Actor Smriti Irani has credited her husband, Zubin Irani, for introducing her to several Bollywood stars, including Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. She even recalled an incident from one of those meetings, saying she first met Salman while he was being scolded by his father and veteran writer Salim Khan.
Smriti recalls
Smriti looked back at meeting Salman Khan with his father Salim when she appeared in an episode of The Bombay Journey on Mashable India’s YouTube channel. She credited her husband, Zubin Irani, for the meeting.
Walking down memory lane, Smriti said, “At St Xavier’s, Salman and my husband were classmates. So the first time Zubin took me to introduce me to Salman, Salim Khan was there. He said, ‘Tumko malum hai tumhare mia sahab mere bete ke saath kya karte the (Do you know what your partner and my son used to do)? They used to steal my car and drive off. Nikamme hai dono (Both of them are useless). I was just standing there silent, and both Salman and my husband were looking down.”
During the appearance in the episode, she also recalled meeting Shah Rukh Khan, thanks to her husband. The actor-politician said, “I met Shah Rukh courtesy of my husband. He knew him, so I would pester him many times to ask Shah Rukh for an interview. He actually first told me that, ‘Listen, don’t get married. Main bata raha hoon tujhe mat karna shaadi (I am telling you, don’t get married.)’ I was like, ‘Bhai, too late.’”
About Smriti Irani
Smriti Irani was born into a Marathi-Punjabi-Bengali family based in Delhi. She started her career as a model and actor in 1994, before entering politics. She gained popularity as Tulsi Virani in the popular daily soap Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. She has worked in various TV serials, including Maniben.com, Teen Bahuraaniyaan, and Kavita. She is married to a businessman, Zubin Irani.
Smriti joined the BJP in 2003. Later, she became a member of the National Executive and served as vice president of the Maharashtra Youth Wing just a year later. She was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat in 2011 and was re-elected in 2017.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, she contested from Amethi against the then Congress President Rahul Gandhi but lost the election. In 2019, she fought again and defeated Gandhi and reached the Lok Sabha. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress fielded KL Sharma from Amethi, who defeated Smriti.
She recently returned to the small screen as Tulsi Virani through the Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi reboot. Amar Upadhyay also reprised his role as Mihir. The serial airs on Star Plus and streams on JioHotstar.
