Ekta Kapoor officially confirmed the much-anticipated return of her iconic soap opera Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, nearly 25 years after it first premiered. The new season of the show is slated to air on Star Plus, like the old one we all used to watch with our families, starting July 3, sources close to the production have revealed to SCREEN, Indian Express.
The announcement of a second season was made by Kapoor earlier this year during the 25th-anniversary celebrations of the original series. Adding to the excitement, recent reports have suggested that actress-turned-politician Smriti Irani, who rose to stardom as Tulsi Virani, has officially signed on for the sequel.
Joining Irani in the upcoming season are actors Amar Upadhyay, Shakti Anand, and Kamalika Guha Thakurta, all of whom were integral to the success of the original series. While not much is known about the plot details, filming for the new episodes has reportedly begun.
Adding fuel to the buzz, Shakti Anand recently posted a behind-the-scenes photo on Instagram featuring himself with co-stars Amar Upadhyay and Kamalika Guha Thakurta. The caption read, “Mihir, Hemant and Gayatri…Kyunki…. It’s reunion time!!”
Initially, there was widespread speculation that the rebooted series might debut on a streaming platform, especially after Netflix India’s recent collaborations with Balaji Telefilms. However, no such streaming deals have been confirmed so far, which indicates a traditional television launch on Star Plus.
Ekta Kapoor herself shared a nostalgic group photo from 2003 featuring the entire original cast on her Instagram Stories recently.
Meanwhile, actor Sudhanshu Pandey, best known for his role as Vanraj Shah in Anupamaa, confirmed in an exclusive chat with SCREEN that he had been approached by someone from Balaji Telefilms. “I was approached once by somebody from Balaji, I don’t know what it was for, and I was asked how much I would charge. That is all, there is nothing more to that,” he stated, addressing rumours that he was being considered for the role of Mihir Virani.
The original Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi premiered in 2000 and went on to become a defining show of Indian television, ending in 2008 after an eight-year run that reshaped the Indian soap opera genre.
