Kangana Ranaut to host ‘full of controversies’ reality show Lock Upp, Ekta Kapoor jokes about actor’s FIRs

Ekta Kapoor announced on Thursday that Kangana Ranaut will host her new reality show Lock Upp, which will stream on both Alt Balaji and MX Player. The show, which Ekta promised will be ‘full of truth and controversies’, revolves around contestants being locked in a jail with the host holding power over their release.

Although she and Kangana did not reveal much about the show’s format, in a grand event in Mumbai, Ekta said there would be 16 celebrity contestants locked up with Kangana as the host, deciding their fate. “This is Kangana’s lock-up. She will be the in charge here. She has had a lot of FIRs coming her way. Now she can issue some. She will be vetting the contestants and finalising them,” she said with a laugh.

Ekta said the show’s concept is homegrown and ‘not copied from the West’. She said, “In the last two years, there are few celebs who haven’t heard the word FIR, legal fees. So, here is a show where people are locked up in jail with concept of bail. It’s a massy reality show for Bharat. Hum India me reh kar Bharat ko bhool gaye hain (Living in India, we have forgotten Bharat). We don’t need international formats. Why should we copy from there?” Taking an apparent dig at Bigg Boss, which has a similar concept, she said, “For the last two years, everyone is locked up ghar me. Now there is nothing new to that. The new thing is being locked up in jail.”

Ekta added that for the first time in a reality show in India, 50% of the power on which contestant to keep and which to eliminate will rest with host – Kangana. She asked Kangana, “Without revealing much about the concept, would you share secrets of your life on the show?” Kangana replied, “I would want to be involved. I want to get to know the contestants and I know since I will have 50% of the power, they would want my participation too. So, I am very much open to participation. My life is like an open book.”

Kangana also addressed facing controversies in life and why she chose to associate with a show focussed on controversies. “I would like to believe I am focussed on the good part of every situation and not the bad. But that’s not how life works. You have to deal with the bad part. I don’t mind dealing with sh*t if I have to be on top,” she said. Kangana added that the show will encourage being ‘brutally honest’. She said, “Our winner will not be a goody-two-shoes. That person does not carry the burden of being liked or not. They will be brutally honest.”

Also read: Kangana Ranaut confirms hosting her ‘first show ever’ for ‘boss lady’ Ekta Kapoor, deletes post later

She also said that she will not look at any other actor or host for inspiration. “When you host a reality show, you have to be yourself. It’s not in my character to copy anyone. It’s below my dignity to copy anyone,” she said. Kangana had announced she would be hosting the show on Instagram Stories earlier before deleting the post later.

Ekta informed that the show will begin streaming live on both AltBalaji and MX Player from February end. “For the first time in the history of reality shows, it will air live on the two platforms.” The show will also have a companion game that the makers are calling the “world’s first metaverse-based fantasy game”, also named Lock Upp.