When Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi Fans Protested Mihir Virani’s Death | The Saas-Bahu Sagas Ep 1

We recount the surprisingly passionate reaction Indians had in 2001 when Mihir Virani, Tulsi’s husband on ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi,’ passed away.
‘The Saas-Bahu Sagas’ is TS Studios’ series where the makers of iconic soaps share the most bizarre, unbelievable, and heartfelt stories from the world of Indian TV.
This series explores the biggest burning questions about Indian TV dramas and their audiences.
Featuring:
Apara Mehta (Actor, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi)
Nivedita Basu (Creative Director, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi)
Shohini Ghosh (Professor, Jamia Millia Islamia)
Credits:
Director: Aditi Patel
Producer: Bavana Gone
Editors: Bavana Gone, Vibhav Saraf
Director of Photography: Krishanu Bose
Visual Researcher: Shalini Rajarajan
Art Director: Neha Shekhawat
Creative Director: Shrishti Malhotra
Executive Producer: Karla Bookman
Don't forget to subscribe to our channel: kzbin.info...
Check out our website: theswaddle.com/
Instagram: / theswaddle
Twitter: / theswaddle

[@TheSwaddleTV]

If you enjoyed watching this, check out our documentary film, 'Beyond Bahus' which goes into the colourful world of Indian TV dramas, revealing an unexpected side to Hindi soaps -- kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKutgaduiL6FpNk

[@daxeshpatel490]

This was a big event. I remember my wife and mom crying for three days. Thanks swaddle for doing this episode. Looking forward to more such episodes.

[@ashwinidesai4051]

Wow, that's so insane.

[@sargampareek2774]

I remember my cousin telling me the same thing. He came back from work and found my maasi and bhabhi crying. He got worried and asked what happened. Their response, Mihir Virani died. He was so confused as he had no idea who he was and assumed that he was one of the neighbors 😂

[@deeptobhattacharyya3249]

I was 5 years old then lol

[@feral9902]

​@@sargampareek2774😂

[@anurag0596]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Apara Mehta is absolutely iconic. I loved her in ‘Devdas’.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

@@abxyz3280 Apara was the Madame at Chandramukhi’s Kotha.

[@shrishtimalhotra2406]

How fascinating to hear from Apara and Nivedita, people who were involved behind the scenes. We don't talk enough about the cultural impact (good and bad) of Indian TV despite how big these shows are, relative to how much we talk about cinema.

[@ashwinidesai4051]

Cause, Hindi cinema is humongous and popular than Hindi TV serials

[@shrishtimalhotra2406]

Not "pati ko khona tha jeevan bhar rona tha" getting stuck in my head 20 years later AGAIN.

[@AditiPatel79]

The fact that they changed up the lines of the theme song for every plot spin was insane!

[@jyonit8134]

Yes...mere haathon main kismat ki Rekha nai...hahaha

[@akashneelmanj6370]

​@tuggi79 tbh, I think in 2004 onwards the sad songs had the music in the back too which I thought were way better and emotional and were not cringy depressing like the early episodes of the show where the lady starts singing out of nowhere high pitch HMMMMMMM HMMMMMMM HMMMMMMMM

[@AditiPatel79]

The fact that people felt so strongly about a fictional character really says a lot about the impact of these shows. I don't know why we look down on obsessions with Indian TV soaps, while bonding over, and enjoying fan-culture for contemporary web series and American sitcoms.

[@ashwinidesai4051]

Hindi TV serials were at peak during 80s, 90s & 00s. After that it just went downhill with the same saas-bahu content. The writers, producers and directors are the real culprits for such criticism.

[@AditiPatel79]

@@ashwinidesai4051 I agree, there was a certain attempt at cloning of the formula that had worked earlier, but it got more and more ridiculous. I still wonder if there's some good stuff out there though, I've heard Anupamaa is great.

[@jaishree701]

​@@ashwinidesai4051are you serious 😂😂 peak?? By not allowing all private channels only forcing whole india to watch doordarshan 😂😂😂😂 did you know what doordarshan did with show makers and actors 😂😂😂

[@jaishree701]

​@@ashwinidesai4051i differ the emergence of star plus zee tv killed worst ever black & white doordarshan and saved us from socialist tv serials 😂😂

[@santoshitekam9752]

​@@AditiPatel79yes Anupama Is always no1 in trp charts

[@sharanya8008]

I remember my mum discussing Mihir's death with padosi's and crying together.. I was in kindergarten back then but I remember as this was a major event in the neighbourhood. 😆

[@megha6865]

😂 I remember that. Our family was also big fan

[@sharanya8008]

@@megha6865 Miss those days..

