Sony's House No. 43 has a new family!

The Batliwallas have finally moved out of Sony and they have been replaced by the Kudkudias who are going to move in on 25 November.

The effervescent, but not so popular Parsi family will now make way for a typical Gujarati household. The concept of the show will remain the same, only the cast is typically gujju -- Dilip Joshi, Dimple Shah, Siddhartha and Nimisha Vakharia will now constitute the Kudkudia family. All of these actors are from Gujarati theatre.

Sony Entertainment Television's executive vice president and business head, Tarun Katial, confirmed this piece of news, but refused to divulge any details.

Gujarati households are not new on Indian television -- Ba Bahoo aur Baby, Instant Khichadi, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Ek Mahal ho Sapano Ka and Ye Meri Life Hai and others. Three of the above mentioned are from the Hats Off stable.

"Yes, we are now going all out with a Gujarati family, but the concept is the same. The cast consists of veteran theatre actors from the Gujarati stage and they are more than friends," says producer, JD Majethia.

Meanwhile, Batliwalla...was an adaptation of BBC's long running show, Kumars at No. 42, which is currently running on Star World. The show has been running successfully for years without any change in format or cast.

The one thing that, makes the BBC show stand out is the chemistry between the actors and the sense of humour that the guests displayed on the show. While the original version gives viewers a sneak peek into the private life of the celebs, the Indian adaptation had squeamish guests, reluctant to divulge details. This made the gags fall flat on their face. The Kudkudia family starts afresh, but the one thing going for them is the fact that they have a list of 'don't do's' that they can follow from the Batliwalla travails!

The change in the show was a forgone conclusion, but there were speculations galore that Bhaktiar Irani might be replaced by Cyrus Sahukar -- but these were speculations that were never confirmed.

When asked if he is doing something with the cast of Batliwalla, JD says that nothing has been planned as yet.

Our sources tell us that this change in family might be a seasonal affair, something that has not been confirmed by the channel or the production house yet.

Will the Kudkudias' succeed where the Batliwallas' failed?