Shooting pain! - Smriti Irani - ARTICLE

Smriti Irani has time and again proved that she is a workaholic. Be it her marriage or the birth of her child, Smriti has reported on the sets whenever required. So, when she had to shoot an all-important sequence for her show Virrudh she reported on the sets in spite of a major eye infection. After shooting the scenes she even went to shoot for her other show Thodisi Zameen, Thodasa Aasmaan.

The scenes were heavy and traumatic where her father in the show Dhirendra Rai Singhania (Vikram Gokhale) attempts to kill her mother Shalini (Zarina Wahab) and Vasudha (Smriti Irani) catches him red-handed... her father is exposed and she is livid.

Says director Santaram Verma says, "Smriti was in bad shape and could hardly even stand. It was difficult to shoot but hats off to Smriti as she had the heart and the courage to go through it. We did a lot of profiles but we also had to shoot frontals. So, I just hurried my shots with the camera moving on her face and then immediately moving on to Zarina Wahab. It was quite visible but due to the techniques and camera angles, we managed to do it."

Zarina Wahab, who was her co-star on the scenes, is in awe of her commitment. She says, "It was very bad and I was very surprised when I came on the sets. Everyone on the sets told her to take rest at least for a day but she wanted to finish the shoot. It was also a very important sequence where it is revealed that I am her mother and her father has come to kill me."

Wahab further says, "I think all the credit should go to the director (Santaram Verma) who shot the scenes effectively and no one can make out that she had such a major eye infection. The only difference in Smriti was that she was quieter than her normal self. She was obviously in a lot of pain. However, I was all the more surprised when I learnt that she had to go on the sets of Thodisi Zameen… to can seven scenes. I am very impressed by her dedication and although I am senior in terms of the years I have spent in the industry, she is definitely more experienced in terms of the work she has done. It is always good to work with committed and dedicated people and Smriti sure is one of them!"