Mumbai: Actress-turned-politician Smriti Irani and her show ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ reboot is winning hearts, just like it did 25 years ago.
Tulsi Virani (played by Smriti), the favourite bahu of television viewers, recently opened up on the comparisons between her show and Rupali Ganguly-starrer ‘Anupamaa’ and said she doesn’t see the new show as a competition.
“I don’t (look at them as competition)… So when somebody gets to number 30 in terms of TRPs, then you can be our competition, right? We were there 25 years ago. If you have the capacity to be remembered for 25 years, then we will talk about competition,” Smriti told India Today when asked how she feels about being pitted against Rupali.
Known for her straightforward talk, Smriti reminded, “If you have been a three-time MP, a cabinet minister for a decade, a BJP person for 25 years — if you want to compete, you have to be fair to everybody in the so-called competitive sphere. Do you measure up on all these standards? Then compete. You can’t have somebody who’s just started something and say, ‘Compete with Smriti Irani.’”
Reflecting on lasting legacy of ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’, Smriti stated, “So the competition or even referring to such a competition is unfair, because you’ll never get to 30. And you’ll never be consistently number one for eight years, which we were. The fact that we’ve had competitive mediums, and yet managed to come back after 25 years — that’s remarkable.”
“Today, it’s not as if I am acting or conveying a story only on television. I have both. So if I look at the reference numbers on OTT, which is a very hard market to crack, it is so complex. So, for a show that is so-called old school to resonate so loudly on OTT, that speaks volumes,” she added.
Crediting Ekta Kapoor for creating a television legend, Smriti said, “So I mean, am I competing with anybody at the Stock Exchange? So [all these competition talks], I think it’s foolhardy.”
‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ airs on Star Plus and also streams on JioHotstar.
