Ankita Lokhande recently shared glimpses of her performance from Zee Rishtey Awards 2020. The performance was a tribute to late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was not just Ankita's co-star but also her ex-boyfriend. Ankita was extremely emotional after the act and said 'Aapka aur hamara rishta sirf pavitra nahi amar hai'.
Ankita matched her steps with Aashish Mehrotra in the act. The actor played part of Sushant in the entire performance and as per Aashish it was a dream come true moment for him. ALSO READ: Zee Rishtey Awards 2020: A Teary-Eyed Ankita Lokhande Pays A Heartfelt Tribute To Late Sushant Singh Rajput; Says: 'Aapka Aur Hamara Rishta Sirf Pavitra Nahi Amar Hai'
Aashish, who is playing Paritosh in TV's highest TRP rated show Anupamaa, is also a choreographer in real life and always wanted to perform live on a stage in an award function and was completely surprised when this opportunity came to him. ALSO READ: Zee Rishtey Awards 2020: Ankita Lokhande Drops BTS Stills Of Tribute She Paid To Late Actor Sushant Singh Rajput
"This opportunity came to me as I was part of India's Next Superstar two years back. Because of that show everybody knows that I am good at performing when it comes to dancing and acting. But I was not expecting this honestly. The moment I got a call and they said you have to do this act and it's a tribute to Sushant Singh Rajput, I was like it would be my honour. Because he was the superstar for the TV industry. He has broken all the barricades for all the actors like us. And it was a big thing for me to act like him on stage. I would say it was like a dream come true to me as I always wanted to perform on stage in the award function but never knew it would happen for such an important reason."
Aashish reveals it was just an 8 hours rehearsal for a 15 minute performance for him and Ankita. "I started rehearsing for the act just 4 days before the shoot and that used to be 2 hours a day as I was shooting for my show. So, in 8 hours of rehearsal doing a 15 minute act was not easy. It did take a toll on me as I had to manage my Anupamaa shoot and this as well. But I was really happy to wear my dancing shoes again," added the actor.
The actor also shared his shooting experience with Ankita Lokhande. He said, "We have just rehearsed once together before the act but as we both come from the dancing background as I am a choreographer and she is a fabulous dancer herself due to which the whole act went very smoothly. Being such a senior actor she has been extremely supporting. The act was for Sushant so this act was really very important to her. She was very loving and caring in the entire process."
Aashish actually got the feedback of him looking like Sushant. "While I was rehearsing or performing many people told me that 'Tu Sushant jaisa lag raha hai'. So, what I did was when I used to go home I used to see his dancing videos very closely and try to smile, blush and express like him. I was totally getting into him," said Aashish.
Image source: Instagram/sushantsinghrajput/kedaraashish,zeetv
Image source: Instagram/sushantsinghrajput/kedaraashish,zeetv