Ankita Lokhande (born 19 December 1984) is an Indian actress who debuted in an 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.Lokhande was born on 19 December 1984 in Marathi family of Indore to Shashikant (a news reporter) and Vandana Phadnis (a teacher) and has two brothers, Sooraj and Arpan and a sister, Jyoti.After graduating she moved to Mumbai in 2005 to pursue a career in acting.Lokhande co-starred with Sushant Singh Rajput in Pavitra Rishta, and they began dating in 2010, Rajput proposed her in the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhlaja 4. In a 2016 interview, the couple even spoke of marrying each other.However the same year couple parted their ways. Post breakup with rajput, lo
