by Subhash K Jha

The much-awaited generation leap on Kyunki Saas.... has been postponed. For soap addicts, Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is that nightly fix which they cannot do without out.

After watching the melodramatic exploits of the Virani family for five years, Kyunki... is now ready to take a deep generation plunge. Rumours about various actors being signed on to play various roles are firmly refuted by Ekta Kapoor.

"Why is everyone talking about me signing this and that actor? Who has signed these actor? Must be some other production house wanting to make their own Kyunki Saas."

She reveals she has so far signed only two actors for the next generation on Kyunki Saas..... " Amit Tandon and Akashdeep Sehgal... I've signed no one else for the gen-next in Kyunki... We're working on the changes in Kyunki...They were supposed to happen on the episode on 7 April. We've now pushed the changes to a later date."

The new characters and script are yet to crystallze. But Ekta promises lots of changes in the new Kyunkii.... "There will be a lot of fresh actors. It will still be Tulsi's story. Ba (Sudha Shivpuri) will be out after twenty episodes of the gen-next.

Savita (Apara Mehta) will die, followed by Ba. And Tulsi will take over the role of Ba. And then a young character called Tulsi Krishna will come in as the third generation, exactly how Kyunki...began five years ago."

For the role of Tulsi Krishna Balajee Telefilms has received 60,000 applications."Our computer crashed and we had to start our search from scratch. Among the fresh characters on Kyunkii Saas.... Tulsi Krishna is the most vital. Hope she continues the Tulsi legacy," Ekta has her finger crossed.

Hasn't Iqbal Khan of Kaisa Yeh Pyarr Hai been signed on for the gen-next on Kyunkii? "No, not for Kyunkii Saas," reveals Balajee's head honcho.

"I'll do a fresh show with him. He's awesome and such a nice guy. Iqbal, Hiten Tejwani, Eijaaz Khan are my three actors who remain down-to-earth. Eijaaz is the male lead in my new serial Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka on Star One.

Nimmo is played by a new girl Sanjita. I found her at the Zoom party. I got to know she had already auditioned for a role in Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki. I saw the audition, and she was on. That's how I hope to find my Tulsi Krishna."