Kumkum bereaved

Juhi Parmar, the small screen's Kumkum, had to take a break from shooting when her paternal grandfather passed away in Kolkata last week; she flew down for the last rites.

Says Juhi, "Yes, I was there for a day. My grandparents were visiting my taoji, a major general in the army who is posted there. My grandfather was accompanying my grandmother for her treatment at a hospital in Kolkata.

His passing was a shock to us." Though Juhi's family is based in Jaipur, she says, "We are originally from Ujjain."

Back In Mumbai

Now back in the studios, her track in the BAG Films' show on Star Plus has a twist in the tale when Kumkum realises that Jatin (Anuj Saxena) is an imposter.

She's taken aback when she is told that he is actually Manik, a small-town goon. He had seen Jatin in hospital and is now trying to cash in on his similar looks and enters the Wadhwa household. There is also Kamiya (Dimple Inamdar) who turns out to be Manik's associate.

Kumkum's dukh

"Kumkum's dilemmas continue," says Juhi, one of the few actresses who has stuck to doing just one show. "I want to retain my exclusivity tag as Kumkum. I want viewers to wait till 1 pm every day to catch up with what Kumkum is up to. Anyway, I don't want to just take on more assignments and end up shooting 30 days a month."

Juhi's character has also been nominated in four categories for the Star Parivar awards —Favourite Bhabhi, Patni, Bahu as well as the Favourite Jodi, with Sumeet (Hussain). "Let's seen for what I get this year," she says.