Published 14:53 IST, July 4th 2020
Smriti Irani commemorates 20 years of 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi', shares anecdote
Smriti Irani captioned a clip from the show with a story of her conversation with producer Ekta Kapoor which gave her the confidence to become a household name.
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Smriti Irani penned an emotional note of gratitude for the entire cast of the iconic TV show Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi which clocked in 20 years on July 3. The current Union Minister was once a household name for her portrayal of Tulsi Virani in the primetime show, produced by Balaji Telefilms' Ekta Kapoor. On Friday, Smriti took to Instagram and shared a crucial anecdote from her journey as an actor.
She shared a video of one of her first scenes with late actor Sudha Shivpuri who played Baa (grandmother) in the show and spoke about she had been nervous in facing the camera. She wrote, "20 years ago this was possibly one of my first scenes with Sudha Aunty. I raced through my lines ,nervous as hell coz @ektarkapoor was called to the shooting floor by the director who told her the project was a sure shot flop since the girl cast as Tulsi did not have the talent to see it through. Upon enquiring why I was not unleashing my full potential as an actor I told her “ can I play the character as I deem fit instead of being told how to emote?” I promised her I’d take help of every colleague possible if I felt I can’t measure up alone" (sic).
Smriti went onto thank Ekta Kapoor, who is also one of her closest friends since their collaboration for the show, and acknowledged the contribution of every actor that played a part in Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. She tagged every actor and captioned the post, "EK(Ekta Kapoor) said done and the rest was TV history. Today 2 decades later in absentia I say thank you for the belief @ektarkapoor , thank you @monishasinghkatial for first refusing to cast me & then supporting me all the way. Thank you to the ever-changing Mihir from @amarupadhyay_official to dada @ronitboseroy . To kids like @karishmaktanna @ihansika @masumimewawalla @mounirooy & all those I have not been able to name. To bahus ranging from @gpradhan @shilpa_saklani_official & sons @meetsumeet18 @hitentejwani, Sandeep Baswana... & many more relationships I lived on screen who are friends for life. To @mandirabedi & @jaya.bhattacharya who were the best on-screen villains possibly and absolute sweethearts off-screen. Many more who were a part of the journey .. I cherish every moment & especially am grateful to the viewers who kept our passions alive.#20yearsofkyunkiisaasbhikabhibahuthi 🙏🙏🙏🙏" (sic).
The show was a stepping stone of success for not just Smriti Irani but also Ekta Kapoor and many others who were recognized by their characters in the show. Two months ago, Smriti had reminisced her journey in another post where she spoke about the friends and colleagues that she made during the filming of the show.
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14:53 IST, July 4th 2020