Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi ( Because Even a Mother-in-Law Was a Daughter-in-Law Once) is an Indian Hindi-language television series that aired from 3 July 2000 to 6 November 2008 on Star Plus. One of the longest running Indian television soap opera, the show is produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor under their banner Balaji Telefilms.
The show revolves around an ideal daughter-in-law, the daughter of a pandit married to Mihir, grandson of business tycoon Govardhan Virani. The role of Tulsi Virani was played by Smriti Irani, who holds the record for winning 5 consecutive Best Actress-Popular awards from Indian Television Academy Awards and 2 Indian Telly Awards. Debuting alongside Kaun Banega Crorepati on July 3, 2000, on Star Plus, Kyunki... was the most successful serial at its time, ranked number 1 with double digit TRPs for seven continuous years, peaking at 22.4 in May 2001. Kyunki... marked a turning point for producer Ekta Kapoor and Star Plus and resulted in iconic serials Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and Kasautii Zindagii Kay (2001 TV series), forming the big 3 for the channel through the 2000s. The show won 5 consecutive Best Serial-Popular awards from ITA and 6 consecutive Best Continuing Serials from Indian Telly Awards.
Plot
Set in Mumbai, the series follows the wealthy Gujarati Virani family of Shantiniketan, dominated by the three daughters-in-law Savita, Daksha and Gayatri, and their wise mother-in-law Amba, known as Baa. Savita arranges her son Mihir's marriage to Payal, but he falls in love with Tulsi, the kind-hearted daughter of the family priest, and marries her instead. Savita initially despises Tulsi, but Tulsi eventually wins her acceptance and becomes the family's moral centre. After giving birth to Gautam, Tulsi loses Mihir in an accident in which he is presumed dead.
Mihir survives with amnesia and is cared for by Dr Mandira, who falls in love with him. Mandira's brother Anupam proposes to Tulsi, who accepts for Gautam's sake, but the wedding is canceled when Mihir is discovered alive and gradually regains his memory. Mandira plots against Tulsi and is presumed dead in a plane crash, while Payal's revenge against the Viranis is also exposed. Tulsi later has a daughter, Shobha, and gives Gautam to childless Kiran and Aarti, who leave India with him fearing Tulsi will reclaim him.
Tulsi and Mihir have another son, Harsh. Gautam eventually returns to India, learns that Tulsi and Mihir are his birth parents, and accepts them. Tulsi wants him to marry Ganga, but he marries Teesha. Gautam's cousin Sahil marries Ganga to protect her honour, while Shobha marries Payal's son Vishal. Tulsi then discovers that Mihir has secretly been involved with Mandira for years and has an illegitimate son, Karan. Mandira and Karan attempt to take over the Virani industries but fail. Teesha and her unborn child die in an accident planned by Mandira for Tulsi. Tulsi accepts Karan as her son after he learns the truth and turns against Mandira.
Harsh marries the greedy Mohini, while Gautam marries Damini. Damini and Ganga become pregnant, but Ganga miscarries and Damini gives birth to twins Mayank and Nakul. Damini and Gautam give Nakul to Sahil and Ganga. Vishal dies, leaving Shobha widowed. It is then revealed that Harsh is actually Kesar's son: Kesar had switched him with Tulsi's real son Ansh, who was raised by Aditya Gujral. Ansh grows into a ruthless man obsessed with Karan's lover Nandini. Karan, despite loving Nandini, marries her to Ansh, who sexually abuses her. When Nandini's daughter Bhoomi is born, Nandini falls into a coma. Karan marries his friend Tanya to help care for Bhoomi.
Tulsi fights Ansh in court to obtain justice for Nandini and ultimately shoots him dead when he tries to kill Nandini. Nandini later awakens, while Karan and Tanya continue raising Bhoomi. Shobha leaves Abhishek after learning that he and Rathi were responsible for Vishal's death. Nandini, pregnant with Karan's child, kills Aditya to save Bhoomi from being kidnapped and is sentenced to 14 years in prison. Ganga and Sahil have a son, Lakshya; Karan and Tanya have a son, Manthan; and Gautam adopts Eklavya, Ansh's son by his first wife Shraddha. Sahil subsequently has an affair with Tripti.
