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What made Smriti insecure?

Smriti has had a problem with every new actor that came on the show. She has had insecurities about everyone from Nandini (Gauri Pradhan), Tanya (Rakshanda Khan) to Mohini (Tasneem Sheikh).

At one point, she refused to come on the sets for four days because she had a scene with Gauri. She said she couldn't play the role of a mother-in-law to someone who is the same age as her.

When Rakshanda's role was extended, she kept arguing with the creative heads about their decision. Smriti was upset over Mohini's entry as well.

When there was talk in the industry about Amar Upadhyay (the former Mihir) coming back, she called me and expressed her anxiety. Mihir's character was always more popular than her in the early days.

Once, Smriti even confessed to me that she was bored playing Tulsi and was on the look out for newer roles.

She asked me to check with the Jassi producers if they wanted her to do a cameo role in the show, since they had lot of guests entering on the show. But nobody wanted her as a lead.

They all were offering her character roles of mother and sister, which she wasn't interested in. I even spoke to Aruna Irani and many leading producers to try and secure her a role, but everyone said the same.

She realised she was playing a role much too old for her age.

Smriti isn't really a nice person…

In real life, Smriti is completely the opposite of her screen role that everyone adores her for.

She is self-centered and will do anything to have her way. She has no friends in the industry, and those who talk to her, do so more out of fear than love.

Every actor on the sets talks about her behind her back, about how much of a liability she has become for them and the serial. There are so many instances where she has tormented poor spot boys and unit members.

This one time, she had a spot boy removed from the unit because he refused to offer her tea. She would ask the writers to make changes in the script according to her whims.

When Ekta found out, she asked me to pass on the message to Smriti that no one was allowed to mess around with the script. It was getting to be too much for everyone.

Smriti's weight problems

Everyone has been talking about how fat she looks these days. She has tried hard to reduce, but is unable to. Her excuse for not doing anything about her weight is that the character she is playing needs to look obese — which is completely ridiculous.

My relationship with Ekta...

She has always been a great support. Apart from boosting my morale, she has always appreciated my work and praised it. I guess she has her own reasons for not commenting on the whole issue. I wouldn't like to drag her into this mess. Because for Ekta Kapoor, Tulsi is more of a need than a friend.

My future plans...

Right now, I am focussing on clearing my name. I am planning to file an FIR against Smriti very soon for breaking the law and getting me arrested. I have been getting lots of offers from various channels, and there is no shortage of work for people who are good at what they do.

tushar.joshi@mid-day.com