‘I picked up my phone and asked for...’: Smriti Irani recalls seeking work after losing Amethi in 2024 election

Smriti Irani has recalled the moment she went from serving as a Union Cabinet minister to calling people in the entertainment industry and asking for work. The former actor-turned-politician said losing the 2024 Lok Sabha election gave her a different way of looking at her career, and eventually brought her back to television.

Speaking to Times Now, she described the period that followed as a “liberating” experience.

“The experience has been liberating from many perspectives. Firstly, it is liberating because the Smriti Irani who came into politics had something to prove,” Irani said.

She added, “And the Smriti Irani of 2024, who had a defeat, had something to contribute. The issue was who wants to accept your contribution and what you can contribute.”

Don't Miss: MEA clarifies UN map vote does not alter official depiction of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh 

Irani lost the Amethi seat to Congress leader Kishori Lal Sharma in the 2024 election.

I need a job

Irani said she did not wait for an offer to come her way after losing the election. Instead, she began contacting people she knew in media and entertainment.

“I picked up my phone and asked for work in media and entertainment. I said, ‘I don’t have a job, can you please give me some work?’ The Vice Chairman of JioHotstar, Uday Shankar, was the reason I lost my job. Today, he has become the reason why I have my job again,” she said.

Uday Shankar, she recalled, was surprised by her decision to return to acting after having served as a Cabinet minister.

“When I called him, he was like, ‘Are you sure? You have worked as a Cabinet minister, are you sure you want to return to acting?’ I said, ‘I am in need of a job and I don’t think there is any harm in reintroducing myself to the world of entertainment.'”

Her return to the sets also caught people around her off guard.

“She has returned on set? We are daily wagers,” she recalled people saying.

For Irani, that reaction was part of what made the experience liberating. After years in politics and at the top of government, she was once again looking for work in an industry where she had started her career.

Irani returned to television in July 2025 with the second season of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. She reprised her role as Tulsi Virani, while Amar Upadhyay returned as Mihir Virani.

From television to politics

Smriti Irani participated in the Miss India pageant in 1998 before moving into modelling and television. Her first television assignment was the countdown show Ooh La La La, followed by appearances in shows including Aatish and Hum Hain Kal Aaj Aur Kal.

Her big break came in 2000 when she was cast as Tulsi Virani in Ekta Kapoor’s Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. The show became one of Indian television’s biggest successes and turned Irani into a household name.

She entered politics in 2003 by joining the BJP and contested her first Lok Sabha election from Chandni Chowk in 2004. She later became a prominent BJP leader and took on several organisational roles in the party.

Must Read: West Bengal has Rs 8 lakh crore debt. Then why is it giving Rs 3,000 cash? FM Swapan Dasgupta explains

In 2014, she contested the Amethi election against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. She lost that contest but returned to the constituency five years later and defeated Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Irani went on to serve as a Union minister in the Narendra Modi government, handling portfolios including Human Resource Development, Textiles, Women and Child Development, and Information and Broadcasting at different points.

She has also remained active in politics. She was appointed as the BJP’s National General Secretary and has been involved in the party’s strategy and operations in Uttar Pradesh.