Why Akanksha Chamola is playing the reality TV game better than Gaurav Khanna
On Lock Upp, Akanksha Chamola has spoken openly about her separation, her sexuality and her differences with fellow contestants. Her approach stands in contrast to Gaurav Khanna's more guarded run on Bigg Boss 19.
Akanksha Chamola, an actor familiar to television audiences from shows like Swaragini and Bhootu, is currently seen on Netflix's Lock Upp: Sach Ya Sazaa. Before this, she was seen on Bigg Boss 19 as the wife of contestant Gaurav Khanna. Two weeks into Lock Upp, though, I am fairly convinced of one thing: Chamola understands the reality television game far better than her husband ever did.
On reality TV, you are either real or you are performing, but either way, you are meant to do it out in the open, khule mein khelna, as they say. Gaurav Khanna went on to win Bigg Boss 19, and plenty of the show's fans would insist he did it by simply being himself. I am not so sure. Watching him on that show, I always sensed a certain performance running underneath, a version of himself curated for the cameras rather than one revealed by them. His defence, when questioned about it later, was that no one could sustain an act for that many weeks straight. I would push back on that. He is a trained actor. Sustaining a performance for a few months is, quite literally, his job.
If anything, it was Chamola's premiere episode revelation on Lock Upp that confirmed the suspicion for me: the loved-up couple act she and Khanna put on during Bigg Boss 19's family week was exactly that, an act.
You are welcome to disagree, but I will make the case for Chamola with facts.
In her very first episode, Chamola announced that she and Gaurav Khanna had separated and were headed for divorce, revealing that the two had already been living apart for a year. It instantly became one of the biggest talking points of the season.
Not long after, co-contestant Shreya Kalra let slip a second secret, that Chamola had identified as bisexual before her marriage, to fellow contestant Sufi Motiwala. Rather than deny or dodge it, Chamola addressed it head-on, speaking openly about having been in relationships with women before she married Khanna and admitting that she had always felt more emotionally at ease around women. She grew visibly emotional while talking about it, but she did not shy away from the conversation. She also did not let Kalra off lightly for outing her without consent, confronting her directly and calling the move a cruel way of settling a score.
She was equally direct during a conversation with Ram Kapoor, who said on the show that infidelity need not be a dealbreaker in a marriage and that cheating could sometimes simply "happen by mistake." Chamola strongly disagreed, saying cheating cannot be brushed aside so easily and that accountability is important in a relationship. Their exchange later sparked a debate online.
In the most recent episode, Gaurav Khanna entered Lock Upp as a visitor and told Chamola what a storm her statements had caused outside the house. He did try to motivate her, but the visit felt less like support and more like an attempt to clarify his own stance on the marriage. Chamola's decision to speak about their separation on national television may well have caught Khanna off guard, and his entry, dressed up as concern, came across to me as closer to a "what did you do?" than an "I'm rooting for you." I still can't get over him telling her, "you didn't learn anything from me." Thankfully, Farah Khan stepped in and reminded him that Chamola hardly needed help with her game, going as far as calling her a "mastermind."
Compare that with Gaurav Khanna's journey on Bigg Boss 19, where he was known more for staying calm than getting into fights. He mostly kept away from conflicts, hardly took a stand for others and the only major confrontation he had was with Farrhana Bhatt, who managed to unsettle him when almost no one else could. Honestly, the credit goes to Farrhana more than Gaurav. She wanted to rattle him and succeeded in doing that.
That contrast, for me, is the whole argument. Khanna played it safe and walked away with the trophy. Chamola has, in a fortnight, put her marriage, her sexuality and her sense of fairness on the table for the entire country to judge, and she has done it without flinching. And, she is far more entertaining than Gaurav Khanna, be it her antics, her conversations with fellow inmates or her revelations. Winning a reality show is one measure of success. Playing it honestly, in full view of the cameras, is another. On that second measure, I know who my money is on.
Akanksha Chamola, an actor familiar to television audiences from shows like Swaragini and Bhootu, is currently seen on Netflix's Lock Upp: Sach Ya Sazaa. Before this, she was seen on Bigg Boss 19 as the wife of contestant Gaurav Khanna. Two weeks into Lock Upp, though, I am fairly convinced of one thing: Chamola understands the reality television game far better than her husband ever did.
On reality TV, you are either real or you are performing, but either way, you are meant to do it out in the open, khule mein khelna, as they say. Gaurav Khanna went on to win Bigg Boss 19, and plenty of the show's fans would insist he did it by simply being himself. I am not so sure. Watching him on that show, I always sensed a certain performance running underneath, a version of himself curated for the cameras rather than one revealed by them. His defence, when questioned about it later, was that no one could sustain an act for that many weeks straight. I would push back on that. He is a trained actor. Sustaining a performance for a few months is, quite literally, his job.
If anything, it was Chamola's premiere episode revelation on Lock Upp that confirmed the suspicion for me: the loved-up couple act she and Khanna put on during Bigg Boss 19's family week was exactly that, an act.
You are welcome to disagree, but I will make the case for Chamola with facts.
In her very first episode, Chamola announced that she and Gaurav Khanna had separated and were headed for divorce, revealing that the two had already been living apart for a year. It instantly became one of the biggest talking points of the season.
Not long after, co-contestant Shreya Kalra let slip a second secret, that Chamola had identified as bisexual before her marriage, to fellow contestant Sufi Motiwala. Rather than deny or dodge it, Chamola addressed it head-on, speaking openly about having been in relationships with women before she married Khanna and admitting that she had always felt more emotionally at ease around women. She grew visibly emotional while talking about it, but she did not shy away from the conversation. She also did not let Kalra off lightly for outing her without consent, confronting her directly and calling the move a cruel way of settling a score.
She was equally direct during a conversation with Ram Kapoor, who said on the show that infidelity need not be a dealbreaker in a marriage and that cheating could sometimes simply "happen by mistake." Chamola strongly disagreed, saying cheating cannot be brushed aside so easily and that accountability is important in a relationship. Their exchange later sparked a debate online.
In the most recent episode, Gaurav Khanna entered Lock Upp as a visitor and told Chamola what a storm her statements had caused outside the house. He did try to motivate her, but the visit felt less like support and more like an attempt to clarify his own stance on the marriage. Chamola's decision to speak about their separation on national television may well have caught Khanna off guard, and his entry, dressed up as concern, came across to me as closer to a "what did you do?" than an "I'm rooting for you." I still can't get over him telling her, "you didn't learn anything from me." Thankfully, Farah Khan stepped in and reminded him that Chamola hardly needed help with her game, going as far as calling her a "mastermind."
Compare that with Gaurav Khanna's journey on Bigg Boss 19, where he was known more for staying calm than getting into fights. He mostly kept away from conflicts, hardly took a stand for others and the only major confrontation he had was with Farrhana Bhatt, who managed to unsettle him when almost no one else could. Honestly, the credit goes to Farrhana more than Gaurav. She wanted to rattle him and succeeded in doing that.
That contrast, for me, is the whole argument. Khanna played it safe and walked away with the trophy. Chamola has, in a fortnight, put her marriage, her sexuality and her sense of fairness on the table for the entire country to judge, and she has done it without flinching. And, she is far more entertaining than Gaurav Khanna, be it her antics, her conversations with fellow inmates or her revelations. Winning a reality show is one measure of success. Playing it honestly, in full view of the cameras, is another. On that second measure, I know who my money is on.
