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The sudden demise of actress Shefali Jariwala has sparked fresh debate over the safety and regulation of anti-ageing medicines in India.

The 42-year-old, who shot to fame with the 2002 music video Kaanta Laga, passed away on June 27 in Mumbai, reportedly due to cardiac arrest.

However, emerging reports suggest she had been self-administering a combination of anti-ageing injections while fasting, raising serious concerns about the unregulated use of such treatments.

What are anti-ageing medicines and are they regulated?

Experts have warned that while anti-ageing treatments are becoming increasingly popular, many products in the market are not backed by proper scientific studies and remain largely unregulated.

“Anti-ageing medicine is becoming very popular but it’s mostly unregulated. Many of these products are sold without proper scientific studies to prove they work. Some may even have harmful side effects, especially if taken for long periods,” said former AIIMS Director, Dr Randeep Guleria, in a statement.

Is ‘anti-ageing’ even a scientific term?

Medical professionals also stress that the term ‘anti-ageing’ itself is misleading.

“Anti-ageing is not a scientific term. Such products do not reverse or stop natural ageing. Skin whitening is possible with certain medications, but that is not the same as anti-ageing,” said Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, Convener, Research Cell, Kerala State IMA.

What was Shefali Jariwala using?

Reports from the ongoing police investigation suggest that Shefali had been using skin-whitening and anti-ageing injections, particularly glutathione and Vitamin C, for around eight years. Importantly, she was not under active medical supervision during this period, aside from an initial consultation.

Dr Jayadevan explaining the dangers of this approach said, “When a medication is given as an IV injection, it bypasses the natural protection offered by gut absorption and liver metabolism. Thus, the drug may reach very high concentrations in blood and tissues.”

He further warned, “IV medications must be carefully regulated and contamination avoided at all costs.”

Are these injections safe?

According to Dr Jayadevan, there have been international incidents highlighting the risks.

“There are reports from Australia and Philippines about contamination of IV glutathione vials with toxins and also serious side effects of such products,” he added.

Why are these products still popular?

India is witnessing a cosmetic boom, fuelled by rising aspirations and social media influence. According to the latest ISAPS Global Survey, India ranks among the top 10 countries globally for aesthetic and cosmetic procedures, behind only the US, Brazil, and Japan.

However, this rapid rise is not without consequence.

Should these medicines be banned?

Experts believe regulation is the need of the hour and that banning harmful products should not be ruled out.

“There is definitely a need to regulate such medicines. If there’s no proper evidence about their safety or usefulness, and they are found to be harmful, then yes — they should be banned,” said Dr Guleria. “The same applies to other medicines, like muscle-building drugs that are often misused.”

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The dinos have a new lease on life.

Universal and Amblin’s Jurassic World Rebirth is coming in ahead of expectations at the Fourth of July box office to hatch a new era for the Steven Spielberg-created franchise. In North America, the holiday tentpole is on course to post an estimated five-day domestic opening of $141.2 million, including $85.4 million for the three-day weekend, according to Saturday’s estimates.

That’s the fifth-best showing ever for the holiday, while the three-day gross would mark the fourth-biggest domestic opening of 2025 to date. That’s no small feat considering July 4 fell on a Friday this year, meaning many moviegoers were distracted by holiday outings on what’s normally a critical day for new films. To boot, the latest Jurassic World pic has received decidedly mixed reviews from both critics and audiences alike. But there’s no dismissing the power of the Jurassic brand, or the spectacle of seeing dinosaurs come to life on the big screen.

Jurassic World Rebirth, the seventh title in the series, is roaring even louder overseas, where its estimated opening is $171.3 million.

That puts the film’s global start at $312.5 million — the second-best of the franchise, as well as the second-best opening of the year to date, behind A Minecraft Movie.

Heading into the holiday, the pic was eyeing a domestic opening in the $100 to $120 million range and $260 million globally. It opened on Wednesday, July 2, to get a jump on the long holiday weekend.

Following the conclusion of the Jurassic World trilogy directed by Colin Trevorrow, Spielberg, Amblin and Universal went back to the drawing board and enlisted filmmaker Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) to direct Rebirth from a script by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp.

The film features an all new cast anchored by Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey. The story follows an extraction team that races to an island research facility that factored into the original Jurassic Park (along the way, they discover a shipwrecked family). Now, the island is inhabited by the worst of the worst creatures that were left behind.

Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono and Audrina Miranda also star. Producers include longtime franchise stewards Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley, with Spielberg and Denis Stewart exec producing.

The first three Jurassic World pics all grossed north of $1 billion globally, and all opened higher than Rebirth domestically (comparisons are complicated by the fact that they were all there-day openings). At the same time, the latest film cost less to produce, or $180 million before marketing. In 2015, Jurassic World opened to a franchise-best $208.8 million, followed by $148 million for 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and $145 million for 2022’s Jurassic World: Dominion, not adjusted for inflation.

The first Jurassic Park, directed by Spielberg, opened to $47 million domestically in early June of 1993, not adjusted for inflation — a huge sum at the time.

Also setting off fireworks at the box office is Brad Pitt’s F1: The Movie, which is now in its second weekend after opening to $57 million domestically, a stellar number for a racing film about Formula One.

From Apple Original Films in partnership with Warner Bros., F1 is safely parked in second place domestically with an estimated $25 million to $26 million for the three days as it crosses the $100 million mark domestically (it has already cleared $200 million globally).

Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s live-action How to Train Your Dragon, Pixar and Disney’s Elio and Sony’s 28 Years Later are expected to round out the top five domestically. Blumhouse and Atomic Monster’s ill-fated M3GAN 2.0 could fall off as much as 68 percent in its second weekend to come in seventh behind Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.

Numbers will be updated Sunday morning.