Ankita Lokhande (L), Shibani Dandekar (R). (courtesy: lokhandeankita )

New Delhi:

Actress Ankita Lokhande has shared a lengthy note on Instagram in which she joins dots from Shibani Dandekar’s “2 seconds of fame” tweet to her own career in television. Ankita, 35, has made headlines in the recent past for her comments on actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death – she and Sushant were co-stars on the hit TV show Pavitra Rishta and dated for six years. Ankita has appeared in TV interviews and has also shared posts on social media in which she has contradicted some comments made by actress Rhea Chakraborty, who was dating Sushant Singh Rajput when he died and has been accused by his family of cheating him financially and driving him to suicide.

A day ago, Shibani Dandekar – a friend of Rhea – responded to a tweet from journalist Rohini Singh describing Ankita Lokhande as a “princess of patriarchy.” In her response, Shibani wrote, “This woman clearly wants her 2 seconds of fame and has capitalised on Rhea being targeted because she has never dealt with her own relationship issues with Sushant. She has been the driving force behind this and she needs to be called out.” Shibani’s comment roused social media to fury with several pointing out that Ankita Lokhande  is a successful actress and does not need to seek out fame.

In her own response shared on Thursday evening, Ankita Lokhande singled out Shibani Dandekar’s “2 seconds of fame” remark. “This phrase got me thinking today,” she wrote, with a short bio of herself as belonging to a tier 2 city – Ankita’s family belongs to Indore – and pointing to her lack of “fancy education.” Ankita detailed her TV credits, prominent among which is the massively successful Pavitra Rishta; she also had roles in the films Manikarnika and Baaghi 3.

“I have been an actor in television and Bollywood for the past 17 years and now, when I am trying to support justice for my late friend, a view has been expressed that I am seeking justice because I need 2 seconds of fame and cheap publicity,” Ankita Lokhande wrote, “Is it because I have worked mostly in television and not in Bollywood?”

“Stop looking down on we television actors, if that was your reason for describing my words as ‘grotesque.’ It takes an equal amount of hard work and dedication for the actors in the television industry as it would take in Bollywood. I am proud to be a television actor,” Ankita wrote.

Read her post here:

“2 seconds of fame” This phrase got me thinking today. Coming from a tier 2 city and belonging to a humble background, I had no fancy education to show for myself. I entered the television industry in the year 2004 with a show called Zee Cine Star Ke Khoj. But my real journey began in 2009 with the show “PAVITRA RISHTA” which went on till 2014. I would be doing an injustice if I don’t mention that it was among one of the best shows for 6 consecutive years with the highest GEC TRP on television till date. Fame is only a byproduct of the love and warmth that an actor receives from the masses. Along with all the viewers, I, too still feel connected to the character of “ARCHANA”. Both, my fate and the people have been kind enough to me shower their blessings and love upon me. The aspiration of an actor trying to portray as many different roles and characters as possible, led me to explore. Luckily, I got the opportunity to work in Manikarnika as well as Baghi 3. To conclude, I have been an ACTOR in Television & Bollywood for the past 17 years & now, when I am trying to support justice for my late friend, a view has been expressed that I am seeking JUSTICE because I need 2 seconds of fame and cheap publicity! I cannot fathom as to why any person would take such a stand. Is it because I have worked mostly on television and not in Bollywood? Is that why you would take a stand for the person with whom you have had a relationship for almost a decade? Stop looking down on we television actors, if that was your reason for describing my words as ‘GROTESQUE’ . It takes an equal amount of hard work and dedication for the actors in the television industry as it would take in Bollywood. I am proud to be a television actor. And if not for anything, I shall always raise my voice for the people I love and care about. #proudtobeatelevisionactor #WarriorsRoar4SSR #justiceforsushant

A post shared by Ankita Lokhande (@lokhandeankita) on Sep 10, 2020 at 7:29am PDT

This is Shibani Dandekar’s tweet about Ankita:

This woman clearly wants her 2 seconds of fame and has capitalised on Rhea being targeted because she has had never dealt with her own relationship issues with Sushant.. she has been the driving force behind this and she needs to be called out! https://t.co/egM6iZRuHU

— shibani dandekar (@shibanidandekar) September 10, 2020

Earlier this week, Ankita Lokhande shared another post claiming that she never said that Sushant Singh Rajput had been murdered.

pic.twitter.com/Hu985iz6Od

— Ankita lokhande (@anky1912) September 9, 2020

Last month, Ankita told NDTV in an interview, “Sushant didn’t have suicidal personality. When he was with me, he used to be happy, he used to keep me happy. He was a very balanced person.”

Rhea Chakraborty, the focus of several concurrent investigations, was arrested this week by the Narcotics Control Bureau in a drugs case linked to Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.