Abhay dies in car crash
By: Shaheen Parkar
October 26, 2005
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Anuj Saxena
Besides the recent change in Kkusum's timings, from 9 pm to 7.30 pm, the Balaji daily on Sony will also see the death of Kkusum's (Shilpa Saklani) hubby, Abhay (Anuj Saxena).
Abhay's death sequence was shot at Film City, Goregaon yesterday, amid high drama. This signals the exit of Saxena from the soap. Balaji creative head Nivedita Basu confirms Abhay's departure from Kkusum's life.
"Yes, Abhay will be shown dead this week," she says. And it is highly unlikely that Abhay, in true Balaji soap style, will resurface from the dead. When asked about his exit from the daily, Saxena refused to comment.
Anuj was unhappy
It is learnt that there are several reasons for Abhay being bumped off from Kkusum. Apparently, Saxena was not keen to be part of Kkusum after the revised telecast timings.
Secondly, the doctor-turned-actor had repeatedly voiced his desire to leave the show due to the constant cheat shooting (with dummy actors), the non-availability of scripts on time, and a complete lack of banked episodes.
Jeetu intervened
But in August, on Jeetendra's intervention, Saxena decided to stay on. The actor had also been summoned by Sony's Tarun Katiyal for a meeting about his decision to quit Kkusum at that time.
Kkusum's shift to a dead time slot might mean the beginning of the end for the Balaji daily, which completes 1,000 episodes in November. Interestingly, Kkusum is still a popular show in USA and the UK. Whether Abhay comes back to life with a new face, or there is a new man in Kkusum's life, remains to be seen.
shaheen@mid-day.com
Abhay's Kkusum facts
Anuj Saxena has been playing Kkusum's husband Abhay since the show began four years ago.
As Abhay, he was telly's most-married man (five marriages). He was paired opposite all the show's women, including Kkusum (played formerly by Nausheen Ali Sardar and Manasi Joshi Roy, and now Shilpa Saklani), Taashu (Narayani Shastri) and Esha (Shweta Kawaatra).
He was briefly replaced by Rohit Roy, but was brought back by public demand. Saxena was also seen in Kkuch Pal Saath Tumara and Prratima (both on SaharaOne) and in Saara Aakash (Star Plus). He is slated to be seen on the big screen in Sameer Malkan's thriller Lips — The Kiss of Death.
What will happen in Kkusum?
Abhay returns to India after recovering in Malaysia. He decides he has nothing to do with Kkusum now, and burns her photos and belongings. Though Kkusum is in Malaysia, he performs her last rites.
Abhay's family also follows him to the cremation ground. Kkusum's aai (Savita Prabhune) wonders why he is doing all this. Abhay is in no mood to listen. Post the kriya-karm, on his way back home, Abhay is killed in a car accident.