AAfter quitting acting to venture into politics, Smriti Irani is making her screen comeback with the very TV show that made her a household name 25 years ago — Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (KSBKBT). The actor-politician tells us that the reboot aims to reconnect with the loyal audience that made the show iconic.

“The idea is to give back to viewers who made it historic, to reconnect with that emotion. We have been through so much in our individual journeys in 25 years. How will that reflect in the creation and the relationships that are lived through the story? I look forward to this as a creative person,” she shares.

KSBKBT is a landmark in Indian pop culture and TV history, but Smriti stresses the need to look beyond its legacy and past viewership metrics for the reboot. “I’m not in the project because I want to revisit that bar. We were at 31 in terms of TRP, and I don’t think anybody is getting to that standard. For us, it’s [a case of] ‘been there, done that’,” she explains.

The reboot’s first look and promo blended nostalgia with anticipation, and sparked major online buzz, which doesn’t surprise the 49-year-old: “The promo’s impact had people asking me even in Delhi, ‘How did the channel know what the audience wants, and how did this come out in the first promo itself?’ The promo is at the crossroads of real and reel life — it’s an indication that the makers are changing the landscape.”

She praises producer Ektaa R Kapoor for making a female protagonist the focus at a time when it was uncommon. “It was a difficult decision, but then to make it [the character] centre stage for consumption and have many producers and creators follow suit is nothing less than historic, and that too for a female producer,” she says.

KSBKBT has been labelled regressive, but Smriti defends it, highlighting how Ektaa challenged gender norms by ensuring pay parity and supportive work conditions for women. She says, “In today’s times, conversations in the professional world are about pay parity and better work conditions for women. We took care of this 25 years ago. It did not matter what my gender was, but what I delivered as an actor.”

Smriti also emphasizes that KSBKBT addressed important issues progressively. She says, “Things that are discussed today about what the show stood for were not highlighted back then. In hindsight, we stood for things that were not a part of the popular medium. We did it with elan and without being preachy,” she signs off.