'The Traitors': Apoorva Mukhija reacts to Purav Jha being unmasked as a Traitor; admits 'I really wanted him to win'

Time of India

a day ago

The finale of 'The Traitors' may have crowned Uorfi Javed and Nikita Luther as co-winners, but two names that truly defined the season were
Apoorva Mukhija
, aka The Rebel Kid, and
Purav Jha
. Their onscreen bond, strategic teamwork, and emotional moments stood out—even though one of them turned out to be a traitor.
In a chat with HT, the two opened up about their journey, friendship, and the bombshell revelation that Purav was one of the traitors.
'I Was in Shock for 20 Minutes' – Apoorva on Purav's Betrayal
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Undo
Apoorva admitted that finding out Purav was a traitor hit her hard.
'I was heartbroken when he got eliminated. I truly believed he would win the game. When I found out he was a traitor, I was in complete shock for 20 minutes. I kept telling Jannat [Zubair] that this had to be wrong. I was in denial,' she shared, laughing.
She continued, 'He looked into my eyes and said he wasn't a traitor. But then I thought—if he lied that well, he really must have wanted to win. And honestly? He deserved it.'
For Purav, emotions shifted when Apoorva exited, he admitted.
'After she was gone, I was just blank. That night we talked for hours, and we cried. I had this moment of realisation—'What am I doing to my friends?' Even though I was playing fair by the rules of the game, emotionally it was tough,' he confessed.
Uorfi outsmarts the Traitor
When asked about Uorfi Javed's big moment of unmasking him, Purav was in disbelief. He explained, 'That day, I was shook! Uorfi pieced everything together—how I could have poisoned Sufi that night, how I pretended to be drunk. I was like, 'How did she even figure that out?!''
He laughed, adding, 'Uorfi toh bhai sherni nikli! (Uorfi turned out to be a lioness!) I thought she was playing the smartest game. Then when I watched the episode later, I was like 'Chi! Genuine chi! Ye kya potty kari hai? (Eww, what a mess!) Puri chugli sun liya! Bas kaan laga ke sab sun rahi thi!' People were busy calculating clues and she just eavesdropped her way to the end!'
Regret Over Billiards Room Slip-Up
Purav also acknowledged his mistake of discussing strategy with fellow traitor
Harsh
Gujral in a less private setting.
'That was a slip. I was whispering, genuinely trying to be careful, but I shouldn't have taken that risk in excitement,' he said.
Back on the show, Apoorva had famously said that if Purav turned out to be a traitor, she'd lose faith in humanity. Now that it's confirmed, she joked, 'Mera insaniyat pe bharosa tha hi nahi! (I never had any faith in humanity!) Look at the kind of boys around me—that's enough to explain it.'
Still, she had nothing but respect for how Purav played the game.
'I'm proud my friends were smart players. Purav played the game really well. If I were in his place, I wouldn't have done it that convincingly. Being doubted every day and still walking away clean? That's skill.' 'You can't take the game too personally. It was valid, and he played it right.'
The Traitors may have ended, but the friendships, betrayals, and dramatic twists seems to live on—at least in the hearts of the fans who lived through every move with the players.
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