But afternoon show Kumkum seems to be swimming in troubled waters currently, although the production house promises that the show is poised for a high point by the end of February. The BAG Films serial had its entire creative unit changed, right from the director to the scriptwriters. This happened soon after Anuj Saxena was brought back into the show as the sophisticated Jatin in early December.

Over the last few weeks, however, ratings for the show have dipped, in itself, not a very unnatural occurence for a daily show, which has its share of ups and downs.

But insiders on the show reveal that the dip could also have something to do with the entry of Saxena, who's known to be the afternoon soap star (he's also recently bagged the lead role in Sony's forthcoming afternoon daily Risshton Ki Dorr). "Viewers, attuned to the chemistry between Sumeet (Hussain) and Kumkum (Juhi {Parmar) haven't really appreciated Anuj's re-entry into the show," say unit sources.

Does that mean that Anuj will make another exit from the show? Both Star Plus and BAG seem to have decided to give Anuj's track some more days to prove it's mettle. He may shown to be an imposter, a country bumpkin turned sophisticate, or he may get involved in a murder.

Sources say Anuj himself isn't too happy with the direction his charoiis proposed to take.

It's unlikely that Kumkum, that's been consistent for long, will go the way of Kkusum, a steady show that lost steam mid 2005 and was given an ignominous burial. That is, if the creative team comes up with a better idea of what to do with the lives of the three protagonists.