Meanwhile, Meera falls in love with Mihir and conspires with Mandira against Tulsi. Savita discovers their plans but is left paralyzed after an accident arranged by the two women. Savita asks Tulsi to disconnect her life support to end her suffering, and Tulsi does so. Meera convinces Mihir that Tulsi deliberately killed Savita. Mihir expels Tulsi from Shantiniketan, and she is later presumed dead in a bus accident. Devastated and blaming himself, Mihir becomes an alcoholic. Ganga leaves Sahil after discovering his affair with Tripti.
Tulsi travels to Haridwar, where she rescues a newborn girl abandoned by her father and names her Krishna Tulsi. Years later, the grown-up Krishna Tulsi comes to Mumbai for her education and stays with the Viranis. Tulsi eventually reunites with the family, while Mihir exposes Meera and she is imprisoned for Savita's murder. Mihir and Tulsi remarry.
Tanya eventually divorces Karan after accepting that he still loves Nandini. Karan and Nandini remarry and try unsuccessfully to find their lost son, who had been taken by Mandira after his birth. Sahil divorces Tripti and reunites with Ganga, who has become a successful businesswoman. Krishna Tulsi and Lakshya fall in love, while Mayank is arrested for attempting to molest Krishna. Krishna is forced to marry Eklavya, who resembles his father Ansh and mistreats her. Bhoomi, who loves Abir, marries Joydeep because of family turmoil, while Abir marries Mohini's daughter Archita; the sisters eventually accept their respective marriages.
Damini joins Tripti and Tanya in seeking revenge for Mayank's arrest. They manipulate circumstances to make Tulsi appear mentally unstable, resulting in her being sent to a mental hospital. After escaping, Tulsi has an accident. Juhi Thakral then claims to be Tulsi, saying she underwent plastic surgery, and works with Mandira. Juhi is eventually exposed, while the real Tulsi, who had temporarily lost her memory, returns and regains her place in the family. Lakshya unknowingly marries Tripti's adopted daughter Vaidehi, who initially creates conflict but later reforms. Tulsi defeats enemies including Tripti, Mandira, Juhi and Shiv, Ganga's obsessive lover, while Damini eventually changes her ways. The Viranis reunite after their prolonged separation.
Baa later dies, leaving her entire inheritance to an unknown person in her will. Mihir and Tulsi live with an orphaned girl, Sugandhi, while Mihir develops Alzheimer's disease. After learning that Baa left them nothing, the Virani children leave Shantiniketan. In the final episode, Tulsi's best friend Parvati Agarwal reunites with her and reveals that she has raised Baa's chosen inheritor, Parth—the long-lost son of Karan and Nandini. The series ends on a cliffhanger.
Cast
Main Dinesh Thakur / Sudhir Dalvi as Govardhan Virani: Amba's husband (2000) / (2000-2002; 2008) Sudha Shivpuri as Amba Virani: Govardhan's widow; Mihir, Kiran, Chirag, Suhasi, Hemant and Sejal's grandmother (2000-2008) Shakti Singh as Mansukh Virani – Govardhan and Amba's eldest son; Mihir and Kiran's father (2000-2004) Apara Mehta as Savita Virani – Mansukh's wife; Mihir and Kiran's mother (2000-2006) Amar Upadhyay / Inder Kumar / Ronit Roy as Mihir Virani: Savita and Mansukh's son; Tulsi's husband (2000-2002) / (2002) / (2002-2008) Smriti Irani as Tulsi Virani: Virani priest's daughter; Mihir's wife (2000-2007; 2008) Mandira Bedi / Achint Kaur as Dr. Mandira Gujral / Priyanka Dutta: Anupam's sister; Karan's mother (2001-2003) / (2003–2008) Jaya Bhattacharya as Payal Mehra – Mihir and Hemant's ex-fiancée; Vishal and Urvashi's mother (2000-2007) Sumeet Sachdev as Gautam "Gomzy" Virani – Tulsi and Mihir's eldest son; Tisha's widower; Damini's husband (2002-2008) Ashlesha Sawant as Teesha Mehta Virani – Gautam's second wife (2002–2003) Riva Bubber / Ravee Gupta as Damini Khanna Virani – Gautam's third wife (2003; 2004–2008) / (2003–2004) Rahul Lohani as Mayank Virani – Gautam and Damini's elder son (2006–2007) Naman Shaw as Nakul Virani – Gautam and Damini's younger son (2006–2008) Kratika Sengar / Anita Hassanandani as Sanchi Virani – Nakul's love interest (2007) / (2007–2008) Ritu Chaudhary as Shobha Virani Choudhary – Tulsi and Mihir's daughter; Vishal's widow; Pushkar and Pari's mother (2002–2008) Palak Jain as Child Shobha Virani (2003) Rohit Bakshi as Vishal Mehra – Payal and Pratap's son, Shobha's first husband; Pushkar's father (2002–2004) Vivan Bhatena / Nasir Khan as Abhishek Choudhary – Shobha's ex-husband; Pari's father (2004–2005) / (2005–2006) Garima Bhatnagar as Pari Choudhary – Shobha and Abhishek's daughter (2005–2006) Hiten Tejwani as Karan Virani – Mihir and Mandira's son; Nandini's second husband (2002–2008) Gauri Pradhan as Nandini Thakkar Virani – Ansh's ex-wife; Karan's wife (2004–2008) Rakshanda Khan as Tanya Malhotra – Kaushalya's daughter, Karan's second wife (2004–2008) Amit Tandon / Vishal Watwani as Manthan Virani – Karan and Tanya's son (2006–2007) (2007–2008) / (2007) Akashdeep Saigal as Ansh Gujral aka Ansh Virani – Tulsi and Mihir's younger son; Nandini's ex-husband; Shraddha's late husband (2004–2005) Eklavya Gujral Virani – Shraddha and Ansh's son; Krishna Tulsi's husband (2006–2008) Amey Pandya as Young Eklavya Gujral Virani (2006) Mouni Roy as Krishna Tulsi "KT" Virani – Tulsi's namesake daughter; Eklavya's wife (2006–2008) Reshmi Ghosh as Bhoomi Gujral Virani – Nandini and Ansh's daughter; Joydeep's wife (2006–2008) Chinky Jaiswal as Child Bhoomi Virani (2005-2006) Manav Vij as Joydeep Virani – Sahil & Tripti's adopted son; Bhoomi's husband (2007–2008) Aman Verma as Anupam Kapadia – Mandira's brother; Kesar's husband (2001–2004) Narayani Shastri / Resham Tipnis as Kesar Kapadia – Tulsi's cousin; Raj's former lover; Harsh's mother; Anupam's wife (2001–2003) / (2003–2004) Mehul Kajaria as Harsh Virani / Harsh Bhasin – Kesar and Raj's son; Mohini's husband (2002–2006) Tassnim Sheikh as Mohini Mittal Virani – Harsh's wife; Archita's mother (2004–2008) Gunjan Vijaya as Archita Virani Bhasin – Harsh and Mohini's daughter; Abir's wife (2006–2008) Manoj Bidwai / Vikas Sethi as Abir Bhasin – Raj's son; Harsh's half-brother; Archita's husband (2006–2007) / (2007) Jiten Lalwani as Kiran Virani – Mansukh and Savita's younger son; Aarti and Mandira's ex-husband (2000–2004) Eva Grover / Rushali Arora as Aarti Patel Virani – Kiran's ex-wife; Karishma's mother (2000–2002) / (2002–2003) Kiran Dubey as Karishma Virani Dey – Aarti and Kiran's daughter; Shantanu's wife. (2002–2004) Narendra Jha as Shantanu Dey – Karishma's husband (2004) Jitendra Trehan as Himmat Virani – Govardhan and Amba's second son; Daksha's husband (2000–2008) Ketki Dave as Daksha Virani – Himmat's wife; Chirag and Suhasi's mother (2000–2001) (2007–2008) Hussain Kuwajerwala / Amit Mistry as Chirag Virani – Himmat and Daksha's son; Prajakta's husband (2000–2004) / (2006–2007) Tuhina Vohra as Prajakta Virani – Chirag's wife; Savri, Bavri & Hitesh's mother (2000–2007) Masumi Mevawala as Savri Virani – Chirag and Prajakta's elder daughter (2006–2007) Amita Chandekar as Bavri Virani – Chirag and Prajakta's younger daughter (2006–2007) Hansika Motwani / Chandni Bhagwanani as Child Bavri Virani (2002) / (2003–2005) Aditya Kapadia as Hitesh Virani – Chirag and Prajakta's son (2007) Pooja Ghai Rawal as Suhasi Virani Mehta – Daksha and Himmat's daughter; Rakesh's wife (2000–2006) Prashant Bhatt as Rakesh Mehta – Suhasi's husband; Aniket and Tushar's father (2001–2006) Shabbir Ahluwalia as Aniket Mehta – Rakesh's son; Suhasi's step-son (2002)