Smriti Irani confirms she’s TV’s highest paid actor with Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2 amid claims she’s earning Rs 14 lakh per episode, surpasses Anupamaa’s Rupali Ganguly

Smriti Irani recently confirmed without hesitation that in today’s date she is the highest paid actor on TV. In an interview with CNN-News18, when Smriti was asked about her journey from a struggling actress who landed the role of Tulsi in 2000 to becoming television’s top earner, she smiled and said, “Yes, I see the glee on your face.”

 

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Smriti Irani also added that why such remuneration is justified for professionals who consistently deliver and said, “You also set that benchmark as a professional to say that if you deliver on numbers and revenue, why not? Because not everybody who’s watching us knows we get to negotiate our contracts as employees. I’m a part of a union, so the first thing I do is actually have my union number registered. We all are part of a larger organisation and flow of work. For one person to stand up and say listen, not only pay parity, I beat the boys and the girls and how much I make that is a lot of hard work.”

The actor went on to add, “Are you truly the star or do you have the professional capacity to make stars around you? I think that I have actually, mercifully, had the capacity of making stars out of others who are with me. If there is a Tulsi, then Amar Upadhyay quintessentially creates his own market. So do you become that pivot, that sounding board, that other actors then can enhance their economic value? That I have managed to do through the project, so my co-stars today can say, ‘Oh, we are a part of that.'”

Smriti Irani is well aware that such influence comes with responsibility and added, “There is a presumption that you have to be damn good at your job if you are a part of that show. And obviously, that means there’s a lot of economic benefit they get.”

The veteran actor, who is also a politician, shared that how younger stars see her. “What is extremely satisfying for me is the fact that many of them discuss politics, they want to know how Parliament works. Amar (Upadhyay) is the one that has spoken about it, I spoke about it,” added Smriti.