When Salman Khan Reprimanded ‘Kaanta Laga’ Makers: 'Don’t Do Sexy Songs, It’s Not Good'

Filmmakers Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru recall backlash over Kaanta Laga video, including a stern warning from Salman Khan, who advised them to tone down the sensuality.

Filmmakers Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, best known for their film Sanam Teri Kasam and a string of iconic music videos, recently opened up about the controversy surrounding their 2002 hit remix video Kaanta Laga.

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Filmmakers Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, best known for their film Sanam Teri Kasam and a string of iconic music videos, recently opened up about the controversy surrounding their 2002 hit remix video Kaanta Laga. The video starred Shefali Jariwala as a rebellious young woman, and at the time, its bold visuals led to strong backlash.

Makers of Kanta Lagaa recall warning from CBFC

In an interview with Hindi Rush, Radhika and Vinay recalled receiving a warning from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). "We got a call from the censor board saying, ‘You have disturbed the moral fibre of the nation,’" they shared.

Vinay added, “A big actor called us to his house and said, ‘Main tumhe samjha raha hoon Radhika Vinay, yeh jo sexy kaam hai kam kiya karo, acha nahi hota (I'm explaining to you—stop doing such sexy songs, it's not good). You have nice, pure minds.’” When pressed, the duo confirmed the actor was none other than Salman Khan.

What Salman Khan said about Kanta Lagaa

The filmmakers explained that their decision to pivot from “cute and innocent” songs—like those they did for Falguni Pathak, Jagjit Singh, and Pankaj Udhas—was driven by creative evolution. “One day, we went to Salman Khan’s house. He was working out while listening to a Jhankaar Beats remix of a Kishore Kumar song. That sparked the idea for a new kind of music video. We made Kaliyon Ka Chaman, Kaanta Laga, Chadti Jawani… The sound reminded us of a nightclub, and we matched it with sensual visuals,” they said.

Radhika further revealed the personal inspiration behind the visuals. “I went to a girls' school. One of my friends would refuse to get stamped on her hand at a club. Instead, she’d pull her top aside and ask to be stamped on her neck. We used that idea in the video. The porn magazine prop came from my own experience. There were adult magazines for women back then, and I was once caught reading one in school—we included that as well,” she added.

Vinay elaborated, “Even I didn’t know there were adult magazines for women featuring men. Our assistants searched all over Mumbai and finally found one on Hill Road in Bandra. Something so small turned into such a big scandal. The thong Shefali wore was just for fashion—we didn’t realize we were disturbing the ‘moral fibre’ of the country.”

Interestingly, Salman Khan is known to have conservative views on how women should dress on set. Palak Tiwari, his co-star in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, once revealed in an interview with Siddharth Kannan, “When I was AD-ing with Salman sir on Antim, he had a rule: ‘Every girl on my set should be properly dressed. The neckline should be here.’”

Palak later clarified that she didn’t intend to paint Salman as a “prude,” calling him “an extremely understanding individual” and saying she would “never say anything malapropos about him.”

Incidentally, Shefali Jariwala, the face of Kaanta Laga, was a contestant on Bigg Boss 13, which is hosted by Salman Khan himself.