MUMBAI: Television actor Anuj Saxena, who stars in serials like Kkusum and Saara Akaash, has opted out of Asha Parekh's Kucch Pal Saath Tumhara. The serial airs on Sahara Manoranjan every Friday at 10:30 pm. The role will now be taken over by actor Akhil Ghai.

Ghai has earlier played a brief role in Subhash Ghai's box-office turkey Yaadein . He also acts in serials like Aashirwad, Gharonda and Piya Ka Ghar.

Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Asha Parekh said that the parting with Saxena was amicable. She said, the serial required more inputs from him in terms of quantity but due to his commitments with Kkusum, Saara Akaash and Pratima (Bollywood star Rani Mukherjee and her brother Raja's serial which he recently signed), he couldn't meet their demands. Saxena is also expecting a foreign tour soon, Parikh said.

Saxena revealed that, "I will be in the US for Navratri. I had told Ashaji about my plan, long ago. I had informed the Kkusum and Saara Akaash unit as well, and they prepared themselves for it by shooting my portions before hand."

Saxena said that Parikh had also built a sufficient bank of episodes to go ahead with the serial in his absence but suddenly, the channel demanded a few changes. As a result, portions from the bank had to be scrapped.

"This, in turn, required re-shooting to be done exactly when I was gone. It was a Catch-22 situation for me."

Saxena is expecting to leave for the US soon. He would be
back on 14 October. The actor got engaged to Ishmita, a girl from Delhi recently. "The marriage is slated for February/March," he informed.