Smriti Irani is one of the most popular actresses on Indian television. She got famous with one of the longest-running TV shows Kyunki Saas Bhi Bahu Thi. Smriti is still renowned by the name Tulsi, her on-screen character in the show. Recently, Smriti recalled her life while she was working in the television industry. She talked about how she was asked to come back to work a day after she suffered a miscarriage. Smriti shared in the interview that one of her co-stars instigated her Producer and now a close friend Ekta Kapoor against her that she is lying about her miscarriage. During that time, she was also shooting for Ravi Chopra’s Ramayan. Director Ravi Chopra, the maker of Ramayan, asked her not to come to work and take a rest.
In an interview with Neelesh Mishra, the former actress revealed how she learned a lesson about humanity when she had a miscarriage. Smriti shared that it was easy for Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi makers to reschedule her shift as 50 more actors are working in the show. While Ravi Chopra’s Ramayan had only one Sita, which cannot be changed. She recalled the makers of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi did not give her a break when she needed it, and Ravi Chopra was far more concerned. Talking about the incident, Smriti Irani said,
“I was on the sets of Kyunki, and I told the team that I wasn’t feeling well. I did not know at that time I was pregnant. As I worked 18-20 hours a day, nobody kind of believed that I was unwell. I asked them to take my shots first as I was genuinely unwell, but I kept working. By the time I left, it was already evening. I told my doctor that I am unwell, and he asked me to go to a hospital and get the sonography done. I was in the 4 bungalow market in Mumbai, Zubin was out of the country, and Zohr, my son, was at home. It was raining, and I started bleeding, so I asked the auto driver to take me to a local clinic in Lokhandwala. When I reached there, a nurse came running to ask for an autograph. I was bleeding, but I signed her autograph. I asked her, ‘admit kar loge, I think I am miscarrying.’ I called my place and arranged for someone to stay with my son Zohr as I was in the hospital.”
Smriti recalled that later in the night, she got a call from the production team of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. They asked her to resume the shoot the next day. She narrated,
“I said I told you I had a miscarriage, I was bleeding.” The person on the call replied, ‘Koi nahi, 2 baje ki shift mein aa jaiye’ (No problem, resume by 2 pm shift).”
Smriti Irani shared that she worked double shifts. In the first half, she shoots for Ravi Chopra’s Ramayan from 7 AM, and in the second half, for Ekta Kapoor’s Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi around 2 PM. Smriti shared that she called Ravi Chopra to inform him about her miscarriage, and he asked her to take rest. She shared that she called to tell him that she would not be able to join by 7 AM and could reach by 8 AM as she had to go home and then come for the shoot. Smriti said she would never forget what Ravi Chopra told her. She shared,
“Ravi ji told me tumhara dimag kharab hai, (Are you mad)? Do you know how it feels to lose a child, you have just gone through that. Kal aane ki zaroorat nahi (No need to come tomorrow). I insisted and said, ‘Ravi ji Sunday ka episode hai, Sita replace nahi ho sakti (Ravi Ji, it is Sunday’s episode, you can’t shoot in my absence). He said, ‘Main kar lunga (I will manage).”
She informed Ravi Chopra that she would anyways be working in the afternoon for Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Smriti shared,
“I informed him that I am going there at 2 pm else I will get fired. He replied to me, saying “Unka pata nahi, mujhe mera pata hai, agar wahan jaana hai at 2 pm, toh use my shift to sleep. (I don’t know about them, don’t trouble yourself to come to my set. If you have to go there at 2, use my shift to sleep). I knew that person needed me.”
When Smriti returned to the sets of Kyunki, one of her co-actors instigated Ekta Kapoor against her and told Ekta that she was lying about her miscarriage. Smriti said,
“The person said arre iska kya baccha waccha marta hai toh kya aata hai kya koi set par. That person did not realize that I had come back to the sets to work as I had responsibilities. This was in 2001, I needed money to pay EMIs for my house. I completed the shoot for that day, and the next day, I took all my medical papers and reached to meet Ekta to inform her it is not a drama. She got uncomfortable and told me not to show the papers. I told her, “If you have believed even a bit of her, then this is the proof. Foetus bacha nahi, warna woh bhi dikha deti (I would have shown you the foetus also had it been there).”
Smriti Irani associated with the show for seven years. In 2007, she quit the show after a rumored fallout between her and Ekta Kapoor. However, they patched up later and are close friends today.
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