Did you know that the creative executive at Zee TV did not think that Sushant Singh Rajput was the perfect choice for Manav's character in the popular TV show Pavitra Rishta? However, the show's producer Ekta Kapoor had a different school of thought. In her latest Instagram post, Ekta revealed that she convinced the channel's creative executive that Sushant would be the right choice for Manav's character and that "his smile would win a million hearts," and the rest is history. As the show Pavitra Rishta clocked 11 years on Tuesday, Ekta shared a video from the show that also featured the lead actress Ankita Lokhande and she wrote: "After being 35 of 50 slots we were out of top 50! This show was a chance Zee TV gave us based on a show Thirumathi Selvam (a Tamil TV soap).Wanted to cast a boy as lead who was doing second lead on our other show ! The creative at Zee was adamant he didn't look the part! We convinced them his smile would win a million hearts and it did."
Reacting to Ekta Kapoor's post, both Sushant and Ankita Lokhande thanked her in the comments section. "And I'm forever grateful to you, Ma'am," wrote Sushant, while Ankita wrote: "Thank you, Ekta Ma'am, Archana (her character's name in the show) aur Ankita ke liye. Logon ki zindagiyaan badal gayin is show se. Pavitra Rishta...Tere mere mann ka... What a title song. Will always be grateful for this opportunity, Ma'am."
See Ekta Kapoor's post here:
Sushant Singh Rajput dated his Pavitra Rishta co-star Ankita Lokhande for six years before their split in 2016. Sushant stepped into Bollywood with the 2013 film Kai Po Che! He is best-known for his performances in films like MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Kedarnath, Chhichhore and Sonchiriya among others.
Ankita Lokhande made her Bollywood debut with Kangana Ranaut's Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi, in which she starred as Jhalkari Bai. Ahead of the film's release in 2019, Sushant wished Ankita luck and wrote on social media: "It looks absolutely great Ankita. I am extremely happy to see this. May God bless you with lots of success and happiness." Ankita Lokhande is currently dating Vicky Jain, while Sushant is said to be dating Mere Dad Ki Maruti actress Rhea Chakraborty.