Soap
queen
Ekta
Kapoor
takes
yet
another
gamble
with
her
long-running
family
drama
on
television
--
Kyunki
Saas
Bhi
Kabhi
Bahu
Thi.
Along
with
a
format
change,
she
has
introduced
a
new
character
in
the
show
to
take
the
story
forward.
Here's
what
she
had
to
say
about
her
serial
strategy.
You
have
got
actor
Ram
Kapoor
to
play
the
role
of
J
R
Thukral,
the
new
character
in
Kyunki.
Is
he
here
because
his
wife
Gautami
is
in
the
show?
See,
we
generally
make
an
outline
of
the
story
for
a
100
episodes
in
advance.
When
we
decided
that
we
would
switch
to
a
different
story
altogether
Thukral's
character
was
born.
All
we
needed
to
do
was
cast
somebody
suitable,
someone
with
a
strong
persona.
I
brainstormed
with
Nivedita
(Creative
Head,
Balaji)
and
worked
out
some
spare
dates
for
Ram
since
he
is
already
there
in
Kasamh
Se.
What
kind
of
a
character
is
Thukral?
Thukral
is
obsessed
with
cats.
He
is
a
man
who
believes
in
his
instincts
and
completely
taken
up
by
himself.
In
his
opening
scene
he
has
a
dialogue
where
he
says:
"Why
should
I
go
to
a
hill
station
for
cold
weather
when
I
can
switch
on
the
air
conditioner
in
my
room." So
you
see,
there
is
a
madness
in
this
character
which
cannot
be
subdued
or
put
at
the
back
of
one's
mind.
This
character
has
the
potential
to
be
given
a
flamboyant
exit
from
the
show
or
can
be
killed
later
on
to
take
the
story
forward.
Ram's
character
will
add
100
times
more
appeal
to
the
show
now
and
will
take
it
ahead.
Did
you
ever
think
of
casting
a
totally
new
face
for
Thukral?
There
had
to
be
a
huge
amount
of
credibility
attached
to
such
an
over-the-top
character.
I
needed
a
person
who
knows
the
fine
art
of
presenting
a
character
who
is
extremely
edgy,
slightly
comic
book
stripish,
yet
not
a
caricature.
So
we
selected
Ram
for
it.
You
had
even
said
that
for
Smriti
Z.
Irani...
I'm
still
saying
so.
Smriti
is
still
Tulsi
for
me.
The
day
she
wants
to
be
back,
my
doors
are
open
for
her.
I
have
been
used
to
seeing
her
as
Tulsi
for
the
past
seven
years.
I'm
missing
her
too.
Gautami
had
even
called
Smriti
to
tell
her
that
the
day
she
wants
to
step
in,
she
would
hand
the
baton
back
to
her.
Gautami
is
only
securing
Tulsi's
place.
Smriti
has
only
taken
a
break
due
to
genuine
health
problems
which
I
do
not
want
to
talk
about
since
it
is
personal
to
her.
We
had
dinner
and
discussed
things
over.
Even
I
thought
that
she
deserved
a
break.
There
were
two
other
contenders
for
Tulsi's
role.
Why
Gautami?
Actually
Gautami
was
my
only
choice,
but
since
she
had
some
problems
with
dates,
we
had
considered
Poonam
and
Padmini
as
well.
Ever
since
I
had
seen
Gautami
in
Ghar
Ek
Mandir
I
had
been
asking
her
to
work
with
us.
It's
after
such
a
long
time
that
she
is
finally
doing
that.
Gautami's
character
is
not
as
strong
as
the
Tulsi
Smriti
played..
Gautami
is
playing
the
Tulsi
who
has
been
suffering
for
months
in
an
asylum.
She
had
been
severely
tortured.
So
when
she
is
back
she
is
a
little
doubtful
as
to
whether
the
family
is
going
to
accept
her
back
or
not.
However,
in
the
coming
weeks
you
will
see
that
Tulsi
will
teach
the
other
bahus
a
lesson
in
her
own
way.
Was
there
a
showdown
between
you
and
Smriti
as
reported?
I
have
not
been
on
the
sets
of
Kyunki
for
the
past
one
year.
I
want
to
meet
the
reporter
who
had
come
up
with
such
a
report.
Actually,
it
may
not
be
the
reporter's
fault;
it
could
have
been
some
well-wisher
of
mine.
Smriti
had
called
me
and
said
that
she
had
been
informed
that
we
have
had
a
fight
(laughs).
After
that
report,
Smriti
and
I
had
given
interviews
to
newspapers
clarifying
the
situation.
I
don't
understand
why
people
do
not
see
that.
Many
things
that
you
are
showing
in
your
shows
are
unacceptable
to
Indian
culture.
Even
we
are
trying
to
show
in
our
serials
that
many
things
that
are
occurring
in
our
society
are
not
right.
Our
culture
doesn't
just
mean
wearing
sarees
and
doing
puja.
Our
culture
teaches
us
to
be
extremely
respectful
to
our
grandparents
and
elders.
I
think
I
had
to
show
the
negative
situations
so
that
I
could
highlight
the
solutions
for
them.
The
TRP
of
Kyunki
seems
to
be
dropping.
I'll
tell
you
how
TRPs
are
calculated.
Suppose
you
have
100
people
watching
television
at
one
time
and
20
per
cent
are
watching
Kyunki,
the
serial
gets
a
TRP
of
20.
Now
the
audience
has
increased,
so
today's
TRP
of
20
is
more
than
the
past
year's
TRP
of
20.
So
ultimately,
I
have
more
viewers
watching
my
show.