Ankita Lokhande

Ankita Lokhande (born 19 December 1984) is an Indian actress who earned fame with her debut award-winning role in Balaji Telefilms's daily show Pavitra Rishta on Zee TV. She was one of the highest paid television actors until she retired in 2018 to foray into films.

In 2019, Lokhande began her film career as Jhalkaribai in the historical periodic movie Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. She then appeared in 2020 action thriller Baaghi 3, which was directed by Ahmed Khan.

Family background
Lokhande was born on 19 December 1984 in Marathi family of Indore to Shashikant (a news reporter) and Vandana Phadnis (a teacher) and has a brother, Arpa. After graduating she moved to Mumbai in 2005 to pursue a career in acting.

Personal life
Lokhande co-starred with Sushant Singh Rajput in Pavitra Rishta, and they began dating in 2010, parting ways in 2016.

In 2019, she announced a relationship with Vicky Jain, a businessman.

Television works (2006–14)
After participation in Idea Zee Cinestars (2006–07), Lokhande won the lead role of Archana in Ekta Kapoor's daily soap Pavitra Rishta (2009–14). Her performance and chemistry with Rajput received various television awards, making her a household name.

Along with Pavitra Rishta, Lokhande contested on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa season 4 in 2011. That year, she also participated in Comedy Circus. In 2013, she appeared in episodic of Kapoor's mini-series Ek Thhi Naayka as Pragya.

Pavitra Rishta took a generation leap in 2013, and Lokhande also began playing Archana's granddaughter Ankita, along with her former role of Archana, until the series ended in 2014.

Films (2016–present)
After a two year gap from acting and her separation from Rajput, there were reports that Lokhande was set for a movie debut with a role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama Padmaavat (2018). However she left the movie, replying that she was not ready for film.

The following year, speculation spread that she had been signed for Girish Malik's film Torbaaz along with Sanjay Dutt. However, rumours proved to be untrue after Malik stated that Lokhande was not going to be involved with the film.

In 2018, she announced she would appear in the role of Jhalkaribai, a warrior in Krish and Kangana Ranaut's joint directorial venture Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, an epic drama based on the life of Rani Lakshmi Bai. The film received a theatrical premiere during the eve of Republic day 2019 and did quite very well at the box-office, becoming her first commercial success.

Lokhande next starred in Sajid Nadiadwala's action packed production Baaghi 3 (2020), the third part of the Baaghi trilogy, alongside Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh, in the role of Kapoor's elder sister married to Deshmukh's character. The film was released prior to the shut down of theatres owing to Coronavirus pandemic in India, which affected the box office performance.