As Ektaa Kapoor turned 50 on Saturday, former actress-turned-politician Smriti Irani, who played the iconic role of Tulsi in the show “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi”, credited the TV Czarina as the “quiet strength behind many journeys.”

Smriti took to Instagram, where she shared a picture posing with Ektaa, who cast the actress in 2000 as the lead Tulsi Virani in “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.”

For the caption, Smriti wrote: “That night, we walked — from the quiet lanes of Juhu to the sacred steps of Siddhivinayak. Not in celebration, but in surrender. She had made a silent vow when I was chasing a dream — a prayer not for herself, but for me. And when the dream turned real, when the world clapped — she didn’t call to revel in the applause.”