Veteran actor Apara Mehta, who played the role of Savita Mansukh Virani in the iconic television serial Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, agrees with her co-star Smriti Irani’s recent claims of being called to shoot on the sets of their show, hours after her miscarriage, and reasons that this happened because “TV shows don’t have a bank and telecast copy has to be sent.”
Mehta reveals that Smriti Irani was shooting at the time of birth of both of her children Zohr and Zoish Irani. She tells us, “I know that she was shooting with us upto the previous day of Zohr’s (Irani, Smriti Irani’s elder son) birth and came back on the fourth day to shoot, because kya hi karein? In fact, both the times, when her daughter Zoish was also born, she came back to work.”
She says that is is not just about Smriti, but every actor has to keep their personal life aside, when they are working on a daily soap, and adds, “Whenever any of us fell sick or anything, they came to our places, put on a little bit of makeup, put a wall at the back, and we have shot.”
Smriti Irani, who played the main lead Tulsi Virani, recently claimed that she got a call from the Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi team, asking her to return to work despite telling them that she wasn’t well and had a miscarriage. “I know Smriti spoke about the miscarriage. By the time this happened, my character was already dead on the show, but I know it for a fact ki use aana bhi pada hoga and karna bhi pada hoga,” says Mehta on the matter.
{{/usCountry}}Smriti Irani, who played the main lead Tulsi Virani, recently claimed that she got a call from the Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi team, asking her to return to work despite telling them that she wasn’t well and had a miscarriage. “I know Smriti spoke about the miscarriage. By the time this happened, my character was already dead on the show, but I know it for a fact ki use aana bhi pada hoga and karna bhi pada hoga,” says Mehta on the matter.
{{/usCountry}}Sharing that working in the TV industry is difficult and requires commitment, the veteran actor states that a single indicidual cannot be blamed for this. “There is a requirement of commitment in this industry, but you have gone through something personal also, so it is a difficult life to be in TV. The whole chain goes up in such a manner, that you can’t blame one person - the actor, production house, or the makers, because it is a very long chain and a vicious circle. The scripts and story tracks have to be decided, and if something does not work then it has to be changed, so you have to churn out and send the telecast copy.”
Mehta also reasons that there is no bank of episodes ready for telecast, to give actors any leverage. “TV requires a lot of dedication from actors, beyond everything, and that is how it works. No show had a bank during that time. It is slightly better these days, as there is sometimes a bank of 2-3 episodes. The telecast has to go, come what may. We have all gone through different ups and downs in our lives, yet we have shot and the telecast copy has gone,” Mehta wraps up.