New Delhi: Union Cabinet Minister Smriti Irani who was a popular TV actress before she became a politician recently recalled how she was called back to work just a few hours after she suffered a miscarriage. She became a household name after she played the role of Tulsi in the television show Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. She was a part of the show for seven years before she quit in 2007.
Smriti revealed how she was not feeling well on the sets and had asked the makers to let her go. However, by the time they let her go, it was already evening. “The doctor suggested I go for a sonography. On my way, I started bleeding, and I remember it was raining. I stopped an auto and asked the driver to take me to the hospital. I reached the hospital, a nurse came running to ask for an autograph, while I was bleeding. I gave her the autograph, and asked her, ‘Admit kar loge, I think I am miscarrying’,” Smriti told Neelesh Misra on The Slow Interview.
The actress-turned-politician further revealed how later in the day she received a call from the show’s production asking her to return to work the next day. However, when she informed them about her miscarriage, she was told ‘Koi nahi, 2 baje ki shift mein aa jaiye (No problem, come for the 2 pm shift).’ At that time, Smriti was not only working for Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi but was also playing Sita in Ravi Chopra’s Ramayan. While Ekta’s Balaji had asked Smriti to return to work, Chopra asked her to rest for a day.
“I requested him (Ravi Chopra) if I can come at 8 am for the 7 am shift. I will have to go home once after getting discharged from the hospital. He 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 pushed and said, ‘Ravi ji Sunday ka episode hai, Sita replace nahi ho sakti (It’s Sunday’s episode, you can’t shoot around me)… He said, ‘Main kar lunga (I will manage),” Smriti shared.
Smriti further recalled how one of her Kyuki co-actors had misinformed the producer that her miscarriage was not real. Smriti also revealed how she showed proof of the same to Ekta, who was also left uncomfortable.
“The person didn’t realise that I have returned because I needed money to pay EMIs for my house. The next day, I took all my medical papers to Ekta to tell her it is not a drama. She got uncomfortable and told me not to show the papers. I told her, ‘Foetus bacha nahi, warna woh bhi dikha deti (I would have shown you the foetus also had it been there),” the actress concluded.
