Mumbai, Aug 5 — Actress Akanksha Chamola, who predominantly works in television, has said that television superstar Ram Kapoor is a manipulative person.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday after her eviction from the reality show Lock Upp, Chamola said she doubted her own instincts after being influenced by the actor.

When asked whether she agreed with fellow contestants’ view that she was the weakest player in the game, she replied: “I don’t agree at all. I didn’t agree inside as well. But, when you are inside, you don’t see the rest of the perspective. And, Ram Kapoor sir used to manipulate everyone a lot. He used to say that he used to get filtered in everyone’s mind. It used to happen in my own mind as well. Because, at one point, I had also accepted that I don’t have any game play. But, now that I have come out, and I have seen the entire game, I was the strongest player. And, I have said that I was the competition.”

She shared that she had somewhere given up mentally on the show. “No, I said that the take of others, that being positive or being kind, being sensitive, being sweet, that is weakness. My point was that it is not a weakness. Somewhere, I gave up mentally. Because it was not easy to stay in the lock-up. You were physically exhausted. I had eaten 4-5 back kicks of Shinde that day. We were not getting food. So, I was emotionally and mentally weak. In comparison to others, I was less confident. But, I still don’t believe that positive people don’t have a role in reality shows because if they didn’t, I would have come out in the first week. But, having said that, you congratulated me.”

“So, thank you for that. And, yes, as far as staying positive is concerned, this show was about owning your truth. You wanted to show your real personality. And, I am the way I am. So, if you think I am positive, I am positive. If you think I am negative, I am negative. And, I had nothing to do with it,” she added.

Chamola’s remarks after her exit reflect her reassessment of the dynamics inside the show and her view of her own performance once she could see the larger picture.