Ekta Kapoor, who is the producer of Lock Upp, has opened up about why she chose actor Kangana Ranaut as the host of the reality show. In a new interview, Ekta called Kangana non-biased and clutter-breaker. Ekta also said that Kangana Ranaut has strong views but at times, even she doesn’t agree with them. Ekta cited mutual respect as ‘the greatest reason we can work together’.
Ekta also said that she was looking for a female host for the show, which is ‘missing in India’. Lock Upp features controversial celebrities locked up in a jail-like setup with basic amenities. It is currently streaming on ALTBalaji and MX Player.
In an interview with Quint, “I thought of her two years ago. As the format was forming, I felt digital needs a shakeup, a clutter-breaker. And she’s pretty much a clutter-breaker. And not only controversial, she’s a clutter breaker. Thought process wise also. Secondly, I wanted to do a reality show with a female host. I feel that was missing in India. We don’t take this female host seriously because we are very fitting in girls. Girls will come in the typical saree look and they will stand there and giggle…Women are doing that in a lot of other spheres but she’s the right person to bring in for this thought that female host, female running the show and taking on a whole captive reality format forward.”
On working with Kangana, she said, “I’ve done three films with her and I’ve had a great experience. I’ve known her to be pretty non-biased like if you see her now also with Munawar (Faruqui) and her, they get along famously on the show. That shows the non-bias is there. She won’t go on a show and say, ‘Ok I don’t get along with this guy or his political beliefs so I’m not gonna like him on the show’. She comes in, she’s pretty non-biased, she likes the person how he’s playing his game and I love that about her. I knew that she’s interesting. She has (her) points of views and they’re pretty strong and that sometimes rattles a lot of people, sometimes I don’t even agree with them but mostly there’s mutual respect and that’s the greatest reason we can work together.”
Earlier in an interview with news agency, Kangana had said, “Ekta said you play a lot of strong women on screen but you know how strong you are and how strong your personality is. I want to use that instead of giving you a character for you to project and conceal yourself beneath. I want to see you as a person.”
Meanwhile, Kangana has several films in the pipeline such as Dhaakad. Helmed by Razneesh Ghai, the film also stars Arjun Rampal and Divya Dutta. It will hit the theatres on May 20. She will also feature in movies including Tejas, Manikarnika Returns: The Legend Of Didda, Emergency and The Incarnation: Sita. She is also producing the upcoming film Tiku Weds Sheru under her production house, Manikarnika Films.