Tulsi's return is good news for all. Kyunki saas bhi kabhi viewer thi

India Today

6 days ago

Every night at 10.30 pm, the camera would glide over the grand Virani household, the mansion's golden-hued walls, the women's rustling silk sarees, and, at the centre of it all, with folded hands, Tulsi Virani. Calm, composed, draped in a crisp sari, she stood like a strong compass in a choppy sea of family drama. Would she forgive Mihir again? Expose Payal's latest plan? Banish a scheming bahu with nothing but quiet conviction? Viewers across the country paused their own lives to find out.advertisementThis was Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, not just a TV show, but a nightly ritual that ran from July 3, 2000, to November 6, 2008, across 1,833 episodes. And now, after years of silence, Tulsi, played by Smriti Irani, is returning, and it is good news for everyone.Because what Kyunki offered hasn't really been replaced. There's a big content gap. Love it or hate it, Kyunki had a massive fan following.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi ran for over eight years because it made an emotional investment. Characters were familiar, conflicts were constant but rooted in family, and it gave women, especially homemakers of the time, a sense of visibility and escape.This is not to say that Kyunki and the other K-serials of that time weren't steeped in traditional, often rigid, family structures, ones that rarely gave women the room to simply be, let alone grow. More often than not, they reinforced the idea that a woman's worth lay in her sacrifice, her ability to endure.EKTA KAPOOR ON KYUNKI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI REBOOTKyunki 2 will have to reckon with that legacy for the older viewers, and update itself for a new generation.Ekta Kapoor, the maker of the show, hinted at that when she answered the issue of why Kyunki was returning."Kyunki' is coming back... with an intent to impact, entertain, probe thoughts and, most importantly, to inspire," wrote Kapoor.The shift to thrillers, reality TV, and youth-driven plots left behind a massive audience that never really left; they were just overlooked. Tulsi's return could work if it honours that memory while speaking to today's world. The saas-bahu dynamic hasn't disappeared, it's just changed shape.The need for family drama still runs deep. Loyalty, betrayal, forgiveness: these themes still work. Viewers moved to YouTube, Pakistani and Turkish shows, and reruns. A Kyunki comeback isn't just nostalgia, it's meeting the demand of a content-starved segment.WHEN KYUNKI AND TULSI WORKED FOR INDIAN VIEWERSKyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi worked because it hit Indian television like a cultural thunderstorm, just when the country was ripe for it.Launched in 2000, the show arrived at a moment of deep social and economic churn.India had opened up its economy, cable TV had exploded into middle-class homes, and women were becoming a more visible part of public life. Yet inside those homes, traditional values still held ground.advertisementKyunki offered the perfect blend: a modern format wrapped in a conservative, family-first worldview.Smriti Irani's Tulsi wasn't just a daughter-in-law; her upper-class life was both aspirational and relatable for many.Other K-serials followed suit, riding the same wave of emotionally charged family drama.While Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki explored the quiet strength of Parvati, the ideal daughter-in-law navigating a joint family's power struggles, Kasautii Zindagii Kay turned love and sacrifice into destiny's favourite battleground.BOLLYWOOD WAS UNDERGOING A K-MOVIES ERA OF ITS OWNKyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi came after Hindi movies based on joint families like Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1995) and Hum Saath Saath Hai (1998) became superhits.After Star Plus transitioned to a Hindi channel in 2000, it needed a superhit serial, and followed the Bollywood format.Kyunki came that year on Star Plus. The others followed suit.Bollywood entered its "K" era too. Karan Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), with its designer sarees and grand family feuds, shared the same emotional DNA.Kyunki and K-films of that time pushed one big idea: no matter the conflict, the great Indian family comes first.advertisementThe Indian family still remains there, while shows, even one titled Family Man, lack the family and its bitter-sweet moments.Kyunki's storytelling was over the top, but its questions were relatable.What happens when ambition enters an arranged marriage, when a daughter-in-law chooses conviction over quiet? It mirrored women caught between tradition and change.CHUNK OF INDIAN VIEWERS SWITCHED TO PAK, TURKISH SHOWSYears later, Anupamaa (2020) picked up where the K-serials had left. She wasn't Tulsi. She was a homemaker who didn't ask for respect until life forced her to. But like Kyunki, she put a middle-aged woman's emotional world back at the centre of primetime. The daughters-in-law who once saw Tulsi now saw themselves in Anupamaa, overworked, overlooked, and finally finding a voice.Anupamaa works and is a top-charter because it trusts its audience. Its domination of the charts shows that there is a demand for family dramas.The Kasautii Zindagii Kay reboot missed that mark. Sleeker, shinier, but not quite there. The original had ache, love tangled in sacrifice and fate. The reboot had surface, but lacked substance.As Indian TV drifted into noise, background scores, serpents, and endless plots, viewers switched screens.advertisementPakistani dramas like Humsafar or Zindagi Gulzar Hai brought back intimacy, moral grey, and silence that meant something.Turkish dramas offered scale, lush visuals, strong arcs, and a world where faith, loyalty, and family still held ground."I said let's do this! Let's create a show that's not afraid to raise important questions, that sparks conversations, and stands out in a time dominated by visual gimmicks," wrote Ekta Kapoor.Smriti Irani as Tulsi in Kyunki might become a magnet and help in the diversification of the bouquets being offered by the Indian content industry.FROM TELEVISION TO SMARTPHONE: DID KYUNKI EVER LEAVE?And Kyunki hasn't vanished. It lives on in memes, reels, and pop-culture punchlines.Tulsi's strength, Baa's blessings, Mihir's resurrections, now nostalgic jokes even Gen Z knows "Mihir mar gaya" are internet canon.Can a reboot hold both reverence and ridicule?But then, she won't return to the living room. Her resurrection will be on millions of smartphones.India's content habits have shifted. With cheap data and rising digital access in Tier-2 and -3 cities, the small screen now fits in your hand.Will the new Kyunki stream on YouTube? Drop weekly on Hotstar? Air on TV? Will Gen Z watch it ironically, or sincerely?advertisementKYUNKI THIS MIGHT HELP SMRITI IRANI RECONNECTBefore she made her mark as a politician and became a Lok Sabha MP, Kyunki was the biggest thing that happened to Smriti Irani.She fought hard and beat Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in the Nehru-Gandhi bastion of Amethi. She went on to become a Union minister. Smriti Irani is no longer an MP but is a senior BJP leader and part of several important government committees.But there is also a part of Irani that extends beyond politics, and she might find Kyunki useful in reconnecting with it.Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma uses the guitar. Late Congress leader and Union minister Ajit Kumar Panja used the stage to reconnect.KYUNKI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI: LIMITED SERIES, UNLIMITED IMPACT?An active politician, Smriti Irani cannot devote all the time to shoots. Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is, therefore, returning as a limited series.However, there will also be the undeniable shadow of her political journey on Tulsi.Audiences have seen her evolve from a righteous bahu to a Union Cabinet minister. Will she be a more assertive protagonist or a more softened return to emotional storytelling?Tulsi had an imprint on Irani, at least during her initial years as a politician. The politician might leave an imprint on Tulsi now.If the makers get it right, Tulsi might just become timeless. After all, Kyunki's broadcaster, Star Plus, says, "Rishta wahi, soch nayi" (the relationship stays the same, but the thinking evolves). And the return of Kyunki and Tulsi Virani might be a good news for all.- EndsMust Watch