Queen of telly

Queen of telly

She started off with a svelte figure, morphed into a housewife, allowed chubbiness to coat her and today, she is looking different as she prepares for her next serial Thodaa Si Zameen, Thodaa Sa Asmaan. Smriti Irani was recently in town and faced questions fired from all directions. She answered them coolly and promised to give the television audience a never-before-seen Smriti Irani.
Not only does she star in the serial, she is also co-producing it. "Nothing is as difficult as it seems. When I was pregnant, I was at the peak of my career. After having the child, success continued. I will give up anything if I am bored. It's important for my interest to be kept alive.
For me it's important how a job is executed. When I lead a team, I put in my best. This is what makes me different from others," she says.
Speaking of her being a co-producer, Irani says, "The make-up man has an ego and so does an actor. At times actors throw tantrums. It's the producer's job to maintain cool on the sets. When crisis comes knocking at my door, I have to tackle it. After all, every serial is a venture and proper execution is all that matters for a serial to be a hit."
Star Plus will air Thodi Si Zameen, Thodaa Sa Aasmaan on 19 August at 10.30 p.m. Irani plays Uma didi. Uma is a 27-year-old dutiful daughter and sister, multitasking to run the family ever since the mill has closed down. Uma's father and brother have also been out of work since the strike. Uma constantly tries to motivate her basti people to train themselves to conform to the various roles in the running of a mall because that is what is to become of their mill. Uma's god-fearing mother hopes to see her two daughters married soon.
The serial will definitely be different from the cliched saas-bahu affairs on television. "After all Kamlesh Pandey, the acclaimed writer behind Bollywood's blockbuster movies Rang De Basanti and Tezaab, is associated with it. Since we both work on the same wavelength, a serial with a difference is at hand."
And what about Tulsi, the most famous character she ever essayed? "Initially, when I walked down roads, I was known as Tulsi. When I went to the American visa officer, the people around him had a jaw-dropped look when I mentioned my name. Today, I am referred to with my name. Now, they keep the reference of Tulsi alive. But I have moved on and have taken on countless roles in the past few years."
For sometime, the media was not kind to her burgeoning waistline. She has ignored nonsensical talks and has moved ahead. "Your look or waist size should not matter. In India men are allowed to be haggard and this is not a problem! What about women? I want to be judged as an actor."
Moving back in time, her father was not happy when she decided to join the television industry as actor. "He looked down on the field as one for duds. He said 'you are good at academics. So, why are you taking up acting?' Down the road, I turned out to be a success story in the industry."
She is also a mature actor on stage who hates rehearsals. She has to her credit two popular projects ~ Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahein and Maniben.com. "Everybody was scared when I first acted. But everything turned out great. I get a kick out of scaring people. These two projects helped me to gain confidence."
Thodi Si Zameen Thodaa Sa Aasman, is a refreshing story with an interesting line-up of seasoned actors ~ Harsh Chhaya, Vidya Sinha, Pawan Shankar, Jaya Bhattacharya and Sanjeet Bedi to name a few. Produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor, the show is co-produced by Smriti Irani.
So far the storyline for 52 episodes is ready. Besides this serial, Irani is working on two other theatre scripts and two more for television.
n Mathures Paul