Ankita Lokhande, who played the role of Archana in the popular television show Pavitra Rishta for six years, is all set to make her Bollywood debut in Kangana Ranaut starrer Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. Ankita was a top-notch actress on the television circuit and ruled it for five years, giving it all up in 2014 for a break. Her relationship with beau Sushant Singh Rajput was much talked about and so was their breakup which took everyone by surprise. However, the two always maintained a dignified silence over their break up. Now, in a candid chat with a leading daily Ankita said that she is in love again, albeit this time with herself.

Talking about marriage, relationships and love Ankita said that couples don’t give importance to marriage anymore. She said, “I feel that couples don’t give importance to marriage, as much as they do to love. Today, the thought process is, ‘Oh! we are in love, let’s live-in together and see how it goes’, because we are giving importance to the feeling of love. When you start living in with a person, over a period of time you could start losing interest. That’s when you could lose out on important things and marriage is one of those big things. As far as I am concerned, the concept of love hasn’t changed. I still feel the same way when I am in love.”

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Ankita said that she is a very giving person when she is in a relationship, so much so that she completely changes herself and give full attention to the person in her life. However, now she feels that it is important to love yourself before you love another. Speaking on the topic of love, Ankita said that during the shoot of Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi she realized that she loves the camera and acting and feels that the real happiness lies in her work.

However, in the course of the interview, the actress conceded that she is not averse to getting married to a man of her parents’ choice either as she is a very committed person. She said, “I want to settle down as a happy housewife, but I also feel that the real happiness lies in my work. I enjoy acting.”