Star Plus Fiction Head Suzana Ghai talks on Barun Sobti quitting Iss Pyaar Ko...

Ever since Tellychakkar.com broke the news about Barun Sobti planning to quit Star Plus’ hit show Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, the channel kept a mum on the issue. It was only the production house (IMRC Entertainment and 4 Lions Films) and the concerned actors who repeatedly kept issuing denials about the same. But eventually it was the channel which tweeted that Barun decided to quit for good. This timely declaration came after we again broke the news that Viraf Phiroze Patel might replace Barun as the new man in Khusi’s life (Sanaya Irani). Later Barun did concede that he was leaving but again with a caveat that it was a long leave. In this scenario Tellychakkar.com spoke to Suzana Ghai, Head of Fiction – Programming, Star Plus, about the same and she said, “Barun has been extremely popular because of Iss Pyaar Ko, however the new actor may not necessarily replace him. We have a story planned and would wait for that to unfold on air.” We then asked her about the possible impact on the show and its popularity post Barun quitting. Angry fans have threatened via mails (we also received similar mails) that they would stop watching the show if their favourite man leaves. They also want Star Plus to stop Barun from throwing in the towel. To which, Suzana replied, “We have always maintained that a character is bigger for us. An actor is important in setting up the character of course, but people connect and relate more to characters than only actors. ” Her confidence may be stemming from the fact that even before the channel has successfully changed the lead actors of major shows, the most recent example being Devoleena Bhattacharjee who replaced Giaa Maanek in Saath Nibhana Saathiya. The show’s number actually went up post the change. But the story does not end here for the buzz goes that the channel might use Viraf only as a stop gap arrangement before eventually pulling the plug on Iss Pyaar Ko. After a superb run its numbers has been dipping. Rumuors of the show shutting down have also been doing the rounds since a while. Suzana did not reply to our question on possibility of the same. Let’s see what unfolds from here.