Kyunki Smriti bhi kabhi bahu thi: chronicling the journey from being prime time queen to a cabinet minister

In the late 90s, when viewership of Indian soap operas were at its lowest ebb, in came a formidable newbie actress whose role as the quintessential Indian bahu rewrote television history forever. Smriti Irani aka Tulsi of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (Balaji Telefilms)succeeded in galvanising the entire women folk of the nation, keeping them glued to television during prime time. Such was her pull that women rejoiced when Tulsi showered her unbridled love on her family and wept when she portrayed deep angst onscreen. The serial was so ingrained in Indian women's daily consciousness that it soon found itself a worthy mention in the popular culture textbooks. Now almost more than a decade later, India's all-time favourite bahu faces a new challenge as she readies herself to face political battle lights instead of television's arc lights. Whether she will succeed in doing an encore of her stupendous television journey is something that only time will foretell. What's fascinating though is her incredible life journey that saw her transforming from a beauty queen to becoming the youngest cabinet minister in the new Modi-led government. The struggle period Born in a Punjabi-Bengali family, Smriti started working when she was just 15. Like every other tinsel town aspirant bereft of a Godfather, Smriti too did her share of menial jobs just to survive in the maximum city. So from cleaning floors at McDonalds to earning Rs. 200 for marketing a beauty product, Smriti has been there and done all that. Smriti's journey to the world of showbiz began when she took part in Miss India way back in 1998. As luck would have it, she couldn't reach the finals of the contest. Not the one to lose heart, Smriti stuck around in the city looking for roles, attending multiple auditions while doing odd jobs just to support herself financially. The rise as India’s No1 Bahu Smriti's television journey began with serials like Aatish and Hum Hain Kal Aaj Kal Aur Kal but that was not enough to bring her into reckoning. But as they say fortune favours the brave, a chance fill up for Neelam Kothari's role in Ooh La La La is what brought her to Ekta Kapoor's notice. Together they stitched an unforgettable partnership which benefited both these women tremendously. While Ekta grew to become the undisputed television Czarina, Smriti became every household's ideal wife, mother and daughter-in-law. Politics beckons Unfortunately Smriti could never replicate her Tulsi like success in any of her subsequent endeavours. After acting and also producing a few shows, Smriti geared up to take charge of a new area - politics. Being a famous celebrity meant that she had an unparalleled national appeal. Playing on that, Smriti took the plunge in 2003 when she joined the BJP. Immediately next year, she unsuccessfully contested against Kapil Sibal from Chandni Chowk. Things started going a bit haywire for Smriti when in 2004 she revolted against Modi by announcing a fast-unto death agitation to force Modi to step down as the CM of Gujarat in the aftermath of Godhra riots. Smriti had then reportedly said, “Nobody in the country would deny the fact that Vajpayee and L K Advani have selflessly served the country for last 50 years and for them to be blamed and pointed out just because Narendrabhai would not leave the seat was something extremely shocking, appalling, quite hurtful honestly...At the end of the day if we show mirror to our own family (party), there is nothing wrong in correcting our own mistakes.” The party distanced itself away from Smriti and asked her in no uncertain terms to take back her statement or face disciplinary action. As they say there are no permanent friends or foes in politics, Smriti was soon back to singing praises about Modi and highlighting his virtues. With that ugly episode behind her back, Smriti charged forward building her reputation in the party on the merit of her excellent oratorical skills. She was a face that electronic news channels loved interviewing for her speeches were often dotted with quotable quotes. Fluent in both English and Hindi, Smriti made even the seasoned anchors on television sweat with her sharp repartees and powerful use of vocabulary. As time moved forward, Smriti was rewarded with senior positions in the party. In 2010, she was made the National Secretary of the party and also appointed as All India President of the BJP Mahila Morcha and in 2011 Smriti was appointed as Member of Parliament from Gujarat to the Rajya Sabha. 2014 general elections While the country was chanting NaMo, Smriti silently faced her litmus test. She chose to contest from a constituency where even angels tread to fear – Amethi, Rahul Gandhi’s backyard. Predictably, no one gave her a chance in hell. With nothing to lose for, Smriti silently went about wooing voters in Amethi and undertook multiple road shows to highlight her campaign. And defying popular notion, the lady came up trumps to give Rahul the toughest fight of his life and a death scare when she almost overtook him in the initial voting counts. Though finally she ended up losing to Rahul, what she won in the bargain was a lot many hearts for having fought the toughest political battle in the nation. For all the toil, sweat and blood invested by her, the reward was indeed sweeter. A Cabinet berth at 38 when just a decade back she was just a nip in the bud in politics is more than a dream come true for Smriti. Will the India’s most loved bahu bring about a transformation that Indian polity desperately needs? There are cynics who have already started ridiculing her lack of education and how it is in grave incongruence to the current ministry that she has been allocated – HRD. But flaying all these naysayers, Smriti has marched ahead with supreme self-confidence, the same kind with which she once hooked on Indian audience worldwide to her saas-bahu melodrama. Will she be able to handle the drama of the Great Indian Politics well? Let’s hope she does. Tellychakkar.com wishes luck and unbound success to the most popular bahu of Indian Television.