I am calling it quits for a year-Ekta

Come June and Indian television will be bereft of saas-bahu sagas…at least for a year! Queen Bee, Ektaa Kapoor made a knee-jerk confession in an interview to After Hours that she intends to take a year-long hiatus for personal reasons.

We first heard the news through a source and after contacting her repeatedly and relentlessly, she let us in on her big news.

"Yes, it's true, I want to move base to New York for a year," she admits. "Actually, in July I'll first take off for a month long trip to Egypt and Europe and then head off to the US." Whoa! Hold it there! Why? "I've been slogging for sooooooo long! And had I planned it in advance, it probably would not have happened. I want to take time off to stand and stare at life."

Before we could bombard her with questions, she adds, "Please don't make it sound like I'm moving away from television forever! It's just a much needed break. The company will carry on with business as usual. In my absence my mom and Nivedita (Basu, who is the Deputy Creative Director of Balaji Telefilms) will be looking after my company. It's my company, I have taken years to see it where it is today. I can't just give it up all one day on a whim and I'm not."

How did her parents react when she broke the news to them? "To be honest, they weren't completely shocked because they had an idea that I am going to take a big break soon, but they didn't think I would stretch it to 365 days. In fact, some of my close friends weren't shocked at all."

So how does Ektaa, who's used to being one of the busiest women in the country, intend to unwind? "Read at least a hundred books, to begin with!"