| After excelling in acting and playing her part in politics, our beloved bahu Smriti Iraani can be now called 'producer' as she steps into the world of production  | | Smriti Iraani in her TV serial Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan | She is nursing a migraine attack, a shawl draped around her. As Smriti Iraani sips on black tea, her husband, Zubin, "babysits her," as she puts it on the sets of her production Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan.
Her schedule is choc-a-block as she juggles shooting for her three serials including two of her own productions – Thodi Si… and the recently started Viruddh on Sony.
The day we meet her, a tabloid carries an audience poll for Viruddh. Fortunately for her, it's a thumbs-up for her story set in a media baron's house. If her heart is doing somersaults, then she underplays it, saying, "Audience appreciation always feels good.
It only means they have trust in our product." Is it a high, considering it's only her second production (her collaboration with Applause Entertainment, best known as the makers of the film Black)? "Well, I never felt a high even when Tulsi became popular and a household name," she claims.
The topic of conversation seems to have a soothing effect on her as she excitedly tells us how her script (the concept is hers) has spurred on veterans like Vikram Gokhale, Usha Nadkarni, Achint Kaur and Sushant Singh to give their all.
"It's like the show is theirs, and they have taken it upon themselves to go that extra mile to make it work. For me, that's a high. I love it when my colleagues are satisfied. When for them, it's not just about collecting their pay cheque but enjoying the process.
"To me, the high is when as a producer I am able to answer all their questions related to the script, the show... because these are actors who know their craft."
While a few TV actors have jumped onto the production bandwagon, it is safe to say that Iraani has already achieved a moderate amount of success.
Not only has she successfully produced plays in Hindi and Gujarati but she has also been able to mount 'unconventional' serials like Thodi Si, set in a chawl, and not candy-coloured cardboard sets and now Viruddh on prime time.
"Production was a natural progression. I have worked as an EP and an AD so it's up my alley.
I love sitting on edits and putting things together, going through story sessions, casting etc. Will I get into direction? I don't think I will get into that. It's not a whim. It's a tough job," she says.
Every time we have met the feisty Viraani bahu, we can't help but wonder 'Is she for real?' Undoubtedly, she's a smart cookie, a journalist's delight. She's also a self-made success story.
At 30-something, in her own words, she is an 'actress, a producer, a wife, a mother, a political party worker and an NGO volunteer'. Little wonder then, she says, "Acting is not the be-all-and-end-all of my life.
Tomorrow if all the fame and success had to go away, I wouldn't mind. I wear many hats, one hat less? No issue at all."
Like if anything that warms her heart it's the idea of making a success out of her marriage and career.
"There are times when Ekta (Kapoor) tells me, 'you have both family and a successful career. What more do you want?' I feel all these things that have happened in my life were meant to be.
My dad always says that it's important to earn your own glory and bask in that light rather than rest on family laurels."
Is she a romantic? When does she put her feet up? "Right now, I have my feet up," she chuckles at her joke.
"Romance and I are poles apart. I am the least romantic person married to the most romantic man. Yeah, I do go on long drives with Zubin at one in the night after shoots."
What do her kids think about her? "They think I am a disciplinarian. And to think of it I am the least disciplined, unkempt person when my kids are not around.
"I do all the things that a regular mother does. Attend my son's PTA meetings, dance with my younger daughter because she is fond of dancing and dance schools wouldn't allow her till she is seven."
Finally, will she do films? Her eyes widen. "Who will give me a role? I don't know. I never say never." May be produce films with Yash Raj?
Now she truly thinks we have lost it. "I still can't bring myself to stand next to Yashji even as he fondly talks to me. And you are talking about making films with him," she trails off.
Knowing Smriti Iraani, she may be actually working towards it in her buzzing mind.
| "Romance and I are poles apart. I am the least romantic person married to the most romantic man. Yeah, I do go on long drives with Zubin at one in the night after shoots." | |
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Anupamaa
