Harshad Chopda was the first finalist in the reality show Lock Upp Sach Ya Sazaa. In the last episode, he left everyone in shock after he decided to sacrifice his spot in the finale and let Shivangi Joshi become the finalist instead. Harshad chose his own eviction, even as the rest of the inmates told him not to do so. Now, in his first interaction out of the show, the actor spoke to Tejasswi Prakash about the journey so far.
What Harshad said
When Tejasswi said that she did not expect him to be out from the show this soon, the actor said, “My game was that of a no game. I thought this is a show where you are going to be yourself. I was not worried how people would react. The only one side that I didn’t want to show was my emotional side.”
Tejasswi said that the actor cried a lot and not once in while, leaving Harshad in giggles. She went on to add that in the show Harshad did not seem to play his own game and became someone else’s shield [Shivangi Joshi]. Harshad responded, “Because we have been friends for a little while and when we got into that scenario where there are 15-16 people… which was challenging in the sense that food was less, then automatically the situation became such that we did not think what happened next.”
Harshad’s journey inside the show
During the premiere of Lock Upp 2, hosts Farah Khan and Riteish Deshmukh asked Harshad Chopda why he has always kept his personal life away from the public eye. Riteish noted that despite being in the television industry for more than two decades, fans still know very little about him outside of his work.
Responding to the question, Harshad spoke about a painful chapter of his life that he had never shared publicly before. “My fans complained that no one knows anything about me, but I was not always like this. When I came into the industry, I was socially active. I lost my friend and my girlfriend at the same time in 2010. My girlfriend cheated on me with my best friend, and from then on, I have grown a little wary,” he said. In the show, Harshad also opened up about his childhood and revealed that he was sexually harassed by someone close.
Harshad said that 99% kids go through the same kind of experiences and the onus lies on us, to raise their own kids with care and love. Shivangi Joshi and Ram Kapoor (who had previously shared that he was molested as a kid) were emotional after Harshad’s story.
About Lock Upp 2
Hosted by Riteish Deshmukh and Farah Khan, Lock Upp 2 places celebrities inside a jail-themed house, where they must survive by completing tasks while dealing with allegations made against them. The show is set to conclude tonight, with the winner taking home a cash prize of ₹1 crore.