‘We’re good friends but...’

Sushant Singh Rajput, Pavitra Rishta’s Manav, denies dating co-star Ankita Lokhande

The ad trailers of the show Pavitra Rishta, on Zee TV, have the lead pair Manav (Sushant Singh Rajput) and Archana (Ankita Lokhande) in a court with divorce papers on the table. Rajput says that fans and well-wishers have been requesting him to not divorce Archana. “It’s funny that people take our on-screen divorce so seriously. Actually, it’s also flattering that we are so convincing as a couple,” he adds.

HT Image

Reel to real?
Buzz is that Rajput and Lokhande have been steadily dating each other for the last one year. “That is not true. Ankita is a wonderful girl but we are not seeing each other. She is only my on-screen lover. But who knows, anything’s possible,” he laughs, adding that he has often been advised to stick to his on-screen wife in real life.

“Recently, while shopping for groceries, a group of housewives wanted to know if we get divorced. I asked them to tune in to the show to find out. They weren’t convinced. They didn’t want to leave without an affirmative answer,” recalls Rajput. The group of women even lectured him for 20 minutes about making a life-altering decision in the show.

Rajput remembers attending a puja at a friend’s house, where an old lady told him that she had been praying for Archana and him and didn’t want to see them separated. He hugged the lady in return. The actor, also seen on Zara Nachke Dikha on Star Plus, was told by one of his cousin’s friends that he should divorce his on-screen wife.

“You deserve a better one, is what the girl told me. She must have been a teenager or a little older than that. She looked at me, tried to find out what the twist was going to be and when I didn’t tell her, she just said, “If you don’t find anyone better, I’m always there,” laughs Rajput.