Shefali Jariwala on battling epilepsy: Had to keep my energy levels up

Image courtesy: Instagram/@shefalijariwala

For all those who are new to the party, they wouldn't know the kind of hysteria and popularity Shefali Jariwala saw back in 2002 when her song Kaanta Laga came out. That was perhaps the beginning of the trend of remixing classic songs for the newer generation. Shefali was an instant rage and even featured with Akshay Kumar in Mujhse Shaadi Karogi for the same song. Recently, she was seen in the Bigg Boss 13 house as a wildcard entrant.

Shefali is also a fitness freak and pays a lot of attention to her fitness, but her road to being healthy was not easy. In a recent interview, she revealed she was epileptic and had her first seizure at the age of 15. Speaking to The Times of India, "I was 15 years old when I had my first epileptic seizure. Yes, I was an epileptic. The medication that I had to take because of the condition caused a lot of weight gain. Shortly after that, I did a music video which was a big hit after that I was really busy with work, dancing all the time. I had to keep my energy levels up and also look good on camera. That's when I realised I need to shed a few kilos and I went to the gym for the very first time, so my fitness journey started from there about 20 years ago and it has a whole new meaning today."

Tha Kaanta Laga girl also went on to talk about the changes that have come over the years in her exercise routine, "What started 20 years ago with just something for me to lose weight, has become so big for me today. My workout regime is very different from what it used to be at one point of time. Initially, it was cardio, gymming, heavyweight training. I realised as a woman especially post 30, your body really changes and so should your workout regime," she said.

In a recent interview, Jariwala opened up on how Kaanta Laga changed her fate forever. "I was in college then and I come from a family of academicians, so my parents told me to focus on my studies. But I wanted to do it because I was getting paid for it. I earned Rs 7,000 from that song, and I wanted to see myself on TV."

She also spoke about the strict opposition she faced from her father and added, "My father was completely against it. So first, I took my mom into confidence and then, we both convinced my father. And that song turned out to be such a hit that it was like a fairytale for me. It changed my life completely." And over the years, she has dabbled with multiple shows on television and the OTT platform.

Right from Nach Baliye to Baby Come Naa to, of course, Bigg Boss 13, she has done it all and slayed it!

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