Smriti Irani defies doctors after dengue-typhoid

Smriti Irani has recently returned to work after a long and serious illness - typhoid and dengue combined - because she just "couldn't afford a longer holiday".

Smriti, one of Indian television's biggest women icons, says she started getting high fever in the last week of October but she didn't take it seriously.

"I kept treating it as any viral fever until I went to Bhavnagar to perform my play. My fever shot up, and I returned to the hotel shivering. That's when doctors diagnosed with a dengue and typhoid combined. Even my illnesses are so grand," Smriti told IANS.

She was admitted into a hospital on Nov 4. After seven days of enforced rest in the hospital, Smriti returned home only to pull off the intravenous drips and get back to work.

"The doctors advised me a month of rest. But what to do? I've two serials on air. Plus, I've just started my production house, which needs full attention. In fact, I kept having my meetings in hospital. But we couldn't shoot my soaps from my hospital bed.

"The weekly soap 'Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan' could manage because we had a bank of episodes. But the daily 'Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' was in the deep end."

But Ekta Kapoor managed to keep the show going by focusing on Hiten Tejwani and Gauri Pradhan's tracks in "Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" in which Smriti plays the protagonist Tulsi.

"But I couldn't delay any longer. See a serial isn't just the production company's responsibility. It's also my lookout. If 'Kyunkii...' suffered, so did I. I had to get back to work because I'm a workaholic.

"Besides, I couldn't have my children see me lying around helplessly. My son was very disturbed. He kept asking, 'Why does Mama have all those needles sticking into her?' In the hospital I missed my kids the most. I had no opportunity to miss my husband. Zubin was with me throughout."

The one thing that Smriti realised during her illness was that she should spent quality time with her husband.

"We're so busy giving ourselves to our work, kids and family that we don't realise we're never together. This illness made me realise there's more to my life than my work. I've decided to take at least one holiday with my husband every year."

Smriti has no complaints from life.

"I'm just back on my feet, busy counting my blessings. I've a good career, a wonderful family and husband. It's a good life."

(IANS)

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