Perhaps other ppl have had this thought--but I think the best thing for Ekta to do, if Iqbal is leaving, is to have Shiv and Gauri fall in love and then just have Shiv die.
Two benefits--no one else can do Shiv like Iqbal can (lets be honest) but if Shiv dies and a new male lead is created, maybe we can have the fun of seeing a new character develop. Secondly, if Shiv and Gauri have a lot of cute scenes before Iqbal's exit, at least we can see our belove Iqbal/Shiv in Gauri's flashbacks as she remembers her dead husband.
What do you guys think?