Did you know Smriti Irani had turned down a role in Dil Chahta Hai? Read...

Smriti Irani said she turned down a key role in Dil Chahta Hai because of family commitments.

Former actress and politician Smriti Irani, who is still loved for her role of Tulsi Virani from the hit TV show 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi', recalled the time when she chose family over working in some big Bollywood projects.

In a recent interview with Brut, Smriti Irani revealed that she was happy doing 'Kyunki...' and that time she was also offered a part in Farhan Akhtar's cult movie 'Dil Chahta hai', but she had to turn down and decided to not audition for it.

“I had familial responsibilities. I didn’t want it to become an embarrassment for my family members so I wanted to lead my life as an actor with dignity. I made choices where even in the first three months of 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' I was offered main lead role in movies but I had decided I will have a baby and I knew if I want to have a baby then I can’t be a heroine running around trees. One of those movies was 'Dil Chahta Hai' which I said no to for the audition and they were like ‘are you mad, this is 'Dil Chahta Hai'."

She further said that it wasn't Preity Zinta's role for sure "but it was one of the other ladies who was there, one of the main leads." Preity Zinta played the lead role opposite Aamir Khan in the hit movie which also had Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Suchitra Pillai, Dimple Kapadia and Sonali Kulkarni. It was actor Farhan Akhtar's directorial debut which was released in 2001.

Smriti Irani has always been vocal about how she would get very little money in the initial days of her acting career.

The Union Minister who will soon be contesting elections from Amethi, also said that in the initial years it was difficult to act but after two or three years in the profession she had become a pro and was almost unstoppable.

Smriti also said that she left at the peak of her career and was at that time the highest paid actor on Indian TV. “When I left, I was the highest paid actor in Indian television. But I also had a few conditions. I missed many opportunities. I missed opportunities where I would not do a pan masala ad. I was very clear that this is not how I perceived myself to be. I would not go to weddings. There was a lot of money in that, but I had a different view of myself as a professional.”

Smriti Irani then quit TV and made her big move in politics in 2003. She is currently the Union Minister for Minority Affairs in the BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.