Cezanne quits 'Kasautii...' for films

After weeks of dilly-dallying, Cezanne Khan's character has finally been bumped off on STAR Plus' long running soap "Kasautii Zindagi Kay".

Without commenting on reasons for Cezanne's departure from the series, Ekta Kapoor told IANS: "I didn't really need him on the show any more. Ronit Roy too will be taking a break. The men will now be marginalized on 'Kasautii...' Prerna (Shweta Tiwari) will be setting up a gurukul. After Anurag's death, Prerna will now be against men."

The actor, who played Anurag in the series, wants to try his luck in films.

"Like Iqbal Khan, Cezanne is hoping for better prospects. He thinks he has a movie career waiting for him. Without a single offer from films, Cezanne decided to quit," said a source.

The serial is going to take one more leap forward and Prerna's character will replicate Amitabh Bachchan's in Aditya Chopra's "Mohabbatein".

"Prerna has seven granddaughters and she runs a gurukul where men aren't allowed. And the girls aren't allowed to meet boys," said Ekta.

The hunt is on for a new Prerna. "She'll be the eldest granddaughter. We're casting for Kasautii Ki Nayi Prerna."

Ekta is all praise for Shweta. "She's so young and she looks like a Vogue model. She's drop-dead gorgeous. And she isn't afraid of playing a grandmother."

Hiten Tejwani makes his entry into "Kasautii..." post generation-leap as Abhishek Bhattacharya.