Lock Upp contestant Munawar Faruqui says being controversial means people didn't hear your side of the story

Comedian Munawar Faruqui recently became the second confirmed contestant of Ekta Kapoor’s reality show Lock Upp. In an interview, he talked about his past controversies and how people didn't hear his side of the story.

Ekta Kapoor's upcoming captive reality show Lock Upp is all set to premiere on February 27 on ALTBalaji and MXPlayer. Stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui will also be seen on the show as a contestant. For the uninitiated, in 2021, Munawar had spent a month in jail for allegedly “insulting Hindu gods and goddesses” during one of his shows. After he was released, many of his shows were cancelled. In a new interview, he opened up about his previous controversies and how people didn't hear his side of the story.

On February 22, comedian Munawar Faruqui was introduced as the second confirmed contestant of Lock Upp. Having been under the scanner for a while now, he revealed why he took up the reality show. In an interview with Indian Express, Munawar said, “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 so. I was happy doing comedy and celebrating my 100 million numbers.”

Munawar also shared that he has no fears about participating in Lock Upp. “There may be things that I may not like, but fear is a big word. It’s a reality show but at the end of the day, it is only work for me. I don’t think there’s any scope for any apprehensions,” he said.

In November 2021, Munawar Faruqui was under fire after the Bengaluru Police denied permission to his stand-up comedy show in the city amid protests by Hindu right-wing outfits, who alleged that he had hurt the Hindu sentiments in one of his shows. The 29-year-old comic had said his show -- which had sold more than 600 tickets -- was cancelled in the wake of the "threats to venue vandalism". The proceeds from the show were supposed to be donated to late Kannada star Puneeth Rajkumar's charitable organisation. Not only that, Faruqui also claimed that 12 of his shows were called off in the last two months because of the threats to the venue and audiences.

Ekta Kapoor's Lock Upp will be hosted by a Bollywood celebrity and will begin streaming live on both AltBalaji and MX Player from February 27. The show will have exciting tasks, dramatic fights, and an interesting mix of contestants who will do anything and everything to survive in the jail. The show will live stream 24x7. Lock Upp is touted to be the biggest and the most fearless reality show where 16 controversial celebrities will be put together in a lock-up for months and will be stripped of their amenities. It is being claimed to be the world's first metaverse-based fantasy game. It promises to be an engaging captive reality show with all the ingredients that will keep you glued to your seat.

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