Ankita, Divyanka, Urvashi On How TV Changed Their Lives

MUMBAI, (IANS) – Popular television actresses Ankita Lokhande, Divyanka Tripathi, Anita Hassanandani, and Urvashi Dholakia have shared details on how the small screen helped to change their lives.

Talking about fan encounters Ankita shared: “I was having packed shoot schedule from June till August and for the first time during that three-month period, I decided to step out to visit Lalbaugcha Raja to take his blessings.”

“I used to stay on the set only and my mom used to get new clothes for me on set. By that time, ‘Pavitra Rishta’ was already on air, but I had no idea about the response the show was garnering, and I just casually decided to visit Lalbaugcha Raja for darshan. I went there in a taxi and that was the first time I got to witness the result of our hard work.”

“As soon as my friend and I stepped out of the taxi, people gathered around me and they just said we will get Ganpati darshan done for you within a few minutes and in return, I would have to just click a few photos with them. That was the moment that made me realize that I had become something.”

She added: “I also remember going to South Africa for a three-day event and I saw people crying and screaming at seeing me in person. It was a surreal experience as I was not able to process how much people love me. It is unbelievable to see the amount of success television gives you, not just in India but also abroad. Our shows are still on-air and are being dubbed in their respective languages. The moment is unexplainable.”

With a similar memory, Divyanka added: “My first show was ‘Banu Mein Teri Dulhan’ and I had no idea about how this industry works. During that time, I went to Singapore for a carnival and as I was walking towards it with my elder sister, she was shouting at me for not being dressed up properly.”

“Once we reached the site, people started cheering for me by my character name ‘Vidya’ and my sister started crying seeing this response from the audience. I saw my didi cry for the first time and they were happy tears.”

Urvashi said: “I remember going to a small village near Surat where I was invited as a guest. I was supposed to walk down a staircase. When I went there, I saw there were 25,000 heads waiting for me! I panicked and ran back to my car as I was extremely overwhelmed by it. And all of this is the power of TV.”