The Sony show that sees the entry of Akashdeep 'Ansh' Saigal shortly, is fast becoming a nightmare for its scriptwriters. Entering the track around the same time is Mouli Ganguly, while Narayani Shastri stages a comeback as Taashu in the long running serial too. Lead protagonists Abhay (Anuj Saxena) and Kkusum (Mansi Joshi Roy), needless to say, are unwilling to let go of the spotlight too.

On 29 December, we told you <em>Kkusum’s</em> Abhay (Anuj Saxena) has another child besides daughters Kumud and Kali- a son called Trishul from Abhay’s former wife Taashu. We had also told you that the character of Trishul will come with loads of attitude and style. Who else in Indian television can have loads of attitude and style but Ansh GUjral of <em>Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi</em>! Yes, Akashdeep Saigal will play Trishul in Sony's <em>Kkusum</em>.

In a blast from the past, it will be revealed that <em>Kkusum’s</em> Abhay has another child besides daughters Kumud and Kali. It’s a son called Trishul from Abhay’s former wife Taashu. To add some more drama to the long-running Balaji daily, the character of Trishul comes with loads of attitude and style. His identity, however, will not be revealed till his mother Taashu appears. Taashu, played by Narayani Shastri, is expected to resurface in mid January. Taashu who was Abhay’s wife over a year ago, obviously hated Kkusum's guts.

Ejaz Khan, the emerging heart-throb of couch potatoes, is about to be bumped out of <em>Kkusum</em>. Ejaz, who plays Abhay's suave cousing Sohan, is occupying the limelight currently as Anuj Saxena, who plays tormented soul Abhay Kapoor, is scheduled to be out of the country for a while. Saxena, the scion of the Elder Pharma family, is going abroad to further his pharmaceutical interests, say sources. Consequently, '<em>Kkusum's</em> twists and turns continue........

She's back after a hiatus. Those of you who missed the impish, often vampish Krutika Desai on the telly have reason to cheer. The lady makes a comeback as the protagonist's mother in law in Zee's <em>Tumhari Disha</em> in the first week of December.

The youngest of them all is mother to a toddler and the oldest of the lot is just 56. But with a hike in the number of family dramas on TV, an increasing number of actresses have had to skip a generation and play grandmother to folks old enough to be their siblings. Prashant Golecha spoke to a few tele-grannies to fathom what made them accept the roles, whether they have eased into the grey that shades their lives now and how they cope with real life once the cameras are switched off.

The talented Shweta Kawaatra who plays Pallavi Aggarwal in <em>Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii</em> has decided to pack up from the serial. The reason: she's got tired of doing the same things over and again.

The quid pro quo system, often termed the casting couch syndrome, has been working in Bollywood for eons. With television coming of age in India, the phenomenon is making itself felt in the TV industry too, finds Vickey Lalwani. Bollywood has always been notorious for its big, bad wolves ready to bully aspiring babes in the business into bed with the lure of a meaty role. Whispered rumours also abound about increasingly ambitious starlets willing to shed more and more of their inhibitions to race ahead of their rivals in the industry.

They are crossing the border with temerity. But for once, neither country is complaining. Welcome to the world of cross border television, the latest trend to sweep the small screen in India and its neighbour. Aman Varma has crossed the LoC to act in a Pakistani serial, as has the latest Indian femme fatale of the telly, Aamna Shariff. Mandira Bedi is seriously considering lending her presence to another Pak show and Nausheen, known thus far only as Kkusum, has also signed on the dotted line. Not to be outdone, Sakshi Tanwar has jumped onto the bandwagon.

Is the fact that it has become the highest rated Hindi weekly serial bringing the suave Anuj Saxena back to <em>Saara Akaash</em>? If industry gossip is to be believed, Anuj had turned his back on the Miditech produced show for Star Plus along with Manish Goel, complaining that the spotlight stayed too much on lead heroine Sai Deodhar. Manav Gohil too disappeared from the plot a few months ago. Now, while we don't discount their judgment, the channel and production house were said to be shifting the limelight to the pert and pretty Sai, going by viewer response.