Aug 05, 2026 3:51pm IST
Akanksha Chamola On Announcing Her Separation From Gaurav Khanna On ‘Lock Upp: Sach Ya Sazaa’: ‘Our Fans Deserve Honesty’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Akanksha Chamola has been eliminated from “Lock Upp: Sach Ya Sazaa” after making it to the top eight. The show marked her reality TV show debut along with the likes of top actors like Harshad Chopda, Dheeraj Dhoopar and Ram Kapoor. In a chat with Variety India, she speaks about her journey on the captive reality show, where her revelations grabbed headlines. Addressing the social media flak on how she lost the plot in the past two weeks by focusing more on friendships, Chamola says, “No, I totally don't agree with that notion because viewers only get to see a one-hour episode. We were there for 24 hours. My gameplay was not only about fights and everything.” She highlights how dirty fights generally make it to the final cut. Chamola adds, “I cannot get into nasty altercations. It is not my personality. I don’t think it was my fault if I was not visible.”
Chamola shares the motto behind entering “Lock Upp: Sach Ya Sazaa,” was to have fun. She reiterates that she wanted to enjoy herself while staying true to her personality. The actress says, “And I think I've done exactly that. I was very true to my emotions. I was very genuine with my personality. And I was very real. I was not trying to fix anything. I was showing everything I didn't show.”
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On “Lock Upp: Sach Ya Sazaa,” Chamola’s journey was highlighted by her secrets. After confirming that actor Gaurav Khanna and she were finalizing their legal separation on the premiere episode, she also spoke about her sexual orientation. The actress reveals she was prepared to disclose secrets if the need arose. Chamola says, “I am going on a reality show where the concept is about secrets. So, I was obviously mentally prepared for it. And as far as divorce is concerned, every second person gets divorced. It was just a public revelation that Gaurav and I were trying to figure things out for the past 18 months.”
The actress confirms that Khanna and she had been living apart. It seems before she entered “Lock Upp: Sach Ya Sazaa,” they decided to formalize the matter legally. She adds, “And that was the only thing that I announced to the world. So I think, why not? I was getting a platform for that since our relationship has always been public. I guess this platform was the best way to be sincere with our fans.”
She confesses that she felt their fans deserved some honesty. Chamola states, “All through all these years, we have been very public about whatever we've done. Even with the separation, I thought this was the best way to come out. What better way to do that?”
The actress does not hesitate to talk about the intense scrutiny she faced after rumors of marital woes did the rounds. Opening up to Variety India, Chamola further says, “I was always under scrutiny for not being present during ‘Masterchef India’ and being absent for certain occasions where he was being felicitated for a lot of big things that were happening in his life. I was always condemned. I was always criticized.”
The actress reveals she was absent for certain things because of her work commitments. She reasserts that she chose to step out of the marriage, and focus on her career. Chamola believes “Lock Upp: Sach Ya Sazaa,” was the best platform to come clean.
Farah Khan, in an interview with Variety India had said she wanted to hug Chamola after Shreya Kalra outed her on the show. Talking about her bond with Khan and Deshmukh, Chamola says, “Oh my God. I think the jailers were very sweet and extremely kind towards me since the moment I set my foot on the stage. Farah was just like my mother because there were moments in the show where we were physically very weak. Ritesh was always there to give us that strength, motivating us and correcting our mistakes. From my confession about the divorce to the time my sexuality was outed, Farah has been mothering me. She is the kindest and purest soul that I have met and so is Riteish. I always felt safe and secure in their presence, and they gave me a lot of confidence. They are so unhinged and unfiltered themselves.”
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