Ankita Lokhande is an actress who appears on Indian television and famous for her portrayal as Archana in Pavitra Rishta, a daily soap opera telecast on Zee TV. Ankita’s debut on television was as a participant in season 1 of the well-known talent hunt show ‘Zee Cine Stars Ki Khoj.’ Lokhande is considered as one of the most beautiful faces on Indian television.
Biography
Ankita Lokhande was born as Tanuja Lokhande into a Maharashtrian family at Indore on December 19, 1984. Ankita wanted to become an actress from very early on. To achieve this objective she came to Mumbai in the year 2005. She therefore could not complete her studies.
In 2008, Ankita was offered the role of the female protagonist in the tele-serial Bali Umar Ko Salaam which was supposed to be aired on NDTV Imagine. She was paired alongside Jay Soni in this TV drama. For reasons not known, the show however never saw the light of day. Finally, in 2009, the 5’5″ beauty bagged the female lead’s role in Zee TV’s daily soap ‘Pavitra Rishta.’ It brought her into limelight and helped her achieve television superstardom. With an average income of about one lakh rupees per episode, Lokhande is currently one of the highest paid actresses on the small screen.
Some of the other serials and TV shows featuring Ankita include Zee TV’s Zee CineStars Ki Khoj, and Sony TV’s Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa season 4, Comedy Circus Ka Naya Daur, and Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega.
Ankita Lokhande in Pavitra Rishta: She played the role of Archana when the Balaji Telefilms production ‘Pavitra Rishta’ initially started. She currently plays the role of Archana as well as her nineteen year old grand-daughter ‘Ankita.’ Ankita’s mother left her and her family for a rich man. This caused Ankita to become an adult overnight so that she could take care of her drunkard father and her 4 siblings. Ankita is a young girl with a modern outlook towards life. But she is also very traditional and firmly rooted in the family value system.
After Sushant Singh Rajput was replaced by Hiten Tejwani in the daily soap, Ankita Lokhande found it quite difficult to work up a chemistry with her new co-star. But such discomfort was only in the beginning. Now, she is comfortable and happy and shares a great rapport with Hiten.
Ankita Lokhande and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani: Director Ayan Mukherjee was impressed by Ankita’s screen presence and wanted to cast her in his movie ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.’ He therefore asked her to audition for a role. Unfortunately it did not materialize.
Ankita Lokhande in the upcoming film Happy New Year: The Shahrukh Khan starrer ‘Happy New Year’ is the Bollywood debut of Ankita Lokhande. It was Shahrukh who recommended her name to Farah Khan who subsequently added her to the cast of the movie. Shahrukh Khan had spotted the beautiful TV actress at the IIFA awards event in Macau. He felt that she would be ideal for the role of a Maharashtrian girl and spoke to Farah about his choice. After Ankita returned from Macau, she met Farah and later signed on the dotted line.
Has Ankita Lokhande married Sushant Singh Rajput?
Ankita is dating her co-star from Pavitra Rishta, Sushant Singh Rajput. They bonded during the show and became fast friends. It was natural for them to fall in love later. Ankita was happily taken aback when Sushant proposed to her on the sets of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, a dance reality show which airs on Sony TV.
The relationship has had its ups and downs. But rumor has it that Ankita Lokhande got married to Sushant Singh Rajput in a quiet ceremony, away from media glare. The couple were together in a live-in relationship for more than 5 years before they decided to commit to each other. It has been alleged that the couple decided to wed because of family pressure, but have kept their wedding a secret to further their respective careers in acting.
The controversy queen
It is a well-known fact that Ankita Lokhande is quite prone to throwing tantrums on the sets. Most times she got away with it. However, she was quickly replaced by the organizers of a cricket league opening ceremony performance after she asked them to change the shooting schedule. The organizers had accepted to pay the huge sum that she demanded as a fee, but when she asked them to change the shoot date because she did not work on Sundays the organizers instead decided to rope in actress and dancer Lauren Gottlieb.
Ankita also had major tiffs with her co-star Asha Negi on the sets of Pavitra Rishta. She used to taunt Negi by telling her that her down-to-earth, simple looks were no match for her serene beauty. Another story is about how she slapped her boyfriend Sushant on the sets of a YRF production because he was getting too cozy with his stylist. Sushant has however denied that such an incident ever happened.
Ankita Lokhande – pictures
