‘I Will Never Be A Traitor To The People I Love’

‘Once
I
came
out
of

The
Traitors,
I
needed
therapy
to
understand
what
had
just
happened
on
the
show.’

Lakshmi
Manchu
signed
up
for

The
Traitors
thinking
it
would
be
a
fun,
reality
experiment.

What
she
didn’t
expect
was
the
emotional
whiplash
that
followed.

The
actor-producer
tells


Rediff‘s

Shristi
Sahoo
why
the
experience
left
her
shocked.
“There
were
a
bunch
of
lions
and
I
was
thrown
in
like
a
goat.”

How
did

The
Traitors
make
you
feel?

It
was
like
a
whack.

I
was
like,
what
the
heck
is
this?

What
is
going
on
here?

I
love
making
friends
and
meeting
new
people.
And
yes,
these
were
all
your
friends
but
you
turned
around
and
they
were
talking
about
you.

Once
I
came
out
of
the
show,
I
needed
therapy
to
really
understand
and
separate
myself
from
what
had
just
happened
on
the
show.

It
was
quite
tumultuous
for
me,
honestly.

Who
do
you
think
consistently
outdid
the
competition?

I
think
I
was
the
underdog.
I
had
no
clue
what
was
going
on111111.

There
were
a
bunch
of
lions
and
I
was
thrown
in
like
a
goat.

Everyone
came
in
strong.

Initially,
I
thought
Ashishji
(Vidyarthi)
was
just
sleeping
but
be
it
Uorfi
(Javed)
or
Jannat
(Zubair).
everybody
bought
in
their
A-game.

It
was
not
a
fun
experience
because
I
was
at
the
edge
of
my
seat
all
the
time.

I
think
my
heart
rate
was
150
throughout!

I’m
not
a
person
of
strategy,
so
I
don’t
know
if
I
would
have
played
it
differently.

Did
you
make
any
friends
on
the
show?

After
the
show,
I
feel
this
show
gave
me
some
beautiful
friends.

Raj
and
I
met
on
the
show,
but
I
know
if
I
call
him
at
3
am,
I
know
he
will
drop
everything
and
be
there.

Sahil
(Salatia)
is
also
one
of
those
guys.

Raftaar
and
Jasmin
(Bhasin)
have
become
family.

I
was
at
Raftaar’s
wedding.

Now,
Jasmin,
his
wife
and
I
have
become
this
trio
and
we
talk
to
each
other
at
least
four
times
a
week.

Each
one
has
a
little
piece
of
my
heart
because
I
got
to
see
who
they
are
apart
from
what
we
see
of
them
on
social
media.

What
drew
you
to
this
show?

Oh,
they
kept
saying,
‘Go
be
yourself,
Lakshmi’.
I
was
like,
okay.

That’s
all
I
wanted
because
I
put
in
thousands
of
hours
of
work,
coming
from
the
family
that
I
do,
to
separate
me
from
my
last
name,
or
my
tag,
or
how
I
was
raised.

So
I
put
in
a
lot
of
work
to
just
understand
who
am
I
without
any
of
these.

But
going
there,
that
really
did
not
reflect.

It
just
tore
me
apart.

What
makes

The
Traitors
so
different
from
other
reality
shows
in
India?

I
have
just
moved
to
Bombay.

This
was
not
a
format
where
you’re
locked
up
in
a
house
for
three
months.

This
was
their
main
launch
in
India;
there
will
not
be
a
bigger
noise.

I
always
like
to
put
myself
in
places
I
haven’t
been,
things
I
haven’t
done.

As
an
artist,
that’s
the
only
way
you
can
grow
—
keep
shocking
your
system
and
doing
things
that
people
don’t
expect
of
you.

All
the
cards
felt
right
for
me,
that’s
why
I
agreed.

Is
betrayal
necessary
today?

There
choices
in
life
where
you
can
do
shortcuts
and
benefit
out
of
them.

Being
a
producer
and
actor,
I
see
this
all
the
time.

But
ultimately,
you’re
walking
yourself
home
and
you
have
got
to
be
genuine,
honest.

Even
with
a
gun
to
my
head,
I
will
never
be
a
traitor
to
the
people
I
love.

Even
to
people
I
don’t
like,
I
can’t
be
a
traitor.

I
may
put
them
out
of
my
life
but
will
never
backstab
them.