On June 1, Ankita Lokhande completed 15 years in the industry, and so did her show, ‘Pavitra Rishta’, which featured her in the role of Archana. Her show also starred Sushant Singh Rajput in the lead role, and emerged to be one of the top-rated Hindi television programs in 2009.
Now after 15 years of the show, the actress remembered and thanked the late Sushant Singh Rajput, and shared a montage of several scenes from the show. The actress wrote, “15 years ago, I started my journey as Archana in Pavitra Rishta. Little did I know that even after years, I will continue to get so much love for my role, which has even become my identity. I sometimes feel I was destined to be Archana. I had her in me, and I continue to have her in me. She has taught me a lot about life.”
She further expressed her gratitude towards Ekta Kapoor and Balaji Telefilms for giving her a role of a lifetime in the start of her career. “Main rahoon ya na rahoon, the love I have received, Archana and Pavitra Rishta has received from each one of you will keep me alive forever in your hearts, and I don’t think there’s anything more precious than that,” Ankita recalled.
She also highlighted the contribution of Sushant in her career, and wrote, “But my journey wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t have Sushant’s support. I didn’t even know how to act when I started Pavitra Rishta. He taught me, and I will always be thankful for him. The show started a new kind of storytelling. Hindi television par Marathi culture ko dikhaya. Isse pehle kabhi koi aisa show aaya nahi tha. People could resonate with the show because of the innocence the show and the people involved in it had.”
The show featured Sushant in the lead role. He had earlier starred as the second lead in the TV series ‘Kis Desh Mein Hain Mera Dil’. But with ‘Pavitra Rishta’, he rose to fame with his character Manav in the series. He later quit the show to try his luck in Bollywood, and made his debut with the 2013 film ‘Kai Po Che!’. He then went on to star in ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’, ‘PK’, ‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’ and ‘Chhichhore’, among many others. He passed away at his residence in Mumbai on June 14, 2020.
Ankita, on the other hand, has been part of films like ‘Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi’, ‘Baaghi 3’ and ‘Swantantrya Veer Savarkar’.
