Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 5, 2014)

Rumours have been rife that Ekta Kapoor wants to bring Smriti Iraani back to the small screen with the second installment of Kyunki Saans Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. But Mirror has it that the actress-turned-politician is not returning to television. Not for now at least.

 Smriti, who was last seen on TV in the comedy show Maniben.com 5 years ago, has politely declined to reprise the role of Tulsi Virani, the most talked about bahu on national television in the last decade.

 A source close to the project told this newspaper, “Smriti is very busy with her political career and is not willing to take up any TV projects as of now.”

 The actress joined the Bharatiya Janta Party in 2003 and contested unsuccessfully against Kapil Sibal from the Chandni Chowk constituency in Delhi in the 14th Lok Sabha elections in 2004. And this time, she is contesting against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.

 Added the source, “Every effort is being made to cast as many actors from the first part of Kyunki…. Many of them had become household names; hence it makes sense not to change the original cast. However, few fresh faces will be required as the serial moves ahead in time.”

 And what about Tulsi, the character that held the Virani parivaar together? We hear, Ekta will launch a nationwide hunt to find the new Tulsi.

 Revealed the source, “Certain cities have been chosen by Balaji Telefilms for the auditions, which will begin soon. It’s not going to be an easy task to find Smriti's replacement.

 After a long stint as Tulsi, Smriti had a fallout with Ekta and was replaced by Gautami Kapoor. She made her comeback in May 2008 but things were not the same between the two. It took the ladies three long years to warm up to each other again. The fences were mended when Ekta invited Smriti to her Holi party in 2011.

 This is not the first time that Ekta has launched a nationwide search to cast the female lead for a TV show. Two years ago, she spent 8 months travelling the country and went through 7000 auditions to get Jodha — Indore girl Paridhi Sharma--- for her serial Jodha Akbar.

 Kyunki… Part 2 is expected to go on air in August. Ekta and Smriti remained unavailable for comment.