[@juvsobham]

😂

[@velvet_blues9336]

😂😂

[@vanineela4428]

Wat an era it was .....missing those childhood days ❤❤❤kyunki was an emotion to every indian household family ......connecting everybody together

[@jyonit8134]

I was in grade 5 ...and when I came back from school my mommy and dadi both were watching the show at 3pm with all red teary eyes...I saw them started crying along...that was crazy .....those days

[@PokhrajRoy.]

‘Downton Abbey’ is the British version of ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thhi’ and Mihir is Matthew.

[@juicyopinions]

reallyyyy!??

[@PokhrajRoy.]

@@juicyopinions I’m not joking.

[@PrishaAngad91122]

Noooo.. please don't downgrade Downton Abbey

[@ashwinidesai4051]

Haven't seen Downtown Abbey, but I believe your words!! 😂😂😆😆

[@debolinamukherjee4878]

Not at all. DTA captures historical and social changes , unlike K serials.

[@rohithanaraharisetty6308]

This is fascinating! TV really does impact us in so many unexpected ways, can’t wait to learn more about this.

[@naukriNautanki]

It can happen only in India, where people are more concerned about fictitious characters rather than their own lives and woes 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@bavanagone]

It's so so fascinating to hear from the people behind the scenes themselves. The bizarre but interesting af stories. Can't wait to hear more in this series!

[@sharu5578]

I remember this. I didnt know about this serial at all. I had come form USA at that time. I had been living there for 2 years and came to vacation for India around this time. My Dad who never watched any Hindi serial before used to watch this serial at the time and we were in the train and he was explaining me how he is watching this serial now and this incident has occurred and it’s sad. I was wondering what has happened to my dad. Then at my house any friends who came to meet me also discussed this at length with my parents and I was amazed at how seriously every one has taken to this incident.

[@Germania9]

There's actually nothing wrong with a subplot about a popular character who died but suddenly returned from the dead. What's really wrong is that the returned feels not earned and just came out of nowhere.

[@siddharthrana9617]

Was in class 3 and had come back from school. I still remember our neighbour tyagi aunty coming out and calling on my mum- arey Mihir zinda hai!!!!!! Hahahahahaha silly fun times. 😊

[@saumyapathak5865]

Okay but that was so cute of that aunty... Back in the days when we actually used to bond with our neighbours

[@anindyaekbote2301]

Mihir virani was our Jon snow

[@rahultheundertaker]

I still remember, I stopped having my dinner when I watched the last rites of Mihir's character 😂😂

[@snigdhasaini9714]

This actually shows the emotional connection Indians have and how much we value relations❤❤ beautiful episode I love how your topics are so interesting

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Before Mihir Virani, there was Sherlock Holmes who was also brought back from the dead.

[@titanraven]

I didn't exactly know all the ruckus it caused But when he came back, ( I was a young child then) even I thought "Are you serious?"

[@Goldenbirdchirp]

Indian TV was Amazing writing and beautifully made characters UNTIL EKTA KAPOOR RUINED IT. SHE LOWERED THE STANDARD FOREVER. 😢

[@atulgupta5215]

1st....I love this channel....I remember....I cried a lot with my wheeping mother

[@trupti.marolia]

Same 😂

[@nehatewari5933]

This is so good. I really want to know what the next part is gonna be. Exciting!!!

[@_EditNo._1]

Same Impact for Pratap's death in Balika Vadhu which gave the show its highest ratings in 2009. Nowadays its not possoble anymore

[@ShankarSengupta-yh2df]

In the final episode of this show,Tulsie's best friend Parvati Agarwal meets up with Tulsi and reveals that she has brought up the inheritor of Baa's property Part.

[@swatisaini6447]

Parvati agrwal from kahani ghar ghar ki

[@ashwinidesai4051]

@@swatisaini6447 Maybe. 😅😅

[@swatisaini6447]

@@ashwinidesai4051 maybe nahi for sure. Tulsi and Parvati being friends isn't surprising atall

[@akashneelmanj6370]

​@@swatisaini6447yeah ofc, smriti and Sakshi are friends in real life too like any friendship, they had their up's and downs but definitely there friendship would've been a rivalry had ksbkbt and kggk not been balaji serials. Their producer has a hand in making them be friends

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Ok, how do you score these interviews? I’m thoroughly invested.

[@nandinii9]

My father was posted in a remote town near Indo-Pak Border that time, and the whole entire unit cried out like their own officer had died. Signals were patchy in that town but I remember how big this event of Mihir's passing away was. Officers' Mess was flooded with officers, their ladies, and what not.

[@sumanrai1704]

I still remember this event as a kid I often heard discussing these dramas by ladies of our surroundings and one morning they gathered and discussing about mihir's death looking shocked and angry and I assumed that someone really died as I did not know anything about KSBKBT and I thought everyone was shocked by a real person's demise.🤷🤷

[@ayushipandey2803]

We can talk about all the trauma and bullshit that the serial gave us but we cannot deny the fact how deeply it has touched us.

