Smriti Irani, in an exclusive interview with Aaj Tak‘s Managing Editor Anjana Om Kashyap, said that if a person is not humane and sympathetic to people’s needs and woes, then they have no business being in politics.
The former Union Minister, who announced her return to the small screen with the same show Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which shot her into the spotlight 25 years ago, was asked whether there is more acting in politics or more politics in acting.
In response, Irani said that the struggle is real for someone like her who stepped into politics without any backing.
“When you’re asking whether there’s politics in acting or not, you’re diluting that struggle,” she told Aaj Tak.
“We have to understand seriously that without a godfather or the backing of a political family—where the father or mother paves the way for their children—it is not easy,” she said.
Irani said that if one is not humane, then there can be no politics. She asked if one lacks compassion, then people would not come to them. “You can’t act in politics. Because people are hoping that you will give them solutions.”
She said that a politician is not what people typically think — someone who gives speeches, stands in a crowd, or shouts in the Opposition or from a position of power. “A real politician is one who takes the first step when trouble arises, with the crowd behind them,” she said.
“Why would someone take time out of their day to approach a politician? Only for their needs. Their children are sick, they need school admissions…,” she further told Aaj Tak.
Defining who a true politician is, Smriti Irani said they are meant to be a solution for the people and an instrument to address their woes. “If you’re not, then you have no business being in politics,” she said.
– Ends
