Kyunki…Tulsi bhi kabhi late hoti hai!

The actor turns up an hour late for a photo shoot with Star Utsav winners, but soon plays perfect Virani bahu

At a far-fetched studio in Powai which seems devoid of civilisation, the cast of 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' are shooting frantically.

What at a distance looks like a dilapidated structure turns out to be an under-construction building out on lease to Balaji Telefilms.

And in the scorching heat, waiting for hours for their favourite mother-in-law and daughters-in-law is the Patel family from Surat - the winner of the 'Yeh Hai Mera Khandaan' contest on Star Utsav.

They have been promised a chance to interact with their favourite stars. "We have waited for them for months, I can afford to wait around for another hour or two," reasoned the winner Dipti Patel.

The Virani family is unabashedly behind schedule - but slowly, they all begin streaming in. Tasneem Sheikh was one of the first to arrive. She laughed and joked with the Patels in Gujarati.

Ronit Roy followed soon. Then came Apara Mehta and Komolika Guha Thakurta clad in gorgeous saris - but not sorry for turning up late. Sumeet Sachdev, despite a throat infection, reported to work.

"I cannot speak. It's been a rough couple of days," he murmured.

Finally, after waiting for over an hour, Smriti Irani arrived. And when she did, she certainly stole the thunder from everyone else.

She made the winners feel at home, like a true Virani bahu.
For the Patels, it was a day worth remembering, but ironically, the real winner turned out to be a young helper boy who emerged from nowhere and got a picture clicked with the entire Virani family.

His day was made, he told us later. Wish the same could have been said about our day!