[@arastumanandhar]

Me reading mihir biryani is a proof that im hungry

[@vaishalikatke6687]

Industry please take smriti Irani back, she has miserably failed as minister.

[@hitsonar]

What a nostalgia! 📺

[@TDGaming147]

i remember talking about this episode in school... even teachers were discussing this with us ah good old times

[@smitashelar235]

I also think when my father passed way 😢. Mujhe bhi lagta tha kabhi to MIL jayenge 😭 miss u pappa.

[@yasasvibhave1933]

Me too thought the same for someone close to me to come after death 😢

[@PokhrajRoy.]

I mean, American and British Soap Operas are even more wild. Exhibit A: ‘Dynasty’.

[@someonefromsomewhere6650]

😂😂😂 that show is crazy, the reboot i mean, old dynasty is too old for me. Elizabeth Gillies rocks as Fallon Carrington

[@megha6865]

True😂

[@K39751]

Fallon was critized by feminits, they said "she's another example of a white, conventionally attractive, wealthy woman who puts on the girl boss facade while damaging and antogonizing other women in her life". Because according to feminists women can't mean to other women, it always has to be man. Feminists will always be offended by something, nothing is enough for them.

[@reshmee6818]

This serial is just ❤❤❤ Jo bhi ho keisi bhi ho bahat acha lagta tha... Our childhood memory it was...

[@pronitakumari9a246]

Seriously loveing

[@PUJADAS-tw7ry]

I was eagerly waiting for Swaddle's thoughts on saas bahu serials. Thank u so much. Want episodes on "ye rishta kya kehlata hai" and " Sath nibhana saathiya".

[@Desi_mummy01]

Not only India but pakistan as well, my mom cried for the whole week for mehair...

[@nehashirodkar1273]

God... I watched this as a kid and trust me it was something that I wish I had not wasted time on. What a waste of time and mind space

[@sherkal01]

I was Kid when my Grandmother used to Watch Kyuki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu thi... I still remember me and Amma were both crying when she Shot her son Ansh Gujral 😭😭

[@iu9130]

Swaddle should start adding hashtags so it reaches more women

[@vartikasinghlodhi5771]

I always wondered if actors had these kinds of thoughts. This suffices. Now I'm at peace.

[@mayuri5319]

love this no matter what :P

[@rituparnabanik5046]

The lady in the last was going to say mihir biriyani😂

[@jotika9784]

Kinda arrogant thing to feel I think but always felt low key proud that my mother never watched these shows while I was growing up.

[@pranavmadhyastha190]

Wow to think that this show had such a huge impact on Indians is insane

[@cauliflowerhead2735]

I don't know what to make of K-series as I haven't really grown up watching them but from the responses I can tell that our audiences are very, unimaginably impressionable. I mean art does influence people's minds and trigger their imaginations but protests being held for Mihir Virani's comeback is some kind of a weird shared neurosis which no one could've predicted. It also exposes our overreliance on escapism where we cannot digest basic facts of life like deaths and misfortune and want things to to restored to its kosher version so we may live in a comfortable bubble. Do we do this because we, at a individual or social level, are fraught with painful challenges and therefore escapism becomes a necessary solace or do we do this bcz we don't wish to evolve as individuals? I dunno.... But the accounts of the actors and directors were very interesting nonetheless. Thanks for sharing this with us!

[@kalyani1379]

Altho it's true but see 2:52 it was definitely planned that way... Anyone would question if the actor really died.. who tf puts dates when a character dies. They knew how impressionable Indian audience is and they used that to boost their trp.

[@carpediem8533]

The fall and fall of indian tv.

[@pronitakumari9a246]

Away some serial 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@anushkasharma4399]

When did no one cry for manipur...... everyone is busy with their daily soaps

[@Nisha-_]

4:07 who is Mihir *Biriyani* 😂😂

[@Yugvijay]

Wow

[@KR-kr2is]

Don't know why..but i really miss these type of tv serials which we can watch with our whole family..even the male members enjoyed watching them...

[@itn0687]

Aise chutiyapa indian serials mein hi hota hai

[@shumailakz4115]

😂😂😂

[@martinasilwal9559]

4:07 she almost said viryani

[@harshsrivastava8059]

4:03 mihir biryani !😂

[@manasviaswal9267]

It was back 1998 No technology! Limited tv serial!!

[@santoshitekam9752]

Swaddle also cover balika vadhu please

[@leosunshine3781]

Tulsi acting better now a days in Parliament then she did here

[@suryad427]

Today if anyone dies in serials nobody cares.

[@Nature_lover]

i remember -me n my sisters who would watch this serial together sometime back in 2001 were also extremely sad at the death of mihir in serial and all of us had stopped watching it as nothing worth watching was left after that incident and we had never ever imagined that mihir would ever return with such a interesting twist .. i remember i used to be in std 8 then .. kahani n kyonki wre used to be our fav serials in early 20s .. everything used to be awesome then ..

