Vikas Gupta shared this throwback of Sushant and Ankita (courtesy lostboyjourney)

New Delhi:

TV producer Vikas Gupta took a trip down memory lane and returned to Instagram with major nostalgia as he Instagrammed a photo of himself along with actor Sushant Singh Rajput and Ankita Lokhande. Sushant and Ankita were co-stars of Balaji Telefilms-produced Pavitra Rishta, the show which propelled them to fame. Sushant and Ankita, who were cast as lovers on the show, also dated for six years. Vikas Gupta refreshed our memories from Pavitra Rishta days with a photo, in which Sushant and Ankita can be seen smiling ear-to-ear during a party hosted by Ankita to celebrate Sushant signing the film Shuddh Desi Romance. Ankita was Sushant’s “shock absorber”, is how Vikas Gupta remembered the former couple.

Countless memories spilled onto Instagram when Vikas Gupta attached this lengthy note to his post, remembering Sushant as someone who was “carefree” and could reject a Yash Raj Films’ offer: “This was the time when I saw him as the carefree, fun, happy lad Sushu was. He didnt worry about anything. He could leave the number 1 show on Indian television and we could for weeks do nothing and make plans with chai, coffee and discuss learning filmmaking plans. I remember him saying ‘No’ to Aurangzeb because he was offered the other brother’s role and I remember he said ‘How will I say no to Yash Raj?’ But he was able to, cause that mad girl in the middle of the picture would say ‘You do what makes you happy… we will do when you are sure about things’ and he would grin like in this picture.” The “mad girl” Vikas Gupta refers to is Ankita Lokhande.

Vikas Gupta had more to share from when he used to hang out with Sushant and Ankita as they were all “Balaji ke bachhe”: “We were wishing him getting a film with Parineeti Chopra cause she was fantastic in Ishaqzaade and my narrating him the story of a show that became so huge to him, getting Kai Po Che! and him telling me the story of how he signed PK, like lost count types, and then signing the film with Parineeti – Shuddh Desi Romance – and Ankita calling friends home. What remains are memories. I want to remember him as this grinning boy who was tension free cause tension Ankita ko dekh kar bhaag jaati thi. Ankita Lokhande, you were the shock-absorber and wouldn’t leave him till he has the smile on his face again. Sorry, some of us have half faces in this one but I just had to put it cause look at him grinning and all of us showing our teeth.” Vikas Gupta, was the creative head of Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms, which he quit to launch his own production house Lost Boy Productions.

Kai Po Che! was Sushant’s Bollywood debut, which released in 2013. Shuddh Desi Romance with Parineeti Chopra was his second Bollywood movie, released the same year. Sushant played a supporting role in PK, co-starring Anushka Sharma and Aamir Khan.

Sushant Singh Rajput died in Mumbai on June 14. The actor died by suicide, say the police. The day after Sushant’s death, Ankita Lokhande visited the actor’s family at his Mumbai residence. She could not be at the funeral because of the limit on number of attendees.

Ankita Lokhande photographed in front of Sushant Singh Rajput’s house.

Ankita Lokhande photographed in front of Sushant Singh Rajput’s house.

Sushant Singh Rajput and Ankita Lokhande’s Pavitra Rishta ran between 2009 and 2014.