Her Highness Kangana Ranaut And LockUpp! Thank God It’s Over!

In this month’s quota of ‘I watched this TV show, so that you don’t have to’, I finished watching the rest of LockUpp, to write a follow-up piece on my previous article on the show and her highness Kangana Ranaut.

These past two months were painful. I’m not going to lie, I would like to thank the makers of LockUpp for restricting the duration of the show only for 10 weeks. Because I cannot take it anymore!

If you scour the internet, you will hear millennials and Zoomers croon over how awful this show is, and yet it has over 500 million views. I am mystified. And so is the rest of the young generation. (I want MX Player to release their Google Analytics data to prove that there were actually 500 million views). In case this is true, I have many questions for those who watched this show.  But then again, I watched this show to write about it, so I’m not going to judge.

This TV show has not provided any privacy for women

Initially, this TV show had curtains in a unisex bathroom, which is undoubtely a gross violation of a woman’s privacy. And yes, there were cameras in the bathroom.

Oh wait, that’s right, shower curtains are a part of the jail experience. Was providing 24/7 AC and letting contestant use makeup a part of the experience too? Gee, this is a strange reality show. Oh Queen Ranaut, flagbearer of women’s rights, pray tell, why didn’t you kick a fuss about this like you always throw tantrums over non-issues?

IMO Ekta Kapoor runs a soft porn platform (who is currently being sued for stealing the concept of LockUpp from someone else. Yes, this is not the first time that she’s done it), but why didn’t the Queen even discuss this issue? Was she blind, or does she believe that all Indian jails where women are held use curtains instead of a door in the shower? This woman cares about the rights of only two women. Herself and her sister. Everyone else can be damned.

One female contestant complained that a male contestant had masturbated in the common bathroom/toilet. Though it was not confirmed whether it was that specific male contestant or not, this was disgusting. Alright, sexual feelings are natural and high among men. But there is a time and place for everything, and clearly, men aren’t aware of it. Her highness dismissed these claims as a non-issue. Clearly, she has issues comprehending what an issue is. But then again, this was the woman who asked people to grow more trees, and stop whining about not having enough oxygen during the peak of the pandemic in India, so what can we expect?

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Women’s underwear are thrown around the makeshift jail

That’s right, you read it correctly. Azma Fallah, one of the youngest contestants on the show, had a man and girl gang up on her, toss her underwear and clothes on the roof of the set. That’s right.

Neither the man nor the woman were punished for this, and Her highness and the ‘Lady Boss’ didn’t address this issue, but sat back and watched the fun.

Call it what you will, but I call it is sadism and fence sitting. You would think that I stopped watching after this show, but I continued, because I knew that this TV show would prove to be anything but feminist. Even Lady Boss Ekta didn’t have much to say about it.

Revealing your secrets on camera

Right, so this is something new that Ekta has thought of. If she can’t expose the body of the contestants, she’ll expose their pain and trauma, willing of course. All for the sake of ratings of course.

Anyone under the threat of being eliminated had to press a buzzer and reveal their secrets. One woman divulged that she was forced to have an abortion, another woman went to rehab, and so on and so forth.

Firstly, this is a further violation of a human’s privacy. ‘Reveal at your own risk’ is what the host implies. Ekta and Kangana seemed to be under the impression that exposing your darkest secrets will provide one closure. That’s not always the case. It could further traumatise the person and cause further psychological problems.

A reality show is not always the best platform for everyone to reveal and heal. Not everyone likes to talk about their trauma and personal life. And though they are B Grade celebrities, they will be under scrutinity by the public. The chances of them being judged, cajoled, bullied, harrassed, and misunderstood by these secrets are likely. For some of these contestants, this TV show is a renaissance for their career or its their beginning. Revealing their secrets could prove detrimental to their personal and professional lives.

However, her highness and the Lady Boss seem to disagree, as the crazier the secret, the higher the TRP. And the drama doesn’t end there. The Queen gives her opinion about these secrets and compliments the contestant for staying strong. I’m sorry, I know that you host the show, but I’m pretty sure that your opinion is not welcome by all. We all make decisions and experience trauma, and not everyone wants to hear any opinion or a compliment of how ‘strong’ they are for facing it.

Kangana making it all about herself

However, I snapped when a female contestant revealed to her friend while casually talking to her, that she couldn’t conceive. Grieving over how she struggled with fertility issues, it took the woman effort to calm herself.

Queen Kangana had to discuss that as well on the ‘Judgement Day’. The female contestant mentioned that she was not informed of the importance of freezing her eggs, and how women should do it ASAP, as some day, they may want to be mothers. The blabbermouth had to jump in and say how her sister Rangoli has disappeared from her life after she became a mother. She groaned about how she doesn’t see her sister anymore as all the attention is given to the toddler, and how Her Highness does not want to be a mother.

Excuse me, there is a woman who is dealing with something as painful as infertility, and Queen Ranaut made it about herself. The editor had rightly changed the title of the part 1 to this article that I submitted. It’s always I, me, and myself!’

Oh give it a rest Kangana, it’s not always about you. The show is about the contestants, not you. So stop dismissing other people’s pain. Just because you don’t want to be a mother, doesn’t mean that other women don’t. Bringing in the angle of overpopulation and lack of resources and space is not the right conversation to have here; there is a time and place for everything, and Her Highness doesn’t seem to know.

Oh, shoo! Kangana!

And this so-called top star claims to be a professional. Oh she’s a pro alright. A pro at being self-centred. And this was not a lone instance, which made me shake my head in defeat. She is incorrigible.

Picking fights with journalists, spouting out random propaganda, refusing to be challenged, and proclaiming her judgement like she’s the sole authority who has experienced all the existing trauma in this world. Get a life Kangana, there are Ukrainians fleeing a war.

In conclusion, poaching reality stars from Endemol Shine, getting them to fight over ridiculous and serious issues, men harassing women in some form or the other, fake couples, pretty much sums up the gist of this reality show, or every other reality show.

I would like to say, Kangana, you’re a hypocrite. You screamed about nepotism in your interview on Aap ki Adalat, and you’re currently working with a woman who is a star daughter. You’ve worked with her more than once, and she has helped you sustain your waning career. So no, you are in favour of anyone who favours you, so yes, you are a selfish nepotist. I bet you a million dllars that if Kangana’s nephew wants to debut, she’ll arrange a film for him on a platter.

Now, I would like to address the Queen herself. At one point of time, you had the nation’s support. But now, you don’t. You’re only in the news for your controversies and madness. You’re going in the wrong direction. Yes, you were cornered, harassed, assualted, used, and disposed of. But you rose like a phoenix, and you had the opportunity to change the establishment, but instead, you embraced the far right – wing and proved to be an uninformed, misinformed, uneducated person who supports people who are eroding human rights, not supporting them.

And, no, Your Highness, we will not bow down to your insanity. The only reason Kangana Ranaut doesn’t have film offers, is because of Kangana Ranaut. Amen.

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