Ankita Lokhande Instagram – “The moment ‘Ankita’ became ‘Archana’, I knew my love affair with cinema wasn’t a frivolous one. Everything made sense–even me as an 8-year-old writing in my diary, ‘I want to become a 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿.’ It started with watching Urmila Matondkar & Rekha on screen & thinking, ‘Mujhe actor banna hai.’ Par Indore mei, actress banne ke sapne nahi hote hai. Maa & Baba wanted me to focus on my education. So that’s what I did, but the acting seed had been planted. And then in the 11th std, I came across the poster of ‘Zee cine superstar’, I knew I had to give it a shot. Maa & Baba were apprehensive. They let me come to Bombay on 1 condition–that I’d come back to Indore. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀… After I reached the finale, my passion only strengthened. There was no way I could go back. I auditioned for the role of a vamp in a daily soap. I didn’t get that. Instead, I got the role of a traditional Indian woman & ‘𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗮’ was born. And the love Archana got was unimaginable. I remember once all of us had gone to Lal Baug for Ganpati Darshan. The moment we reached, we were mobbed! People screamed, ‘Archana’ ‘Manav’. And when Archana & Manav were getting married, real invitations were sent to real people. Hundreds actually came; that’s how invested people were. Pavitra Rishta ran for 6 years. I gave it my all; blood, sweat & tears. But it’s not always been a bed of roses–a few of my shows after it tanked. But I love the set, the camera & the lights so much, failure doesn’t bother me. So, in 2019, I set foot in 𝗕𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱 with Manikarnika. The biggest achievement was seeing Maa & Baba’s face when I told them. Today, in Indore, they’re called, ‘Ankita ke mummy papa!’ I feel special, you know. Through my art, I’ve become a part of conversations, a part of dinner time meals; a part of people’s lives. Obviously, I get 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 too & my god, the hate I get is massive. But the love I get overpowers it all–like when I get messages saying, ‘You’ve shown me small town girls can make it big,’ I love the job I’m doing! How many people can say that? I’m at a stage in life where my dreams have become a reality & I’m nowhere being done!” Mumbai, Maharashtra