New Delhi: Seventeen years after it first became a pop culture phenomenon, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is returning for a second season. Former education minister Smriti Irani and Amar Upadhyay are set to reprise their iconic roles as Tulsi and Mihir Virani in the new season beginning 3 July.
“I got the call 2-3 months back, and initially I did not believe it. But the person on the other end is Ekta Kapoor’s right hand man. So I figured this must actually be happening. My first question was, ‘Is Smriti (Irani) doing the show too?” Upadhyhay told ThePrint.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi was produced by Ekta Kapoor under Balaji Telefilms. The show, about a Gujarati joint family — with its share of struggles, fights, plot twists and generation leaps — aired from 3 July 2000 to 6 November 2008, spanning over 1,800 episodes. At one point, it even had higher TRPs than the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, hosted by Amitabh Bachchan and broadcast on Star Plus. The latest version, however, is slated for a finite run of 150 episodes.
“The story justifies the return of each character and how their relationships have evolved. The love between Mihir and Tulsi has matured. We’ve all grown as people and actors, and that shows in the story. Each episode has been written with a lot of care,” said the actor, adding that the production design and plot have been updated to suit contemporary times.
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Falling TRPs
During its initial run, Upadhyay had left the show midway to pursue a career in film and was replaced by Inder Kumar, and later Ronit Roy. However, Upadhyay’s popularity as Mihir Virani was never replicated by the other two actors. After the character of Mihir was killed off in a plot twist on 8 February 2001, people even protested, demanding that he be brought back to life. Balaji Telefilms complied, and the TRP of the episode in which he returned hit 22.4.
Such was the craze of the character that the purple kurta often worn by Mihir was sold as ‘Mihir kurta’. With the new season, most of the original cast members, including Hiten Tejwani, Gauri Pradhan, and Shakti Anand, are also returning.
“Parents have shared how they cried when my character was killed off, and their kids, who would be Gen Z, have watched re-runs of the show. So there is excitement [about the new season] in everyone,” said Upadhyay.
The actor, however, admitted that satellite TV has changed drastically, and even a TRP of 2 is challenging now. “You cannot take away from the fact that everyone is hooked to their phones and watching reels. The attention span is low. But it is also true that good content always finds a place, and length or duration does not matter. Look at Chhava and Stree 2 becoming hits, and everyone loved Paatal Lok season 2,” said the actor.
Television shows are still popular in small towns, evident in the success of Anupamaa. The show stars Rupali Ganguli and has been on air for almost five years. But recently, it has been recording poor TRPs. The Hindi remake of the Bengali show Sreemoyee airs on Star Plus, and has crossed more than 1,600 episodes.
Upadhyay, however, is upbeat about Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi season 2. “The show might bring back the experience of the whole family watching television shows together,” said the actor.
(Edited by Prashant)