Lock Upp grand finale: Considered to be the strongest contenders, Munawar Faruqui and Payal Rohatgi’s journey, strengths and weaknesses at a glance

Lock Upp’s first season is coming to an end tonight. Shivam Sharma, Prince Narula, Anjali Arora, Payal Rohatgi, Azma Fallah and Munawar Faruqui are running in the race to win the trophy of the first-ever season of the show. While the season has 6 finalists, the stakes are high on Munawar and Payal. Both of them are considered to be the strongest players on the show and most of the viewers believe that the winner would be either of the two. Well, as everyone awaits the winner announcement, set to happen tonight, here’s looking at both their journeys, strengths and weaknesses:

Stand up comedian Munawar Faruqui’s entered Lock Upp as someone, who often took a dig at host Kangana Ranaut, in his comedy sets. He gradually moved on to become one of the top contenders on the show. He formed a bond with many but the two people he became closest to were Anjali Arora and Saisha Shinde. Meanwhile, he has always been at loggerheads with Payal Rohatgi. During his time on the show, Munawar had his low moments, too. Secret marriage, having a son, difficult childhood, mother’s suicide and a lot more was revealed by him on the show. Another was when he felt betrayed by friends Anjali and Saisha. Amidst all this, Munawar’s bond with Anjali was always on the viewers’ radar, as everybody felt that they are more than just friends. While Anjali accepted to have feelings for him once in the show, Munawar refused to say that he is just friends with her. A lot happened through his journey but nothing distracted him from his ultimate goal of winning.

Actress Payal Rohatgi, who has been a part of another reality show, entered Lock Upp with an accusation of creating controversies. She got into a spat with Kangana on her entry itself and this continued for another few times in the initial days. However, gradually Payal’s portrayal and game won Kangana’s heart and the host acknowledged that she is one of the strongest contestants on the show. Payal has been a solo player in the game and has turned out to be a strong woman with her own voice. However, she has had some of the lowest moments that one could witness. From her infertility, suicide attempt, alcoholism to trying vashikaran to get a push in her career, she revealed deep dark secrets of her life on the show. During her time, Payal even faced a blow every time her boyfriend Sangram Singh’s name was brought up in mere arguments and instances. But she remained quite clear of her motives and stood firm on her grounds, repeating that she is here to win.

Called as someone who likes to influence people to be in his favour, Munawar Faruqui has come out as a strong contender due to his skills of playing strategically. His manipulative ways and idea of playing with a group of people has often been talked about on the show. Munawar’s strength lies in how he manages to stay calm and composed despite a lot happening around him. Moreover, his happy-go-lucky nature and smartly playing the game made him become a favourite of many. Like everyone else on the show, Munawar also went through a few low moments but never let his emotions take over and stood strong throughout.

Known for her strong and independent voice, Payal Rohatgi won hearts because she stood firm to her words, opinions and goals. Like mentioned above, she is the only contestant to have played a strong solo game, without taking anybody’s support and has emerged as one of the top contenders. From personal attacks to major revelations, a lot made Payal face some of the most emotional moments in the show but she has risen back stronger than before every time. She has always spoken her heart out and said what she has believed in without fearing anything or anybody. Payal has even been praised for all these qualities by Kangana and Ekta Kapoor.

Munawar Faruqui’s journey has said a lot about his strengths and so has shown a few of his weaknesses too. The major weakness of Munawar that got highlighted in the show was his laidback attitude. He was often called out for not actively performing his duties, once even Kangana pointed out the same and told him to stop flaunting his illness to stay at rest. Besides this, another weakness that got highlighted was that he acted like a ‘toxic boyfriend’ in matters related to Anjali. Munawar’s dominative and manipulative nature also came out as negative traits of his personality.

Payal Rohatgi’s solo game came out to be one of her biggest weaknesses on the show. While this became the highlight of her personality and journey, Payal’s no-nonsense attitude made it difficult for her to form any bond and win friends on the show. However, she cited that she keeps away from forming friendships due to her negative experience in previous reality shows and life. Another of her weaknesses that got highlighted was that she doesn’t mince her words and goes on to say some of the most bitter things to people out of annoyance. Her biggest rival on the show has been Munawar Faruqui but Payal couldn’t gel up with most of her fellow contestants. It was only towards the end of the show that she formed a bond with Azma Fallah and Shivam Sharma. Payal Rohatgi’s solo game came out to be one of her biggest weaknesses on the show. While this became the highlight of her personality and journey, Payal’s no-nonsense attitude made it difficult for her to form any bond and win friends on the show. However, she cited that she keeps away from forming friendships due to her negative experience in previous reality shows and life. Another of her weaknesses that got highlighted was that she doesn’t mince her words and goes on to say some of the most bitter things to people out of annoyance. Her biggest rival on the show has been Munawar Faruqui but Payal couldn’t gel up with most of her fellow contestants. It was only towards the end of the show that she formed a bond with Azma Fallah and Shivam Sharma.