New Delhi: Most of the millennials have grown up watching daily soaps during the 90s. So, when the Indian television industry was on a boom during that time and early 2000s, there was a tsunami of daily soaps keeping viewers busy throughout the afternoon and then later at dinner time. It was during that period, we saw the rise of Smriti Irani aka Tulsi Virani of Ekta Kapoor's Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi backed by Balaji Telefilms.
SMRITI IRANI'S MISS INDIA STINT
Smriti Irani's illustrious television career began long back but much before that she also participated in the Miss India beauty pageant 25 years back in 1998. She looked stunning in a tangerine sleeveless top and mini skirt while walking the ramp with elan. She was one of the participants who couldn't reach the top 9, along with TV actress Gauri Pradhan Tejwani. In the same year, she featured in the song 'Boliyan' of the album 'Saawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag' with Mika Singh.
SMRITI IRANI'S TV CAREER
Smriti Irani won a million hearts as Tulsi Virani in Ekta Kapoor backed Balaji Telefilms' Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. In 2000, Smriti Irani made her début with TV series Aatish and Hum Hain Kal Aaj Aur Kal. She also starred in the Kavita serial on DD Metro. But it was Balaji Telefilms' Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi by Ekta Kapoor which earned her massive stardom. She holds the record of winning five consecutive Indian Television Academy Awards for Best Actress - Popular, and four Indian Telly Awards.
In one of her recent interviews with Neelesh Misra on 'The Slow Interview', Smriti Irani became nostalgic about her initial days of struggle in the TV industry. She said, "You don't even look like a star, you look more like a technician with that kind of lifestyle. I used to get Rs 1800, per day. When Zubin and I got married we barely had '‚¹30,000. I remember my makeup man was embarrassed and he used to say, 'gaadi toh lelo mujhe sharam aati hai mai gaadi pe aata hu aur Tulsi bhabhi auto mein aa rahi hai."
FROM TULSI VIRANI TO BJP LEADER
She joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2003. She became the vice president of the Maharashtra Youth Wing in 2004. Smriti is an MP from the Amethi constituency and won the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 by defeating Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
