Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi ( Because mother-in-law was also daughter-in-law once) is an Indian Hindi-language soap opera that aired from 3 July 2000 to 6 November 2008 on Star Plus. The show was co-produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor under their banner Balaji Telefilms.
The show revolved around an ideal daughter-in-law, the daughter of a pandit married to the grandson of rich business tycoon Govardhan Virani. The role of Tulsi Virani was played by Smriti Irani.
Plot
Set in Mumbai, the series focuses on the wealthy Gujarati Virani family where the three daughters-in-law, Savita, Daksha and Gayatri, control the whole family and create trouble for their wise and kind-hearted mother-in-law Amba. Savita fixes her son Mihir's marriage to the arrogant Payal, but he falls in love with and marries the family priest's daughter Tulsi. The Viranis accept Tulsi, who eventually wins over Savita and has a son, Gautam. Mihir gets into an accident and is presumed dead.
Mihir survives, but he has memory loss. His caretaker, Dr. Mandira, falls in love with him. Her brother Anupam proposes to Tulsi, who agrees but cancels their marriage when Mihir turns out to be alive. He regains his memory. Mandira fakes being pregnant with his child, and Tulsi becomes pregnant again. Payal conspires against the Viranis, but is exposed. Tulsi gives Gautam to Mihir's brother, Kiran, and his wife, Aarti, who are childless. Tulsi delivers a daughter, Shobha. Aarti and Kiran leave India with Gautam.
20 years later
Tulsi and Mihir have another son, Harsh. Gautam returns with Kiran and Aarti, who now have a daughter Karishma. He learns about his birth parents. Tulsi wants Gautam to marry Ganga, but he weds his own love, Teesha. Gautam's cousin, Sahil, marries Ganga while Shobha marries Vishal. Teesha and her unborn child dies in an accident planned by Mandira that was meant for Tulsi.
Gautam remarries Damini, who is later pregnant at the same time as Ganga. Ganga miscarries, and Damini delivers twins, Mayank and Nakul. Damini and Gautam give Nakul to Sahil and Ganga. Vishal dies, making Shobha widowed. Harsh turns out to be Tulsi's cousin, Kesar's son. Kesar has switched Harsh with Tulsi's real son, Ansh who was then raised by Aditya Gujral. Ansh is obsessed with Nandini.
Tulsi accepts Mihir and Mandira's son, Karan, who loves her more than Mandira. Though Karan and Nandini are in love, he gets her married to Ansh who maritally rapes her. Lawyer and Tulsi's friend Meera Singhania becomes fond of Mihir. Tulsi shoots Ansh to death as he tries to kill Nandini, who delivers her and Ansh's daughter, Bhoomi before lapsing into a coma. Karan marries his friend Tanya to care for Bhoomi. Ganga and Sahil have a son, Lakshya.
3 years later
Tanya is pregnant. Nandini wakes up from the coma and lives with Karan. Shobha leaves Vishal, learning he and Rathi killed Vishal. Nandini, who is pregnant, kills Aditya to save Bhoomi from kidnapping, and gets jailed for 14 years. Tanya gives birth to a son named Manthan. Gautam adopts Eklavya, Ansh and his first wife Shraddha's son. Sahil falls in love with Tripti.
Meera falls for Mihir and conspires with Mandira against Tulsi. Savita vows to expose them but meets with an accident planned by them. Being paralyzed, she asks Tulsi to unplug her life support and dies. Meera makes Mihir to believe that Tulsi killed Savita. Believing her, Mihir expels Tulsi who is later presumed to be dead in a bus accident. The Viranis are left shattered and Mihir becomes an alcoholic, blaming himself for Tulsi's death. Tulsi heads to Haridwar, where she sees a newborn child being abandoned by her father. Tulsi saves the child and raises her naming her as Krishna Tulsi.
20 years later
Tulsi's grandchildren are grown-up. Tulsi lives in Haridwar with Krishna Tulsi. Krishna comes to Mumbai for her education. Tanya and Karan divorce. Nandini returns and Karan remarries her. Karan-Nandini tries to find their lost son, but fails. Sahil divorces Tripti realizing her true intentions and marries Ganga. Tulsi returns and unites with the Viranis, Meera is exposed and imprisoned for Savita's murder. Krishna Tulsi and Laksh are in love, but she marries Eklavya, who is a lookalike of his father Ansh. Amba dies leaving the entire inheritance to an unknown person in her will. In the final episode, Tulsi's best friend Parvati Agarwal meets up with Tulsi, and reveals that she has brought up the inheritor of Baa's property, Parth (Karan and Nandini's long lost son).