Ankita Lokhande to continue with Pavitra Rishta

The future of Balaji Telefilms Pavitra Rishta was at stake when many actors recently decided to quit the show post the leap. The leap which is still to take place has had many actors deciding to not go ahead with the show and many are also talking about the same.

While Balaji's loyal actor Hiten Tejwani maintained that he will continue working for the show, even veteran actress Usha Nadkarni said she will stick to the show. The main lead actress Ankita Lokhande however shied away from any comment which had tongues wagging that she will quit the show. What further prompted these rumors was the announcement in sections of media that Ankita had been spotted by none other than Shah Rukh Khan who recommended her to Farah Khan for her upcoming film Happy New Year.

Apparently things didn't fall in place and finally Deepika Padukone who too was in the running bagged the much coveted role. While Ankita as usual maintained a stoic silence about all this a source tells us, "Yes, it is true that Ankita was being considered for a role opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Farah Khan's next but finally she was not chosen. Ultimately the role went to Deepika. Thus, Ankita has decided to stick to Television and continue with Pavitra Rishta."

Actually there was another reason for this silence, "Ankita is not keeping well for some time now and due to her ill health she is keeping a low profile for sometime now, but she should soon resume shoot."

Looks like for once Bollywood's loss is Telly town's gain!

Seema Khot Mattoo