Actress and MHRD minister Smriti Irani, who entered politics after ruling the TV for many years, is returning to the small screen once again. She will be seen in the second season of Ekta Kapoor’s show in which she got stardom as Tulsi Virani. But recently, she has described ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ as a ‘side project’. She also said that she is a politician first and then a part-time actress.

Smriti Irani

Let us tell you that recently Smriti Irani said, ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is a side project. For most consumers, this project is not a person. It is always a group of actors who come together. A group of writers comes together. I am the most popular face among them, but I am a full-fledged politician and a part-time actor. Like many politicians are part-time lawyers, part-time teachers, or part-time journalists. I am just doing all this together, which is difficult to understand. I am just going to be in the spotlight.’

Smriti Irani

Smriti Irani further said about the criticism, ‘It does not matter, because criticism is not constructive or informed. The show talked about marital rape 25 years ago. The show talked about adult literacy 25 years ago. The show talked about euthanasia 25 years ago. Those were issues that mainstream cinema had not even touched, and we did it commercially in a TV slot that was meant for family viewing’.

Smriti Irani

Smriti Irani further said, ‘One needs to understand that for 25 years there was no such thing as pay parity. We brought pay parity, where one’s talent or gender does not decide how much one gets paid. Ekta Kapoor was given the 10:30 slot, which was a dead slot, and we created prime time.’ Talking about her feelings about returning to the screen, Smriti said, ‘Working for 25 years at the age of 49, not only in media, but also in politics… it is a matter of good fortune, because in the history of our country, with the blessings of God, no one has ever been able to succeed in both these competitive fields’.