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Smriti Irani's Success From A TV Bahu To Parliament Minister!
From promoting beauty products, to contesting the Miss India beauty pageant, to becoming the country's most sought after 'bahu', and on Monday being sworn in as a minister in the Narendra Modi government - 38-year-old Smriti Irani's life has been a saga of meteoric rise to fame and success.
A star in her own right, Smriti's political journey started in 2003 when she joined the BJP which has just pulled off a landslide win in the 16th parliamentary election by winning 282 out of the 543 contested seats.
Although she couldn't win when she contested the 14th Lok Sabha polls as the BJP candidate from the Chandni Chowk constituency in Delhi - being defeated by Congress candidate Kapil Sibal - she became a prominent and articulate face of the party on television.
In the 2014 general election, the gutsy Smriti took on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in his pocket borough of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and gave him tough competition. Though she lost, the actress-turned-politician, who was sworn in as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from Gujarat in 2011, will now work as an important member of the newly elected government.
In her life, every decision she took turned into a stepping stone, taking her closer to stardom and politics.
In one of her interviews she was quoted as saying that she started earning after the 10th standard - the Delhi girl used to earn Rs.200 for promoting a beauty product. But determined to chart her own destiny Smriti, one of the three daughters of a conservative Punjabi-Bengali family, broke free of the norms and decided to try her luck in the glamour world.
Humble Beginnings
She sent her application for the 1998 Miss India contest, which was won by Lymaraina D'Souza. She couldn't reach the finals of the contest but fate took her to Mumbai, the entertainment capital of the country, where she joined McDonald's Bandra outlet to support herself while auditioning for work in showbiz.
Lady Luck
Lady luck was smiling on her and she was called to replace actress Neelam Kothari to host an episode of "Ooh La La La". She got that episode and was noticed by producer Ekta Kapoor, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Tulasi
Ekta roped her in to play Tulsi Virani in her long running super hit TV show "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi". Grabbing the opportunity, Smriti's popularity soared so high that she became the most popular 'bahu' of the small screen.
Perfect Bahu
While playing a perfect 'bahu' on the small screen, Smriti settled down with her childhood friend Zubin Irani, a Parsi, and carried the role of a wife and mom to her two children - son Zohr and daughter Zoish - with the same effectiveness.
Producer
She
also
produced
TV
shows
under
her
banner
Ugraya
Entertainment,
feeding
family
viewing
audiences
with
entertainers
like "Virrudh" and "Thodi
Si
Zameen
Thoda
Sa
Aasmaan".
But
with
an
itch
to
do
something
more,
she
decided
to
plunge
into
politics
while
pursuing
acting,
and
her
dedication
and
determination
took
her
places.
BJP's Vice-President
After
holding
important
positions
like
the
national
secretary
of
the
party
and
All
India
President
of
the
BJP
Mahila
Morcha
in
2010,
she
became
BJP's
vice-president.
Though
the
party
had
other
actresses
too
as
members,
it
was
the
articulate
and
uncomplaining
Smriti
who
rose
above
the
challenges.
Smriti's Political Journey
Smriti's political journey is best described in her own words - she once said that she has an "ideological umbilical cord with the BJP...we are three generation party supporters... my grandfather was a swayamsevak, my mother a BJP booth activist".
Sushma Swaraj Of Modi-Led BJP
Winner of several awards as an actress, Smriti, described by many as "Sushma Swaraj of the Modi-led BJP", has now embarked on a new journey in the biggest democracy of the world.
