Comedian Munawar Faruqui has been announced as the second contestant of the ALTBalaji and MX Player reality show Lock Upp, which will be hosted by Kangana Ranaut. On Monday, television actor Nisha Rawal was introduced as the first contestant.
A new promo showed Munawar entering a stage to loud cheers from the audience. However, as he was testing the microphone, he was arrested on the charges of a ‘joke gone wrong’. He was then seen in an orange jumpsuit and wearing handcuffs inside a jail. Kangana made an appearance too, in a gold sequin pantsuit, as the jailor.
In a statement, Munawar said that Lock Upp ‘has the potential to change the dynamics of the content-viewing experience in the Indian OTT industry’. “Though it’s going to be a tough and challenging journey for me, I am glad that this show also gives me an opportunity to be myself in a real set-up,” he said.
Last year, Munawar was arrested by the police in Indore for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by making indecent remarks against Hindu deities. After spending 37 days in jail, he was granted bail.
Premiering on February 27, Lock Upp will have 16 ‘controversial’ celebrities locked up in jail for 72 days. They will have to do tasks to get access to even basic amenities.
At the launch of Lock Upp, Kangana said, “You will have to face your temptations, your demons, your insecurities and reveal your darkest truths.” She called the show ‘unlike anything you guys have ever seen before’.
Also read: Kangana Ranaut calls Karan Johar her ‘best friend’, says she wants to put him in her Lock Upp jail
“This show is going to encourage honest people, people who are there to be who they are, they do not live two-faced lives. Our winner is not going to be the quintessential goody-two-shoes. It’s going to be a person who is brutally honest. Whether he or she is likeable or not likeable, that person does not carry the burden of being liked or not liked,” she said.