After fighting for basic necessities for 70 days, Munawar Faruqui has been announced as the winner of Lock Upp.
The Kangana Ranaut show also had Payal Rohatgi, Anjali Arora, Azma Fallah and Shivam Sharma as finalists. Along with the trophy, Munawar also took home Rs 20 lakh cash prize and a brand new car.
Unlike most reality shows, this one zeroed on its winner not only on the basis of votes. The host was given the opportunity to have the last word. Munawar received the highest votes, but Kangana also picked him as the ultimate winner.
Munawar entered the show on the heels of his controversy. He had spent a month in jail last year for allegedly “insulting Hindu gods and goddesses” during one of his shows. After he was released on bail, many of his shows were cancelled. In a statement, the comedian had later said, that he was put in jail for a joke he had never made.
He also hinted that he was done with comedy. “Nafrat jeet gayi, artist haar gaya (hate has won, artist has lost). I’m done, goodbye. Injustice,” he had written.
Before entering the show, Munawar interacted with indianexpress.com and said Lock Upp will put him out of his comfort zone. However, when we asked him what made him choose a show that is likely to thrive on controversies, he said, “Firstly, I don’t think there’s anything wrong in being controversial.
It only means that people did not hear your side of the story, or maybe you were taken out of context. I never wanted to be a part of controversies. I never went and told the media my statement to cause some bawaal (commotion). The part of my video that had hurt people, I removed it immediately. It was the public that played it around for a year and made it news. I never wanted to be controversial, they made me one.”
Known as the mastermind of Lock Upp, Munawar Faruqui was hailed for being smart and playing the game. His friendship with Anjali Arora was also lauded by fans, who even nicknamed them as ‘Munjali’. Celebrity designer Saisha Shinde also expressed her love for him on the show. However, Munawar confessed of being in love with someone outside the show.
The comedian also opened up about his past, be it his divorce, his mother’s suicide or him being sexually assaulted as a child. His journey, and rise from poverty also struck a chord with the audience, who trended ‘Bad**s Dongriwala’ and ‘Munawar For The Win’ for him.
While Munawar took home the title, Payal Rohatgi and Anjali Arora were announced as the first and second runner up, respectively.