It was not Shefali Jariwala who immortalized the number Kaanta laga. It was veteran actress Asha Parekh who first created a stir in 1972 with Kaanta laga which was a part of the film Samadhi. It was also remade in Telugu as Nindu Manishi in 1978.
Shedding light on the catchy song Asha Parekh says, “It was part of the film Samadhi in which Dharmendra and I co-starred. He had a double role of father and son. I was paired with the father and Jaya Bachchan was with the son. It was my good fortune that the big hit song came to me.”
Ashaji recalls Kaanta laga as an upbeat folk dance number composed by Rahul Dev Burman. “It was peppy and catchy. We were all humming the song when shooting it. But did I think it would become such a rage in retrospect? No! Success on that level cannot be predicted by anyone. I remember the song Maar diya jaye ke chhor diya jaye in my film Mera Gaon Mera Desh. That too became such craze, although Lataji’s other songs in the film were also outstanding.”
Says Asha Parekh, “I loved dancing in my movies. And the audiences expected me to. I think Kaanta laga was one of my most popular dance numbers .”
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