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Ankita Lokhande

Ankita Lokhande is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi television and films. She rose to prominence with her debut role as Archana Deshmukh in the long-running Zee TV serial Pavitra Rishta, which established her as one of the leading faces of Indian television in the early 2010s.

Key Facts

Full name Ankita Lokhande
Born 1984
Nationality Indian
Occupation Actress
Primary industry Hindi television and film
Notable role Archana Deshmukh in Pavitra Rishta
Film debut Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (2019)

Background

Born in 1984, Lokhande pursued a career in acting and entered the Hindi television industry in the late 2000s. She is associated with Maharashtra and works largely in Mumbai, the centre of the Hindi entertainment industry.

Career

Television

Lokhande made her television debut in 2009 with Pavitra Rishta, produced by Balaji Telefilms and aired on Zee TV. She played Archana, a Marathi woman whose marriage and family life formed the emotional core of the show. The serial ran until 2014 and remained one of the most-watched Hindi daily soaps of its period. Her on-screen pairing with Sushant Singh Rajput, who played Manav, was widely followed by audiences.

She later participated in the reality show Bigg Boss 17 on Colors TV, broadening her presence on Hindi television beyond scripted drama. She also appeared in Pavitra Rishta 2.0, a digital revival of the original serial released on the ZEE5 platform.

Films

Lokhande made her film debut in 2019 with Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, in which she played Jhalkari Bai opposite Kangana Ranaut's Rani Lakshmibai. The historical drama, directed by Krish and Kangana Ranaut, marked her transition from the small screen to mainstream Hindi cinema. She subsequently took up further film projects in Hindi.

Personal Life

Lokhande married businessman Vicky Jain in December 2021. The couple has been featured together in public events and on the reality show circuit.

Significance

Lokhande is recognised as one of the prominent Hindi television actresses of the 2010s. Her sustained portrayal of Archana in Pavitra Rishta contributed to the popularity of family-oriented daily soaps during that decade, and her later move into Hindi films and reality television reflects a wider trend of television actors expanding into multiple formats of Indian entertainment.

References