Social media influencer Anshula Kapoor recently got evicted from The Traitors. After her exit, Anshula spoke to SCREEN about her traumatic experience on the show and how her bond with Maheep Kapoor seemed to bother others. Anshula, who is Arjun Kapoor’s sister, also shared that when she signed the show, the makers had assured that the show was an intelligent one; however, it has only turned out to be an extension of Bigg Boss.
‘We couldn’t have something said or done on the show affect our relationship outside of the show’
Talking about how having her aunt, Maheep Kapoor, on the show was a relief, Anshula said, “Honestly, it was very comforting on the first day, but then we started picking up that everybody else was extremely uncomfortable that we knew each other from before. Even though several contestants knew each other from previous associations, at some point, Maheep chachi and I discovered that maybe we should figure out how to become more friendly with others rather than just sticking to each other.”
She added, “The entire plan was always to pit one against the other. Both of us were being as transparent with each other as possible. It’s a show at the end of the day, and she is my aunt, we are a family, and have an entire life of living together. We couldn’t let something said or done on the show affect our relationship outside of the show. That should never be the case. Here, I will give 100 percent credit to Maheep. She was and is incredibly nonchalant about the fact that it’s a game and has to be played like one. She was like, ‘Whatever happens here is not going out of here.’ We were not going to carry that baggage outside. That gave me comfort, more than having her physically there, because I knew our relationship was not going to get soured because of what one of us said to the other.”
‘I was being judged for the family I belong to, my lineage, my last name’
Anshula Kapoor further shared how coming from a film family became a disadvantage in the game, as she was judged for being a star kid. She said, “I don’t deny that I come from privilege, and also, I am not the only person on that show with a certain amount of privilege. I can’t do anything about the fact that I come from privilege either. I can just be myself, which is what I was doing on the show. I am not a front-footed person. I don’t do drama. I like to be in control of my emotions, and I was being myself. So if I was being judged for or asked questions for, or being taunted, or being made fun of because of the family I belong to, my lineage, my last name. It was a game. It could have been a tactic to get a rile out of me to see what my baseline is because a lot of contestants were doing that as well. They were trying to poke where it hurts the most. You try not to hold on to it unless it’s abusive.”
‘A lot of personal trauma got regurgitated in the show’
Calling The Traitors a traumatic experience, Anshula Kapoor shared how it all affected her. She said, “I have very selective memory because the show was a little bit traumatising for me. Not only did I have trauma from the show, but I was also extremely traumatized because of the last mission, which was very triggering for me due to a past lived experience. There was a psychologist on set, but I was not able to get the support I needed, even though I requested it after the mission. I was mentally done by then; the negativity was getting to me. It was psychologically bullsh** and I didn’t want to subject myself to this.”
Anshula further shared, “I went back into intensive therapy because there was a lot of personal trauma that got regurgitated in the show due to the conversations, the last mission, being completely out of my comfort zone. It was not easy, and I am not saying this to get sympathy, but I don’t know if I would want to put myself willingly in this position. When I signed up for the show, I didn’t sign up for the trauma. I signed up to play an intelligent game.”
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‘After the show, I was diagnosed with PTSD’
Even though her family stood by her, Anshula Kapoor shared that she felt her mental and physical state had collapsed after her experience on The Traitors. She said, “My partner, brother, and sisters were all very supportive. Also, because Maheep got out early, she and Arjun Bhaiyya had a conversation where she explained to them the show, the environment, and the headspace of the house. That gave him a perspective on what was going on; he knew that I was coming from a f***ed-up mental space. He was prepared for it.”
“I did a psychological test after the show, and I was diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), which is something I didn’t have before going into the show. They did a psychological test for us before we were confirmed as contestants. If I had PTSD, then they would have flagged it to me, but they didn’t. That’s not something you sign up for, and no amount of money should be okay to give you that kind of mental health triggers,” Anshula Kapoor concluded.
