Actor and politician Smriti Irani recently shared a personal experience about being called to work just one day after suffering a miscarriage. According to her account, she showed her medical papers to Ekta Kapoor, the producer of the popular TV show Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. However, one of her co-actors reportedly claimed that Smriti was lying about her health condition. Smriti also worked for the TV series Ramayan, and its director Ravi Chopra advised her to take a break instead of coming to work.
Smriti Irani gained fame by playing the iconic role of Tulsi Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and portraying Devi Lakshmi and Sita in Ramayan. In a recent interview with Neelesh Misra on The Slow Interview, she reflected on a lesson she learned about humanity when she suffered a miscarriage while working. Smriti explained that she had no knowledge of her pregnancy and started feeling unwell while on the set of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. She requested to go home, but ended up working anyway until the evening. After experiencing bleeding on the way to a sonography appointment, she stopped an auto and went to the hospital. Despite her distress, a nurse approached her for an autograph, which she gave before telling the nurse that she believed she was miscarrying.
Smriti noted that it was simpler to rearrange the shooting schedule for Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi as there were many important characters who could fill in. However, Ramayan was centered on her role, so it was not as easy. Smriti recounted receiving a call from the Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi team, who asked her to return to work despite her telling them about her illness and miscarriage.
Smriti was working double shifts, first for Ravi Chopra’s Ramayan and then for Balaji’s show. When she explained her situation to Ravi Chopra, he firmly told her to take a break. Smriti pushed back, stating that she could not be replaced as Sita in the upcoming episode, but Ravi Chopra reassured her that he could manage it. When Smriti informed Ravi Chopra that she would be returning to work for Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, he advised her to use his shift to rest.
The day after she was hospitalized, Smriti resumed work for Ekta Kapoor’s show, only to discover that a co-actor had claimed her miscarriage was not real. She returned with her medical documents to prove otherwise to Ekta, who became uncomfortable and asked her not to show them. Smriti replied that she would have shown the fetus if it had been there. She explained that she had returned to work because she needed to pay the EMI for her house.