Mumbai/IBNS: Former Union Minister Smriti Irani is set to return to television with the second season of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which is a massively popular daily soap across the country.

The actress-politician will reprise her role of Tulsi Virani, the character which was loved immensely when Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi premiered way back in 2000.

But the actress-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader has cleared Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is a "side project" as she is focussed on politics full time.

Smriti said, "I am a full-time politician and a part-time actor. It is a side project. For most consumers, the project is not one individual. It's always a group of actors and writers coming together. I am, very humbly, the most recognisable face out of that mix of people but I am a full-time politician and a part-time actor just like many politicians are part-time lawyers, teachers, journalists."

"I have done it simultaneously which is what I think is difficult to  grasp. The only difference between me and my other political colleagues is that there is no videographer, makeup person, script writer along with them. It's just that we are all from different vocations, I am just the one in the spotlight," the 49-year-old, who defeated Rahul Gandhi in 2019, added.

The promo of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2 has already been unveiled by the makers on social media.

The promo shows a family of four remembering the legacy of the massively popular daily soap at a restaurant.

While the older man in the family doesn't believe Smriti will make a comeback owing to her busy political schedule, the three others are optimistic of her return.

The daily soap, which ran from 2000 to 2008, was massively popular in households across the country. Not just for entertainment but the show was like a union of every family at the dinner table.

It had not only gained fame on small screens but also carved a reinvention of daily soaps in early 2000s.

Spanned across 1,833 episodes, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which was produced by Ekta Kapoor, starred Amar Upadhyay, Apara Mehta, Hiten Tejwani in pivotal roles.

Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2, which will be produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor, will be broadcasted at 10:30 pm on Star Plus and streamed anytime on Jio Hotstar from July 29.