Many were surprised when wrestler Babita Phogat joined Kangana Ranaut’s Lock Upp as one of the contestants. The wrestler shared that her only motive to be on the show was to reveal her real self to the audience. After a successful stint in sports, Phogat is looking forward to a career in politics and shared that this show could help her reach the masses.
In an exclusive chat with indianexpress.com, Babita shared that she is excited about being in Lock Upp. “It’s the first time people will get to see me 24×7. They will know who I am in real life, how I handle pressure and my emotional side. I think every public figure wants their fans to know who they really are. And this is why I said yes to the show,” she shared.
Babita Phogat and sister Geeta Phogat have won many international laurels for the country in wrestling. Dangal, starring Aamir Khan, Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh, was made on their life. On being asked what one can expect from her on the show, Babita says, “Jaisi dhakad khel ke maidan mein hu, waise hi real mein bhi hu (I am as strong in real life as on the field). Also, one can add the belief of sportsmanship and woman empowerment in me. That’s who I am.”
Babita Phogat had participated in Nach Baliye with husband Vivek Suhag a few years back. Accepting it would be difficult for her to face the challenge alone this time, the wrestler said, “My life partner was with me back then and we managed to swim through easily. I was so carefree then as he handled everything. That was one of the best experiences of our lives. I will have to face everything alone here and also worry about my family back home facing another big challenge. However, I have learnt from my past experience and I am sure I will do well, along with entertaining my fans.”
She said leaving her one-year-old at home was the toughest for her. She added, “He is too young to even understand what’s happening. Buddhu bana ke rakha hai (I lied to him). I won’t be able to hear or talk to him or even see him, and I think that would be my biggest struggle on the show.”
Recently, Babita Phogat had fought elections but lost at the hustings. Stating that coming from sports, losses do not stress her as it only gives her strength to fight back. “Jeet ke jawab dene mein jo mazaa aata hai woh kahin nahi (The best joy is to win). I also believe winning and losing are part and parcel of life. I am only glad that through this show if people had any preconceived notion about me, I can shatter that. This would be my chance to connect directly with my fans.”
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All said and done, Lock Upphas been promoted as a ‘bold and controversial’ show. Given Babita has had a clean image, we wondered if she was apprehensive of being on the reality show. “I don’t really worry about how the show is being promoted. All I can say is that I trust myself and so do my fans, I don’t need to be scared of anything else.”
Apart from Babita Phogat, Lock Upp also has Munawar Faruqui, Poonam Pandey, Nisha Rawal, Karanvir Bohra, Sara Khan, Swami Chakrapani, Payal Rohatgi, Tehseen Poonawalla, Siddharth Sharma, Shivam Sharma, Anjali Arora and Saisha Shinde as contestants. The Kangana Ranaut hosted show streams on ALTBalaji and MX Player.
Sana Farzeen is an assistant editor at Indian Express Online and covers Entertainment across platforms. Apart from writing articles, features and opinions, she enjoys interviewing celebrities on video. An alumna of Calcutta University, Sana has previously worked with the Times Group and Tellychakkar. You can contact her at sana.farzeen@indianexpress.com. ... Read More
Babita Phogat is one of the contestants on Lock Upp. (Photo: Babita/Instagram)