‘i can do without tulsi ’

Your first production was with Star Plus and you remain one of its most popular bahus. Why did you opt for Sony for the debut of your daily soap? Are you leaving Star Plus?

Though I wrote Virrudh’s story a year ago, I was waiting for the right slot and dates from the senior actors I wanted for the project. Sony didn’t shy away from the scale of the project and okayed it within five minutes of hearing the story. That’s why it’s on Sony. I develop channel-centric projects; each is radically different from the last. So while Thodi Si Zameen… was a chawl story, Virrudh is set in a contemporary rich family. About my leaving Star Plus, perhaps the fact that I am still doing two shows with them answers that question.

The creative head of a popular channel, while commending Virrudh, said it caters to a niche elite audience. Does that worry you?

I see TV in transition today. Channels are ready to experiment with different concepts. And I have never shied away from taking chances. My story was accepted on its merit. Some of the best talents in the industry are associated with Virrudh: Swanand Kirkire (music), Raman Kumar, who edited Satya, Kamlesh Pandey is the writer, the sets are by Omung Kumar. I am not worried about my product.

You seem to have wooed back Kamlesh Pandey to TV.

It’s a great opportunity to be able to sit and write with a veteran like Kamlesh Pandey. Though tempers flare occasionally, this is our second partnership (after Thodi Si…) and we seem to be complementing each other creatively.

Tell us about Virrudh’s story.

The story revolves around the idea of fallen idols. We all grow up with different idols; they could be our parents. But what happens if that idol has feet of clay? What happens when you realise that your idol doesn’t measure up to your expectations? That was the take-off track for Virrudh.

Virrudh is perhaps the first serial on small screen to have a newspaper office as backdrop. How do you tackle the media element in your story?

We look at the lives of journalists. How many of the readers actually read a journalist’s name and remember it? And for those who do, it’s just a name. How many know the individual behind that name? We focus on the life behind that byline, the story of the storywriter. However, the media angle is only a part of the story. It’s not the entire story. That revolves around a regular family with the mandatory soap ingredients of jealousy, tears, etc. The characters are better etched and more contemporary. It’s as real as you can get on TV.

How different is Vasudha in Virrudh from the characters you have played so far?

Vasudha is no babe in the woods and I am playing my age for a change. She is a 30-year-old who has opted to remain single but is in love with Sushant Singh’s character. Theirs is a mature romance, guided more by shared ideals than a desire for marriage. How situations compel her to go against the grain of her character and value system is the irony of her story.

Unlike other actresses, you never seem to bother about your looks or weight in spite of frequent jibes by critics.

When I did Kuch Diil Se, it was the first time that an eight months pregnant actor hosted a show and yet the audience accepted me. If my audience accepts me with or without the greasepaint, why should I bother about what the critics say?

Tulsi’s role in Kyunkii… seems to be shrinking. Balaji Telefilms has withdrawn from co-producing your show Thodi Si Zameen… Is everything fine between you and Ekta Kapoor?

Does anybody let go of anything that is good business? Balaji Telefilms parted ways with Thodi Si’s production once the initially stipulated contract period was over. The rest are all rumours.

Is Tulsi no longer indispensable for actor Smriti Iraani?

It never was. Roles come and go; it’s the actor who stays in the end. On March 25, Tulsi completed a seven-year bond with the audience. I have grown while playing Tulsi and the industry has accepted me as an actor. But I won’t be complaining if her track terminates tomorrow. Finally, people know and address me as Smriti today, instead of Tulsi.

Tell us about your hardly-known bond with Shah Rukh Khan.

Fifteen years ago, when I first came to Mumbai, I was a college student still in my teens. I visited the sets of Shah Rukh Khan’s Yes Boss, courtesy a common family contact. I was on holiday, with no experience in acting but Shah Rukh asked me to face the camera for the first time in a minuscule role. Later, when I came to Mumbai again for the Femina Miss India contest, Gauri and Shah Rukh called up Manish Malhotra and asked him to design for me since I knew no one in the glamour or acting business. I can never forget that gesture. Only two people can take the credit for my success in this industry – Shah Rukh and my husband Zubin.