Mumbai: Producer Ekta Kapoor is celebrating 20 years of her popular TV show “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi”.
On Friday, Ekta took to Instagram and penned a lengthy note, recalling working on the daily soap, which successfully ran for eight long years.
“20 years today to ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi…!’I remember sitting nervously in front of Sameer sir and Tarun pitching ‘Kyunki…’ to them. Telling them ‘saas-bahu’ drama could work…and that we were willing to do it in 1lac. Then Tarun called my mum and said ‘I’m calling to negotiate’… my mum said ‘No no, we can’t do it in under a lac…’ and he responded saying, ‘Sameer Nair has said we will give you 1.40 lac for it…pls spend on this show!”
“Never has it happened that a channel has negotiated and given more money because they wanted better quality. But that was the conviction and backing the channel gave us. For the first time a daily soap was on prime time and went onto make history, as we know it,” Ekta wrote.
The show revolved around an ideal daughter-in-law Tulsi Virani, the daughter of a pandit, married to the grandson of rich business tycoon Govardhan Virani. The role of the protagonist Tulsi Virani was played by Smriti Irani.
Ekta also shared how people of Gujarat watched the show even when there was an earthquake.
“A show that changed my life. Back then it was touted as India’s ‘soft ambassador’, owing to its popularity and reach across the globe. Thank you to the network for giving us a chance at that time. I remember reading about how when the Gujarat earthquake happened, ppl put their TV sets out and watched Kyunki. There hasn’t been a more humbling moment for me. Thank you for all the love that was sent our way,” she concluded.
Along with it, Ekta posted a video clip of the show’s title track.
