Smriti Irani has been trending on social media since last evening, ever since the makers of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi reboot unveiled their first look. Smriti Irani returns in her iconic role as Tulsi Virani and fans are thrilled as a wave of nostalgia engulfs them.
In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, Smriti Irani opened up on how the television czarina Ekta Kapoor convinced her to return as Tulsi Virani.
Smriti Irani said, "The fact that the OTT platform has 25% of the market, and the channel itself is number 1, more than that as a creator, Ekta is aware. She is now creating something for the contemporary audience, but it has an emotional foundation on which we have to build. I think it's 3-4 elements together that help you conclude and that it will accommodate a full-time politician as a part-time actor."
Smriti Irani further spoke about how the reboot series will suit the audience of the newer generation in terms of relatability, and connecting the way it did 25 years ago.
She said, "The show spoke about marital rape and euthanasia 25 years ago, and those were not issues that were touched by even mainstream cinema. We did it commercially in a television slot which was meant for family viewing and family drama. You need to understand that 25 years ago, there was no pay parity, where your talent decided and not your gender about how much you will be paid. The fact that Ekta was given a 10:30 slot, which was a dead slot, we created prime time. But that was a female producer, so you had a female producer shunted to a 10:30 slot, they thought maybe you know, let's take a chance."
She continued, "And to build from scratch, to create a genre from there, that is something that the network values as much as the producer who has been a part of that journey. But we have to be mindful that the network has changed. There was always a conversation about OTT competing with television. What happens when they are complementing each other? From a creative perspective, this becomes one such example when you don't compete. What happens when you do a cohesive strategy? We broke records in terms of commercial value that we generated."
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi Reboot is set to air on Star Plus, from July 29, 2025, at 10:30 PM.
ALSO READ: "I'm A Part-Time Actor, Full-Time Politician": Smriti Irani Exclusive
