Tulsi to quit Kyunki?

Smriti Z Iraani wanted to leave because her new show with Balaji, where she would be younger, wasn't happening
Shaheen Parkar and Upala KBR
shaheen@mid-day.com
upala@mid-day.com

Is Smriti Z Iraani rethinking being a part of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi? Yes, say the tattlers.
According to sources, Smriti has been openly voicing her displeasure. She is nothappy with her current track in Kyunki, post the second generation leap. Soon, the small screen's Tulsi will graduate to being Ba. Smriti is peeved about being out-of-place and the non-happening of her new show with Balaji.
Pehli khabar
The first buzz that something was amiss was heard from London last weekend. Smriti, who was on a tour of England with her Gujarati play Maniben.com, directed by Imtiaz Patel, had been vocal about her problems with the Balaji folks. She even doled out future dates for Maniben.com. This came as a surprise for producers Pranav Tripathi and Kiran Bhatt, as for Smriti the first priority was always Tulsi.
The crux of the problem is that Smriti had agreed to play a matriarch only on the condition that she would play a young woman in Ekta's new show, Thoda Sa Aasmaan (working title), which had Smriti as co-producer and Kamlesh Pandey as writer. The show is slated for Star Plus.
Says the source, "Smriti was taken aback when she realised her new show was not happening. Meanwhile, the Kyunki fast-forward had already happened. Unhappy about her portrayal, there was also plagued by a bad back. Despite the pain, she had shot for the outdoor shoot of Kyunki in Haridwar. Smriti had done all this on Ekta's word. She now feels cheated."
Ekta remained unavailable for comment. When asked, Smriti says, "I have justreturned from London, a day ago. Let me bask in the glory of my play, Maniben.com. I would not want to say anything on Kyunki. Any statement about it would be a joint statement from Balaji and me."
Throwing tantrums
Sources in Balaji dismiss Smriti's threats to quit, as a mere display of tantrums due to insecurity. Said a source, "Smriti has no reason to feel cheated. It's nothing but insecurity on her part — partly to do with the new show and partly because of Bani's (Prachi Desai) rising popularity in the Zee show, Kasamh Se. In fact, she's known today as the young Tulsi of Zee and the TRPs of that show are touching 12-14. When Tulsi left on her shows abroad, she thought that the TRPs of Kyunki would fall because of her absence. But that hasn't happened. Ba, Saahil, Ganga, Karan and Mihir are equally important."
So, did Smriti really threaten to quit Kyunki? "Yes, she did. It all started last week when Smriti thought her new show wasn't happening. She didn't want to do it directly, so she made her theatre producer send text messages to people saying that she would be quitting as she had extended her shows for a month. Smriti even called up Shobhaji, Ekta's mother, and told her that she was leaving. So Shobhaji said 'fine'. But Smriti got a shock when she reached Mumbai and discovered that Star had already announced the telecast date of her new show — August 12."
Panic attack
What did Smriti do then? "She had a panic attack as she knows she is nothingwithout Tulsi. She rushed to meet Ekta and Shobhaji. She panicked even more when Shobhaji told her that the creative team had worked out how Tulsi could be faded out. Then Tulsi met Shobhaji and promised her that she would continue."
As for Smriti being unhappy about the leap, the source says, "What rubbish! How long has she shot for it to feel uncomfortable about it? Three days in one-and-a-half months! She was very busy with her shows in South Africa so she allotted us four days in Haridwar but because of her back problem could shoot only for two days."
The source adds disgustedly, "Ekta's disillusioned. Ronit Roy threatened to walk out under the guise of paternity leave and now he's working quietly. They go to the media thinking they can wheedle out stuff from production houses like this, but in reality TV stars are the most silly, complex and insecure lot."