IMAGE: Smriti Irani with Sudha Shivpuri and Apara Mehta, her co-stars from Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Photograph: Kind courtesy Smriti Irani/Instagram
As her popular show Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi gets ready to make a comeback after 25 years on July 29, Smriti Irani opened up about the struggles she faced in her early years as a television actor.
In a chat with Raj Shamani on his podcast, the actor-politician made many revelations, including the fact that she had to return to work just three days after giving birth to her son.
‘My son was just three days old when I went back on the set because people expected a new episode every night at 10.30 pm,’ Smriti said on the podcast.
She said that she even went back to work immediately after suffering a miscarriage.
Although Producer Ravi Chopra gave her the week off, the show’s daily format did not afford her that luxury.
Smriti recalled that someone in the production team even accused her of lying about the miscarriage.
‘Somebody in the production went and told Ektaa (Kapoor, producer), ‘We’re ready to shoot but Smriti Irani isn’t available. She is lying. Nothing has actually happened to her.’ So I had to go back with my hospital reports to prove it actually happened,’ Smriti said.
IMAGE: Smriti Irani. Photograph: Kind courtesy Smriti Irani/Instagram
One of TV’s highest paid actors of the time, Smriti was also working on a talk show called Kuch Dil Se, on SAB TV, during her pregnancy.
She recorded enough episodes to cover a month’s leave and kept filming despite warnings from her doctors and family as she needed to pay off her home loan faster.
But after she gave birth, when she was still in hospital, she received a message that she had been fired.
‘I had just filmed an episode the day before. They waited until I was in hospital to replace me. They used my hard work to help launch someone else,’ Smriti said.
‘They hired a film actor to take over. They had a bigger name. But the show never continued — it shut down,’ she said.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi will stream on Star Plus as well as JioHotstar from July 29.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
