on the set."
The result - Shefali Jariwala became an overnight sensation on television. As for the sales, in Vinay Sapru's words, "CDs were flying off the rack".
"Shefali Jariwala Was Always Grateful"
She may have been a one-song phenomenon, but she maintained contact with Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao.
"She used to just come and say, 'Sir, I bought a BMW 4x4. I bought a new house'. She was so happy. Now that everybody is talking about her, it looks like we did Kaanta Laga just yesterday. She was always grateful in life. She always said, 'Sir, ma'am, you changed my life'... We were always in touch, every time she made a purchase, every Ganpati, every Mata Ki Chowki... She was planning the 20 years of her life."
Speculation Around Shefali Jariwala's Death
Vinay Sapru told NDTV that whenever a young celebrity dies, all kinds of conspiracy theories start taking shape.
"Whether it is Sushant Singh Rajput or Michael Jackson, what happens is that people get invested because they are good looking, they're successful, and they died young. That is what leads to all speculation... I would just ask everybody to drop the speculations. Death is God's decision... We should just honour the memories of that person."
Also Read | How Shefali Jariwala Spent Her Final Hours: A Timeline