[@ringtonezone8575]

People are too innocent in those days..and dramaaa makers make money by mellow drama that once start still going on n on..good content cant survive due too these kind of saas bahu n mellow drama..biggest ex anupama 🤣🤣

[@twinsoulsascension]

Jon snow of Indian television 😂

[@TruthBeToldbyBab]

El-oh-el 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@cartoonworld4077]

Itni hard acting ki thi cylinderella ne ki abhi tak Parliament men unki acting se poora Parliament akta kapoor ke tv show wali feeling leta hai, ab to bas kr de bhai, bas kr, dekh li hamne teri acting skill, ab aur nhi chaiye.. EnoughIsEnough 😂😂

[@tahiranasrin5754]

I am very sure that the Last old lady was about to say "Mihir Biryani" instead of Virani 😂🤭

[@NikhitaPrabhudesai]

Umm, this offered no new insight than what we already knew. How clickbaity.

[@hishere9041]

At this moment, Ektha Kapoor seized the opportunity and started plotting her series. Rest is history.

[@RD-oo6yq]

Her name is spelled 'Ekta', not 'Ektha'

[@hishere9041]

@@RD-oo6yq ok. But it's good that I don't know her spelling. An unnecessary use of memory space.

[@endisnear306]

Smriti irani ji should have stayed in tv serials, she is good in there instead as a politician

[@kalyani1379]

2:52 people thought he actually died.. anyone would. I think it was planned a pr stunt.. otherwise who puts dates like that when a character dies

[@virajharimkar7783]

Same goes with WWE undertaker...

[@gampa_10_31]

Undertaker ❤

[@ashwinidesai4051]

During my childhood days, he scared the crap out of me.

[@Jyotigautam52870]

​​@@ashwinidesai4051 during my childhood days i found him funny (how everytime he comes outta ⚰️ ) nd powerful.....also hez retired now but still agar budhe na hote aur body allow krti to pakka phir se kisi na kisi series me specially WrestleMania me aa dhamakte kahi na kahi se😅

[@gampa_10_31]

@@ashwinidesai4051 For me, it's kane and Bray Wyatt. Undertaker is a face so I feel safe and relaxed when he's in the ring.

[@Jyotigautam52870]

@@gampa_10_31 hn Bhai ..kyu?

[@madonnicallysony]

Log C the aur C rahenge

[@electricstipula7295]

SHE SAID MIHIR BIRYANI LMAO

[@harshvitrivedi1334]

I feel like the culture of looking down on daily soaps and considering them brain-less/boring/without innovation (some shows do check some of these boxes) is rooted in looking down women and what we enjoy. There is a strong beleif that women are incapable of enjoying or understadning anything intellectual and the fact that women are often the ones who watch these shows makes the shows senseless to the world. I firmly believe that the fact that women, often housewives and women in small towns and rural areas, find joy and entertainment in these shows during their daily rut is what makes people think these shows lack intellect and substance. Despite the very apaprent cultural impact these TV shows hold over our country and our lives, there is such a strong sense of judgement and disdain over them everywhere you look.

[@snowwhite2038]

The strong sense of judgment and disdain is simply because these serials are logic less there's no other reason.

[@kalyani1379]

True

[@Goldenbirdchirp]

Stfu. It's disgusting and brainless. As a matter of fact, it's killing merit of women who used to write nuanced characters on tv before and women and men who used to perform such well written characters and challenge themselves as actors. As a woman, I hope we get rid of this garbage. Your victim complex has reached a whole new level. What cultural impact? Backwardness and killing scientific temper of the country as a whole?

[@sudhirchandra9790]

Ab samaj me aya desh ko ne aisa feku kyu chuna Logo ko drama Jo pasand hai

[@KT43124]

This idiotic show has horrible memories that how our childhood was destroyed by these saas Bahu nonsense shows... तुलसी जी was never lived her life happily, yes being बड़ी बहू of the family she became salve, more than her husband she was satisfying others which they called duty and धर्म of bahu. And those people where idiots and selfish. yup पुरुष प्रधान undefined socialist expections people had from her just like सीता माता l it was really bad तुलसी जी was throughout her life older than dinosaurs never had that self-respect. And all her kids had gone in different way in this show... Waha 😂. During the same period of time there was some unique shows which used to exist on television.. but no one notices. Other classic stupid example of kahani Ghar Ghar se... It should be kahani Bahu ki ghis ghis ki..😂. There was show Sara Akash where women want to become Air force officer... Show show where women was doctor.. but no we remember this nonsense.. there was khichdi and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai.

[@JuhiSingh-zt5ro]

Most unrealistic show..just worst absolutely worst