Days after TV star and BJP leader Smriti Irani said there was a set in place to shoot the part two of her superhit serial Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi back in 2014, show's producer Ekta Kapoor on Thursday rejected the actor's claims in a social media post, which she deleted hours later.
Ekta Kapoor, who is also Smriti Irani's close friend, in an Instagram Story said, no Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi was planned in 2014.
What Happened
During a recent conversation with Barkha Dutt and Karan Johar on an episode of We The Women, Smriti Irani said she "walked away" from the reboot of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi in 2014.
While there was a contract and the set was also ready, Smriti Irani said she didn't take up the project as she received a call from the Prime Minister's Office to take an oath as a cabinet minister in the Narendra Modi-led government. She later served as the Union Minister for Human Resource Development from 2014 to 2016.
"If you look at the Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi journey in totality, the most well-kept secret about it was I had a contract to do it again in 2014, and I walked away from it because I had to serve in the Indian Parliament as a cabinet minister. The set was ready, but there was a phone call from the Prime Minister's office saying that you have to take an oath," she said.
Smriti Irani also spoke about an opportunity she had turned down at the time. "I remember Rishi Kapoor telling me to leave now because to serve your country is a greater service than just doing a movie or doing television," Irani added.
On Thursday, Ekta Kapoor -- who backed Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi under her banner Balaji Telefilms -- on her Instagram Story shared a screenshot from Smriti Irani's conversation in the We The Women episode, bearing the text "I Refused Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi In 2014".
Screenshot of Ekta Kapoor's now-deleted Instagram Story
The producer captioned her post as, "When????!! 2014 no Kyunki was planned! Unless there was a set I and the channel ain't know about (sic)"
This post no longer appears on Ekta Kapoor's Instagram Story.
In A Nutshell
Smriti Irani recently said she refused to star in the reboot of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi back in 2014 as she received a call from the Prime Minister's Office to take an oath as a cabinet minister. Days later, the show's producer and her friend Ekta Kapoor questioned her claims in an Instagram Story, saying the follow-up show wasn't planned at the time. The producer later deleted the post from her Instagram Story.
Both Smriti Irani, who starred the main protagonist Tulsi Virani in the show, and Ekta Kapoor's comments come in the run-up to the shooting of the Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi revival.
Amar Upadhyay, who will reprise his role of Tulsi's husband Mihir Virani in the new series, recently revealed that the show's premiere has been postponed.
Also Read | Smriti Irani To Amar Upadhyay During Their Recent Meet At Ekta Kapoor's House: "Tu Buddha Kab Hoga?"
