'Anupamaa' star welcomes Smriti Irani back to Star Plus, Ektaa Kapoor calls out comparison

New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI) "Anupamaa" star Rupali Ganguly welcomed Smriti Irani back to Star Plus in a crossover promo posted on the channel's Instagram account on Tuesday as the reboot of "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" airs its first episode Tuesday night.

Irani is set to make her return to television screens with the reboot of Ektaa Kapoor's 2000 show, which aired its last episode in 2008.

In the promo, Ganguly and Irani speak in Gujarati on a video call in their characters, Anupama and Tulsi. Anupama welcomes Tulsi back to the Star Plus family. The caption to the post read, "Where Tulsi and Anupama are together, their family and relationship stories become our special memories. Tonight an old memory is returning as a new story. Like Anupama, are you ready to welcome Tulsi?" "Anupamaa", headlined by Ganguly and produced by Rajan Shahi, has topped TRP charts since its release in 2020.

In an interview with Brut India, Ektaa Kapoor had said it would be unfair to compare the two shows.

"Anupamaa, the show, and Rajan, the creator, have done what nobody could do in the last seven years. They’ll continue to be number 1. And they should continue to be number 1," she said.

"We’re coming in with our purpose, to tell our story. These unfair comparisons with lead characters and lead shows are so unnecessary. Pitting women against each other, content against each other is so uncalled for," she had said.

"Anupamaa" will air at its regular slot of 10:00 pm while "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" will air at the 10:30 slot. Both shows are available to stream on JioHotstar. PTI SMR BK BK