Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2 to end October 20; Smriti Irani thanks crew

Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2, the Star Plus revival that brought Smriti Irani back as Tulsi Virani, has finished shooting and is reported to air its final episode on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Irani marked the last day on set with a behind-the-scenes video posted on social media that introduced the camera and direction crews rather than the cast, and reports published on October 17 and 18 described it as her farewell to the show. Star Plus's new supernatural drama Apsara, led by Samiksha Jaiswal and Paras Kalnawat, is set to take over the 10:30 pm slot from Wednesday, October 21, on the channel and on JioHotstar.

Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is one of the defining shows of Hindi television. Its first run, from 2000 to 2008, made Tulsi Virani a household name and set the template for the joint-family saga that dominated prime time for most of that decade. When Star Plus announced a second season with Irani returning to the role, the pitch was nostalgia: viewers who grew up with the Virani family were invited back, and a younger audience was introduced to a show their parents had watched.

The revival's run of a little under fifteen months is short by the standards of the original, which lasted eight years. That is not unusual for today's Hindi general entertainment channels, which replace shows faster than they once did as viewing splits between television and streaming apps. The second season also faced repeated speculation about its future. Earlier this year, Star Plus publicly rejected a report that the show was going off air, saying at that stage that no end date had been set. The latest reports, which name both a finale date and a replacement, suggest that decision has now been taken.

Irani's farewell is notable for what it chose to show. Instead of a montage of the cast, she used her last day to introduce the people who work behind the camera, a gesture that drew warm responses from colleagues. Co-star Rohit Suchanti also posted a thank-you note to her, which she reshared.

For Star Plus, the 10:30 pm hand-over marks a change of genre. Apsara is a supernatural fantasy rather than a family drama, built around a celestial guardian of the nectar of immortality. Promotional material released by the channel shows the lead character, Sunehri, turning into an apsara and saving a train from an accident.

Short-term: Viewers can expect the Virani family's story to wrap up on October 20, with Apsara starting in the same slot the next night.

Long-term: The end of the revival is a test of how far nostalgia can carry a modern daily show. Its fate, alongside how Apsara performs, will shape how channels approach future reboots of classic serials.

Who is affected: Fans of the original and the revival, the cast and crew of the show, and Star Plus, which is betting on a fantasy drama to hold a late-evening slot that a heritage brand has filled for over a year.

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