Smriti Irani never shies away from talking about personal and professional struggles. Recently, the actress-turned-politician spoke openly about the challenges she faced during her time on Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and her talk show Kuch Dil Se.
During her appearance on Raj Shamani's podcast, Smriti Irani revealed that she returned to work just three days after giving birth to her son. “My son was three days old when I came back to the set of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Why? Because everyone wanted to watch a new episode daily at 10:30 pm,” she shared.
Smriti Irani also shared that she continued shooting even after a miscarriage. Producer Ravi Chopra gave her a week off during that tough time, but given the daily format of the show, Ektaa Kapoor could not allow leaves. Smriti recalled, “Somebody in the production went and told Ektaa, ‘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, who was one of the highest-paid TV actors at the time, also opened up about being replaced while she was in the hospital after giving birth. She was working on Kuch Dil Se, a daily talk show for SAB TV, and had filmed enough episodes to cover her one-month leave.
“I was working with somebody till the last day of the ninth month. It was a daily talk show, Kuch Dil Se. I was told to record a bank of worth 30 days and come back to work after 30 days,” she said. Despite warnings from her doctors and family, she continued shooting for both shows to repay her home loan faster.
Then came the blow. “I'm in the hospital after giving birth to my baby, and I get a wire: ‘You're fired.' And I'd just shot (for the talk show) a day before. They were just waiting for me to get into the hospital to tell me I'm fired. They'd already made a bank so they could replace me. Their intention was to use my hard work in favour of my replacement,” Smriti said.
Her reaction? Calm. “They hired a film actor for it. Their exhibit was much bigger, they were a bigger name. And the show shut down. It never started again,” the star said
Now, years later, Smriti Irani is all set to appear on the TV screen with the reprised version of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Starting July 29, the show will air on StarPlus. Fans can also catch it on JioHotstar.
