As India’s much-loved show Pavitra Rishta makes a comeback, Actor Ankita Lokhande recently joined NewsX for an exclusive chat as part of NewsX India A-List. In the exclusive conversation, the actor spoke about the love she has receiving for the show, her reaction on being approached for the show and much more. Read excerpts:
Talking about the new Pavitra Rishta streaming now on Zee 5, Ankita said, “It’s a very beautiful feeling to get the feedback from people because people are actually loving the show. I think Pavitra Rishta has been a show, which has been blessed by people. Not just love or the stardom or anything, it has been blessed by people. People have loved Pavitra Rishta for some reason, for the honesty, for the real feeling. I did not expect this kind of a reaction from people because I was quite nervous. I remember I was just sitting with my mom and I said, ‘Mumma, dil bahar aane wala hai’. I was so nervous and I was so scared. It was like I have given my exam and now it is result time. It was like that for me. But, I am thankful, I am grateful for the audience. The way they are appreciating the characters, not just me or Shaheen, they are appreciating each and everyone. Everybody has done a fab job. You can see it on the screen. You can feel Archana and Manav again. You can feel the love and you can feel that strength of family. Everything comes together with Pavitra Rishta.”
When asked about her first reaction when makers approached her for the show, Ankita responded, “This was my idea. I met Ekta ma’am for something else. She wanted to do something else. I was the one who said, ‘Ma’am, can we do Pavitra?’ and she said, “You really want to do this?’. She was shocked. I told her that I really want to do it. Trust me, immediately she took the decision, called for a meeting, started working on it and we did it. 12 years of this. You see a whole generation in 10 years. After 12 years, it was like I have to become Archana. But, somewhere Archana was in me. I could not let her go. She did not leave me for reasons. I was living Archana for those years also. For me, when I got into this and I became Archana, I was so happy and so enthusiastic that I am getting back again because I know people have loved Archana so much. I have loved Pavitra Rishta so much. I used to tell myself that if given time, if somebody asks me that if you want to go back in past, where would you go? I wanted to see myself in those 6 years of my life. I wanted to go back and feel that thing again. God gave me that time again. I think I have been fortunate that he gave me that opportunity. What would have been a bigger blessing than this?”
Sharing her take on when did she feel during the first season that this show is a hit, Ankita said, “ After 3 months. I remember me, Sushant and our creative team member thought we will go to Lal Bagh Ka Raja. We used to shoot in Killic Nixon. I used to live there. I used to get up, I used to do everything in that Killic Nixon’s room. I did not come out of Archana and Manav’s house for 3 months. I did not know what people are doing. I used to get to know that people are loving it. I never felt that thing when people are falling on me and want to click pictures and that stardom thing. I remember we went to Lal Bagh Ka Raja. As soon as we got down from the taxi, people started coming towards us saying, ‘Archana Manav’. I literally got scared and there I got to know that okay, I am become something.”