25 June,2026 04:11 PM IST | Mumbai | Shruti Sampat
Omung Kumar (Picture via Instagram)
As Netflix's Lock Upp gears up to welcome contestants into its high-pressure environment, designer and filmmaker Omung Kumar has opened up about the vision behind creating the show's unique prison-inspired set. In an exclusive conversation with mid-day, Kumar revealed how he balanced the harshness of a jail with the visual appeal expected from a modern reality show.
Explaining his approach, Kumar said he wanted to retain the essence of a prison without making it look unpleasant for viewers. "Jail has a concept on its own that we know of. Grungy, dirty. I wanted to keep that flavour the greyness, the cement walls, the iron structures, the brick walls but give it today's look and flavour so that people don't shun it away and say, âNo, no, I don't want to see it.' It's still a swanky show."
He added that the set needed to reflect the scale of a Netflix production while maintaining the feeling of confinement. "It's a reality show. People are captive over here and obviously there are celebrities coming in. I didn't want to give them too much leeway. It still has to look like a cell, but overpowering. It's a confined place, but because it's double-height, that overpowering feeling is there."
Highlighting the modern touches incorporated into the design, Kumar said, "It is today's generation. It is Netflix. It had to be a little more swanky because the whole world watches it. We didn't want to show just gutter and all. It needed some swankiness. I've maintained the colours, but the structures are beautifully done. The cells have lights below and all. It's been thoughtfully designed."
The designer also revealed that the limited seating arrangements inside the house are intentional and meant to create competition and interaction among contestants. "There are 14 people, there are as many benches. Who's going to catch which place, we don't know. There's just one bench outside and one sofa. There are two benches and one sofa, and a huge table in the centre. They're going to sleep on the floor. We don't know who's going to be where."
Speaking about the cell layout, Omung Kumar explained, "There are four beds in one cell and two beds in another. It's to create that gossipness. When they go to sleep, what are they going to do? How are they going to shout? They don't know who's in the next cell. It's a little differentiation, and that's why we've done it."
