From ‘Pavitra Rishta’ to Manikarnika, Ankita Lokhande is one of India’s most critically and widely appreciated television actresses, and she is stilled perceived as “Archana” across every state and has surpassed every level of dedication and skill an actor needs to possess.
Here are some lesser-known facts about the actress:
Born in a middle class Marathi family, Ankita was born in December 19, 1984 in Indore.
Her father Shashikant Lokhande is a banker and her mother Vandana Pandis Lokhande is a teacher. She has a brother Sooraj Lokhande and a younger sister Jyoti Lokhande.
Ankita Lokhande’s real name is Tanuja. The name ‘Ankita’ has been given as a pet name by her family.
Ankita stopped her education midway in 2005 to pursue her dream of becoming an actor in Mumbai.
Ankita is an amazing badminton player . She was a state level badminton player in college. She is a graceful dancer too.
Ankita started her career with Idea Zee Cinestar’s during 2006-2007. She was about to make her screen debut with another show but it got delayed and Ankita was selected for the role of Archana in Pavitra Rishta.
Ankita has been awarded several times for her amazing performance in Pavitra Rishta. She won ITA Award for Gr8! Face Female in 2010, Zee Rishtey Award for Favourite Popular Face (Female) in 2011, Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series in 2011 and Zee Rishtey Award for Zee Personality of the Year in 2012.
Ankita’s relationship with Sushant Singh Rajput were admired by their fans , be it onscreen chemistry or offscreen romance but the actress didn’t say yes to Sushant immediately when they began shooting for the show. They stayed in a live-in relationship for almost 6 years.
Ankita was a contestant in dance based reality show ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’ with Sushant Singh Rajput Season 4 in 2011. Apart from that, she also participated in Kapil Sharma’s comedy reality show ‘Comedy Circus’ the same year.
Ankita was one of the highest paid TV actors in India.
In 2018, Ankita made her Bollywood debut with Kangana Ranaut in the biopic Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, as Jhalkari Bai . She was also seen in Baaghi 3.
Ankita had once revealed that she was considered to play the lead actress in Happy New Year opposite Shah Rukh Khan but at the end, Deepika Padukone bagged the role.
In 2019, Ankita made her relationship with boyfriend Vicky Jain public via Instagram handle. A few weeks back, the two announced their engagement and are going to be married soon.
Ankita is very passionate towards music : soft, romantic songs and even ghazals. Her favourite color is white and her favourite restaurant is Urban Tadka in Mumbai. Ankita’s favourite Bollywood actors are Madhuri Dixit and Shilpa Shetty.