Mumbai: Filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan recently showered praise on television actor Gaurav Khanna, calling him a “rare” husband who accepts his partner unconditionally. The remarks were made during Khan’s latest cooking vlog, which featured Khanna’s estranged wife, actress Akanksha Chamola, as a guest.
The candid conversation comes on the heels of Chamola’s highly publicized stint on the reality show Lock Upp, where she made headlines for shocking revelations about her marriage. During the vlog, Khan expressed her fondness for Khanna, stating, “He is a very good human being and an excellent husband. It is very rare to find husbands who accept you exactly the way you are.”
The interaction quickly steered toward Chamola’s time on Lock Upp and how Khanna’s unexpected guest appearance on the reality show impacted her gameplay. Chamola admitted that when she first entered the show, her family was entirely unaware of the secrets she was about to unfold on national television.
“Initially, I was focused and playing my game well. I thought whatever happens back home, they will handle it,” Chamola explained to Khan. However, her focus shifted after Khanna visited the sets. “After Gaurav came, I got to know about the situation at home. My mind was flooded with thoughts about my family, and that severely affected my game.”
During her time on the reality show, Chamola publicly came out as bisexual and disclosed that she and Khanna were heading for a divorce after living separately for a year. The core reason for their separation, she revealed, was a fundamental disagreement regarding parenthood: Chamola does not wish to have or adopt children, whereas Khanna wants to start a family.
When Khanna visited the Lock Upp jail, he informed her that her on-screen revelations had left their families in a state of shock. However, he also added a layer of complexity to their relationship status by mentioning that he had not yet signed the divorce papers.
Khanna and Chamola first met during an audition. Their initial friendship eventually blossomed into love, leading to their marriage in 2016. Despite their ongoing marital turbulence and differing life goals, the mutual respect between the two—and the continued admiration from industry stalwarts like Farah Khan—continues to keep the couple in the public eye.