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Tulsi ban gayi filmstar now
Smriti Irani moves to cinema, signs two regional films; might step into Bollywood soon
Kunal M Shah
Smriti Irani, best known for her role as Tulsi Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, is all set to make her big screen debut in not one but two films. Although talks are also on for a Hindi film, Irani has already signed a Bengali and a Gujarati movie.
Irani confirms the news and tells us that the Bengali film will be produced by Jayanti Roy, her mother's friend. She informs, "She (Jayanti) and her husband Dilip (who is to direct the movie) told me that they wouldn't go ahead with the making if I refuse to act in it."
Irani further adds that the role she is to play will be completely different from the characters she has been known for.
"I play a girl who isn't confident because she is handicapped. She's never had a love life and is jealous of her sister who leads a happy and normal life. This is very different from Tulsi who comes across as self-assured and poised. It's a very complex character and the script is fantastic. There was no way I could have turned the offer down. And because my mother-tongue is Bengali, I don't think I'd have problems with the dialogues," she says.
However unlike her serious Bengali film, the Gujarati venture will be a light-hearted 'out and out comedy'. Speaking of the film she says, "A group of some very talented Gujarati people are coming together to make this film. Rest of the details will be worked on, once I go to Gujarat in January for the premiere of my play maniben.com."
As for her career on stage, Irani's first theatrical production Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahen has just hit a silver jubilee in record time. Of course, she is happy about that. But what excites her most is the fact that she has been accepted in what she calls her 'non-sari' avatar. "I have done shows in the smallest of the towns to metropolitan cities and thankfully the play has worked everywhere," she quips.
For Irani who was curious to see if her audience accepts her in diverse roles, the success of the play came as a great relief.
She confides, "It feels really good. And now that my daughter Zoish will soon join school, I will have more time on my hands. Earlier both my kids were small and I did not want to leave Kyunki... because that would have caused a lot of tensions in the Balaji camp. Besides, acting was earlier a compulsion; now it's a hobby. And if I am getting interesting offers, why shouldnt I do it? I think I am blessed that I have the opportunity to do so many different things at the same time."
But does this mean that politics will take a back seat? "Certainly not, she retorts, I have just returned from my rally in Orissa. When I travel, my office travels with me."
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