"I am not scared of the TRP game" Smriti Irani

Sony is finally ready to showcase its primetime daily, Virrudh which boasts of best talents from all the three mediums of the acting genre - theatre, TV and films, all weaved together to a rather off beat storyline. And who's the happiest on this occasion? Nation's favourite bahu and CEO, Ugraya Entertainemnt Pvt Ltd, Smriti Irani, who after a successful stint in television production (Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasman) is all charged up about her second offering, Virrudh. In a candid chat with Seema Pherwani, this actor-cum-producer-cum-politician gets candid about her short journey as producer. "For Virrudh, Sony felt I suited the role" Simply put, the show is about love, power, trust and betrayal. I play Vasudha, media baron Dhirendra Raisinghaniya's illegitimate daughter. She dotes on her father, trusts him, not knowing that he's the most corrupt and shrewd businessman. She slowly becomes the reflection of the man she idolizes. Also she's in her 30s who decides not to get married as it suits her purpose. She loves her father and her boyfriend doesn't want to rush into marriage and eventually she is supposed to take her father's place. "Winning is not about power and money" In a way, the show is a look at contemporary society. One may amass power, money and still be a loser at the end of it. I want viewers to sit up and question themselves - What makes me happy, is it money, power or then relationships? Because, sometimes we focus a lot on our goals to the extent that we fail to realize what we've left behind. In the end, Vasudha loses all the relationships and she doesn't even realise this. By the time she realizes that her father is actually not what she thought him to be, nature takes it toll and she herself becomes like him. "A contemporary story of friction and angst" Virrudh is a contemporary rich story while Thoda Si …..was the story of a lower middle class family. It's about amalgamation of relationships, and the perception of how families are in different parts of the country. By keeping the language very simple, we've tried to explore the undercurrents of relationship in every family and bring out the friction and angst. "Inspired by the Mahabharata" I took a year to pen the story. When the channel heard the story they felt that Vasudha sounds like Abhimnayu from Mahabharat, who's caught in a web of relationships. Whether she can break the web or no is what the story is about. All along the way, I knew it won't be a flowery but a fiery story. I waited for the right time and the right star cast. When I was sure that this is what I want is when I approached Sony. "I am very adamant as a writer" My creative team and channel have given me the confidence to go ahead with the script. Channels do want something different; it depends on the writers and the audiences' acceptability. Kamlesh Pandey and I are very adamant about our storyline. Why Sony? I don't think a producer should run around with the same concept to three different channels. This way, certain amount of disloyalty comes into play and also there's a risk of some elements getting picked up. I believe in doing channel specific stuff. Also, every story will not be a reflection of our last project. "I love multitasking" I've enacted a variety of rules in my career. Be it comedy, going black to grey, countdowns and plays. I don't believe in limiting myself to acting. Now, as a producer my greatest kick is to see that my writing, my creation gets accepted by a channel. I love multitasking as it helps me keep my interests in my work alive.