New Delhi: Ektaa Kapoor’s hit daily soap, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, has returned to the television screens with its second season. It stars Smriti Irani as Tulsi Virani and Amar Upadhyay as Mihir Virani. The show has made a comeback with a fresh new story but mostly the same old cast.
Apara Mehta, who played the role of Savita Virani, mother-in-law of Tulsi Virani, has a cameo in the first episode. Now, in an exclusive conversation with News9 Digital, the actress opened up about Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2, shooting with Smriti Irani and how television has changed over the years.
Apara Mehta on Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Apara: Kyunki is always going to remain Kyunki. It’s a show that’s closest to our hearts. It changed the history of Indian television. It became such an important part of our lives—especially our careers.
My character died in a beautiful way on that show. It didn’t feel like the kind of character that could return, so I didn’t think they’d ever call me back. But when I got that call, it felt so good. It was one of the sweetest scenes between me and Smriti. A really beautiful scene.
Over the years, we had gone from being saas-bahu to mother and daughter on the show. And at award functions, I got “Best Mother”—never “Best Mother-in-law.” That’s the kind of journey Savita and Tulsi had. So sweet. So nice.
And when my character dies, I ask her to switch off the ventilator. I say, “I don’t want to live like this.” Those scenes were so powerful. Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi gave us such rich, emotional scenes—it was every actor’s dream. You’d watch a scene and think, “If only I got to perform that.” We got all of those.
Especially Baa, Savita, Tulsi, Mihir—the scenes with these characters were so iconic. Like when I find out about Mandira—I throw Mihir out. I say, “You’ve had enough!” The English media tried to run it down, but looking back now, there must be a reason why everyone wanted a show like Kyunki to return. Because people now feel that those serials were better. They were meant to be family shows.
Q. You’ve been in the industry for so long. What about television today disturbs you? Because you’ve seen the very best of television.
Apara: Last night I was thinking about this. Right now, I’m shooting a really nice web series, so I’m not doing a daily show. But the last daily I did was Anupamaa, just last year. So I’ve gone from one number-one show to another number-one show. It feels like a full circle.
Earlier, during Kyunki, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki, and all those shows, the kind of serials we did back then—those roles were performed by actors from Mumbai. They were either Marathi actors, Gujarati actors, or those who had come from NSD and settled here a long time ago. These were people with a theatre background.
Even the writers were from here. The two main writers of Kyunki—Rajesh Joshi and Vipul Mehta—were both Gujarati. So we had writers and actors rooted in theatre and experience. Marathi actors, Gujarati actors—we never leave theatre. That gives you a strong base.
But later, slowly, things started going downhill. After my character’s death in Kyunki, I went on to do Saat Phere—such a good show.
Q. It reflected the social fabric of our society
Apara: Exactly. Even then people would say, “You’re just showing kitchen politics.” But the truth is—every family has its complexities. When you hold up a mirror, people don’t always like what they see. But we never made it dirty. It was always within the family setup.
If you look at reality—truth is stranger than fiction. The things that actually happen today—if we showed that, people would start questioning the kind of content TV and films show. And then we get blamed for everything.
Q. And Smriti Irani’s return—that too is getting attention. Actor to politician, politician to actor. How do you see her?
Apara: I think she’ll always be both. She’ll always be a politician, and she’ll always be an actor. She’s so talented—so intelligent, so educated. She’s hardworking, focused, smart. She knows so many languages.
We’ve known her since before she joined the BJP. We’ve seen her journey from the beginning.
Q. What do you feel about her as an actor? Has she evolved?
Apara: She just jumped in again—like it was 25 years ago. We did a scene together in just one hour, just like the old days in the 7 a.m. shift. It didn’t feel like anything had changed. We finished it in one take. It was like the last 25 years hadn’t happened at all.
Q. What’s one thing television needs to fix? Because audiences in all sectors are still rooted in their values.
Apara: I really liked Balika Vadhu. What a strong subject—child marriage. Then if you look at Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, the early days—the way relationships unfolded. That was a family drama. Kasautii was a love story. Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki was another family drama.
So until we find a solid foundation for a subject, we won’t get shows like those again. Then came Anupamaa. Casting a middle-aged protagonist—that was a big thing.
When someone is in their mid-40s or nearing 50s, so much has already happened in their life—so much drama. With a younger character, you can show them falling in love, breaking up, falling in love again, marriage, divorce—then what?
But with a woman in middle age, there are so many internal and external battles. Even highly educated women sometimes don’t realise they’ve been silently oppressed. They’ve shrunk without even knowing. They just accept their roles and say, “It’s okay, whatever comes.”
Q. But now society has changed, hasn’t it? You’ve seen so much life and cinema—has our attitude toward women changed?
Apara: In some parts of the country, yes. But in other parts—no. Matriarchal societies do exist, I know that.
Also, I’m a Gujarati from Mumbai. That’s a big privilege. Three generations of my family have lived here. So I didn’t have to face the kinds of things that many women still face.
When I visit Gujarat, I see that women are far ahead. In 2012, I got the chance to campaign for the Vidhan Sabha. Since I’m from Bhavnagar, I was sent to a small village in Saurashtra. The roads were perfect. The houses were well-maintained.
I asked, “Where are the poor farmers?” And they said—in Gujarati—“We’re the ones! You were coming today, so we dressed up.” They were wearing safari suits, their homes had Western toilets, water was regular. At the time, Modiji was CM, so you can imagine how developed Gujarat is today.
Again, I’m privileged. But I see women who have to fight their own families just to step out and work, or to make decisions about marriage—if they want to marry, when, and who. These days, I see it happening a little less, thankfully.
That old mindset—“When are you getting married?”—it’s changing. Remember a senior journalist asked Sania Mirza that question? She answered it so beautifully. Even men get asked this now—“When are you settling down?” “When will you have a baby?” These questions need to stop.
Q. How many years have you spent in Gujarati cinema? Didn’t you also do some activities in Gujarat?
Apara: My Gujarati theatre is still going on. I’ll never give that up. I’ve done one Gujarati film—it was really well received, and I got a lot of appreciation. If something good comes along, I’ll do it.
I’m also doing a really good web show right now. I’ve done four web series. One with Madhavan—it’s on Netflix, Decoupled. I’ve done some nice work in between. And then Anupamaa happened to me.
So when good work like that comes along, you feel, “Yes, this is worth it.”
Q. That clearly shows that age is no bar for a woman artist. I underline the word “woman” because people still expect actresses to stop after a certain age. But the industry itself has changed now, hasn’t it?
Apara: Yes, it has.
But let me tell you something. I used to play mothers, then mothers-in-law, then aunties, and now grandmothers. But when I get offered grandmother roles that are “old mentality,” I turn them down.
I need to be convinced. I ask myself—am I going to enjoy playing this role 12 hours a day? Why keep repeating the same thing again and again?
There has to be a strong protagonist and a strong antagonist. A story needs conflict. If there was no Ravan, would there be a Ramayan?
But it has to be tasteful. It has to be written well.
When they told me about this character, I jumped at it. I knew Raju would write it well. And you won’t believe the feedback I’ve received—people have gone crazy. They’re saying, “Please come back!”
Even though my character died, people are saying, “It’s okay! Dead people come back in serials. Come back as someone else!”
I’m telling them, “But my character died!” And they say, “No, no! It’s fine. Come back!”
When we originally did the serial, we got so much backlash.
Q, You remember the protest? Fans were crying to bring Mihir back!
Apara: Of course I do! Yes.