‘Lock Upp’ Season 2: Ram Kapoor Reveals He Was Molested at 13 in a Boarding School

In an extremely emotional episode of the reality show Lock Upp Season 2, veteran television actor Ram Kapoor left hosts Farah Khan and Riteish Deshmukh and his fellow contestants in tears as he revealed a traumatic childhood secret he had hidden for over 40 years.

During the show's signature secret reveal task, where contestants share secrets in a bid to avoid eviction, the actor disclosed that he was molested at the age of 13 while at boarding school.

"I Went Cold and Was Powerless

Ram said, recalling the incident that happened when he was in 8th standard, It happened during a normal evening in his school hostel.

"When school would be done, we would sit in our dorms together and we would talk. Ram said, “I was sitting on my bed with a 10th standard student and all of a sudden he touched me under the blanket." There were at least 30-40 kids there, and I locked up. I couldn't do anything, and he just kept going.

The actor opened up about the psychological impact the event had on him as a young boy and how confused and isolated it left him. I didn’t know if I should do something, just keep quiet and bear it, or scream. After a while I told him I was uncomfortable. He turned and walked away at once. That really changed me a lot. I went very quiet and was very traumatised.

An Unexpected Road to Recovery

Ram’s confession took a surprising turn when he shared that the senior student became the catalyst for his healing. The boy came up to Ram a few weeks after the incident and sincerely apologised. This was a gesture the boy continued to repeat consistently throughout their time at school.

"Very weird, but the person who gave me trauma was also the person who helped me heal. We became very good friends actually," Ram said. He credited the senior’s ongoing efforts to make amends for his ability to work through the trauma without resentment, saying it helped him grow up without inhibition or prejudice towards the LGBTQ+ community. "Now he was not a bad guy. He was just curious, and he was affected by teenage hormones. We were young.

A closely held secret

The incident was a close secret in his family until the episode aired, Ram said. His wife, Gautami Kapoor, was fully aware of it, but his parents and children had never been told.

The raw confession triggered an emotional explosion in the jail-themed studio. Sufi Motiwala, co-contestant, was seen breaking down as he revealed that he went through a similar experience. Actors Harshad Chopda and Dheeraj Dhoopar were seen crying. Farah Khan rushed to his rescue, hugging Ram tightly on stage, with Riteish Deshmukh proud of his bravery and adding he learned a valuable lesson in strength from the actor’s vulnerability.