Smriti Irani says she had to prove her miscarriage to Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi makers: 'Was fired after giving birth...'

Smriti Irani has always been vocal about the challenges women face, both onscreen and off. In a recent podcast with Raj Shamani, the actor-turned-politician reflected on her difficult experiences during her early television days, especially while working on Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, show that addressed several women-centric issues and also made her one of the highest-paid female stars of that era.

However, Smriti revealed that being a woman came with its own share of hardships. “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 said, adding that she even continued working after suffering a miscarriage.

She explained that while the late producer Ravi Chopra had allowed her a week off, Ekta Kapoor couldn’t afford a break as the show aired daily. “Somebody in the production went and told Ekta, ‘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,” she shared.

 

 

 

 

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Smriti also spoke about another incident while she was hosting Kuch Dil Se, a daily talk show on Sab TV in the early 2000s. She worked until the ninth month of her pregnancy and was asked to pre-record a 30-day content bank before taking a short break. She was simultaneously shooting for both the talk show and the daily soap as she had just purchased a home and needed to pay off EMIs, despite being advised against it by family and doctors.

Then came the shocker. “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 recalled.

Yet, she handled the moment with remarkable grace. “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,” she added with a smile.

Apart from hosting, Smriti had also led the research and scripting for Kuch Dil Se. Now, years later, she is all set to return as Tulsi Virani in the much-awaited reboot of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which premieres on StarPlus and JioHotstar from July 29.