OTT debutante Kangana Ranaut opens the doors as host of 'Lock Upp'

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NEW DELHI: After giving a number of Bollywood hits, Kangana Ranaut is again gaining all the attention for her OTT debut with the fearless reality show 'Lock Upp'.

As she says: "A show of this production value and this kind of magnitude and this kind of scale needed to be seen with maximum reach of people and as much as we can. OTT platforms are coming up in India and especially homegrown ones and MX player has an incredible reach, different gamut of audience and subscribers so does ALT. And they clubbed and combined together and decided to do it in a bigger way. I was game for that."

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When asked, if the show is going to be a family watch, she replies: "Yes, it is definitely a family watch but by family do you mean children? I'm not sure about that. But the beauty of OTT is that it is a very personalized experience. You can have your headphones on and you can see it with your partner, your girlfriend and if you have a certain comfort with your parents."

"It is something that can be enjoyed with likeminded people. And the nature of the show is such that a lot of controversial people are going to be put together under testing circumstances. So, nobody really knows where it can get. But it is going to be unpredictable. So, there is no definite answer to it, yes or no. But at the same time I feel that one should see which way it goes," she adds.

There are a number of controversial people parts of the show and dealing with them as a host can be tricky sometimes. How Kangana will deal with them if they show any kind of disrespect towards her or create drama.

The 'Queen' actress answers: "They're very edgy controversial celebrities. And yes, some of them have been a part of major controversies. Of course, when you go to correct them and if you scratch the surface they get volatile, they get absolutely completely into the attacking mode and they do not see who comes before that and it can be the host also. In TV, they might delete a showdown like that, but in digital, it is not going to be deleted because that is the nature of digital so I am quite aware that some of these celebrities are going to lose control."

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"And they're going to be all over the place and some might even subject me to their volatile nature, some sort of wrath. I'm not going to have anybody tell me what to do and I am the host and I should have the last word and I know how to exert my place and I know how to, you know for the lack of better word, I know how to be a 'queen'."

Moving ahead Kangana replies to her show being compared to 'Bigg Boss' and like 'Bigg Boss' has been recently blamed for favouring few contestants, 'Lock Upp' will also have some favourites of her.

Kangana says: "See 'Bigg Boss' and all are TV shows and they have contestants on them. We are not talking about contestants here, we're talking about 'kaidis' and they are in jail. I will have the final word and I will choose the winner."

She adds on if she will have her favourite: "Yes of course it is as it's human nature to resonate with certain people and to not resonate with certain people. But that will not affect my decision. I'm a very objective person. And I feel the winner should be somebody who is probably not the definition of winners we have seen so far in reality shows."

"But someone who's out there and knows how to deal with life, who's spontaneous, who's fun and at the same time is innocent and pure. This is going to be the winner of 'Lock Upp Season 1' and I am sure that I will favour such a person and such a person will be my favourite as well. The winner will be somebody who I like," she says.

Kangana is quite vocal about nepotism and she has spoken about it in the promo as well. But producer of the show Ekta Kapoor, who is a daughter of Bollywood's popular actor Jeetendra has often tried to make her place in the industry without using her father's name, how Kangana reacts to this and if she agrees?

And she says: "Well people come with certain advantages and disadvantages in every situation. I've said that nepotism is not the issue here. We can't stop people from doing what they want to do. Ekta is the rightful heir of her father in every way of his name, fame, glory, his assets in every way and nobody can deny that and it should not be anybody's concern either, right? I mean, why should anybody object to that?

"But the problem with the film industry is not that they pass on their wealth, whether it is name, fame or assets to the children. No, the problem that I face was actually that I was bullied in the film industry, and everybody has seen that I was asked to leave the film industry openly in the national newspapers."

"I was told that please leave the film industry. They said, 'It is not for you' and you know, all that. So, there have been public showdowns where people have told me that I don't belong here. I was mocked for my English; I was mocked for coming from mountains. My journey through my journey, I've seen that."

"But I've never seen Ekta being part of any bully gang. She worked with me in my initial years. She's the first one to give me my first A-lister project. So for me, I have huge respect for her. And, of course, she has come up on her own and she's very, very successful as a woman and as a producer. She inspires me and I hold back. I always tell her that you are the prototype of how one should be if you grew up in privileged families," the actress shares on her bond with Ekta Kapoor.

At last Kangana talks about her upcoming film 'The Incarnation - Sita' in which she will portray the mythical character and if she would like to work in a sequel to 'The Dirty Picture' as there was a rumour that she denied to be part of it.

"I do not think I would, I'm doing a film called 'The Incarnation - Sita' and to keep the sentiments of people in mind and to not complicate things for professional gains. I would like to stay away just for the sentiments of people and and because I give my all to something that I do at a time and 'The Incarnation - Sita' is something that means a lot to me. I feel it's a blessing and 'Dirty Picture 2', knowing the very name that suggests that it has a quality of erotica. It'll be huge if it's made, but honestly I don't feel I'm the right person for it anymore. So, I will let it pass," she concludes.