Ankita Lokhande On Break-Up With Sushant Singh Rajput: "He Chose His Career And Moved On"

A file photo of Ankita Lokhande and Sushant Singh Rajput.

Actress Ankita Lokhande, who dated actor Sushant Singh Rajput for several years, opened up about how the break-up had affected her life and career after their split. Ankita Lokhande and Sushant Singh Rajput fell in love while starring on the TV show Pavitra Rishta, which made stars out of both the actors. Ankita and Sushant played lovers on the show and were one of the most popular TV couples, both on screen and in real life. Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide in June last year, when Ankita was one of the few celebs, who stood by the late actor's family. In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, Ankita said that Sushant "chose his career" over the relationship while she struggled to move on: "People come and tell me 'You left Sushant...'. How do you know that? Nobody knows about my thing, you know. I am not blaming anyone here. Sushant... he made his choice very clear. He wanted to go on with his career. He chose his career and moved on. But for two-and-a-half years, I was dealing with so many things."

"I was not in that state of mind where I could just work... I am not that sort of a person who can easily move on and get busy with work. So you know for me it was very difficult. My family stood by me. My life was just finished. I was just finished. I did not know what to do after that. I still am not blaming anyone. He chose his ways. But my ways were different. I was craving for love, emotions and all that... I gave him full right that 'It's your life, you can go on'," Ankita added.

In the interview, Ankita also revealed that she passed on films such as Happy New Year because of Sushant, who she was dating at that time: "I gave up on many things. I gave up on Happy New Year. I remember Farah ma'am offered me the film and I met Shah Rukh sir also. He was like, 'I will try to give you the best debut.' And I was like, okay, but at the back of my mind... I was in Macau. Me, Sushant and Shah Rukh, we were sitting, and I was like 'God, I hope I don't get it.' When it comes to women, they always think that: 'No yaar, I wish the best for my partner'. Till today, I have no regrets. I was trying to build a man and I did that, you know, quietly I was trying to be a very strong support for Sushant."

Ankita Lokhande also revealed that she opted out of films such as Bajirao Mastani, Ram-Leela and even Sultan. Sharing a snippet of her conversation with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ankita said she had told him: "I wanted to get married" when she was offered a role in Bajirao Mastani. Ankita Lokhande debuted in Bollywood with a supporting role in 2019 movie Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi, which just brought the Best Actress National Award for Kangana Ranaut.

Ankita Lokhande is dating Vicky Jain and often trends for their loved up posts for each other. "He is in my life and I'm very, very happy with him. He keeps me balanced," Ankita said about Vicky Jain in the interview.