Television actress Ankita Lokhande's repeated refusal to star in Ekta Kapoor's shows has reportedly miffed the producer. Lokhande, who rose to fame with Kapoor's show "Pavitra Rishta," has not featured in any of the latter's later projects.
A report in India Forums says after "Pavitra Rishta" went off air, Ekta was said to have offered Ankita the lead role in "Itna Karo Naa Mujhe Pyaar." However, the actress refused to be a part of the show as she didn't want to play the role of a mother anymore.
Later, Ekta reportedly approached her to play the role of Shanaya in "Yeh Hai Mohabbatein," which is now being played by the show's lead actress Divyanka Tripathi herself. Ankita once again rejected the offer and this time Ekta apparently has not taken kindly to the rebuff. However, Ankita refuted the news of any tiff between her and Ekta. "All of this is a lie," she told the website.
Ankita has also been in news recently because of her break-up with long-time boyfriend and Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Sushant and Ankita, who fell in love six years ago on the sets of "Pavitra Rishta," were supposed to get married in December this year. Rumours of their split started doing the rounds after Sushant started making public appearances without Ankita accompanying him. Also, Ankita gave Sushant's birthday bash a miss, which sparked off rumours of trouble in their relationship.
When contacted by the Hindustan Times regarding the break-up rumour, the "M.S. Dhoni : The Untold Story" actor told the daily through a text message, "I can't talk about it right now. It is not a good feeling. Please, understand."
