I’ve always been starry-eyed: Chirag Paswan

It’s no everyday phenomenon that a young, good-looking, prospective politician follows his heart instead and becomes an actor. But Chirag Paswan, son of Ram Vilas Paswan, chose to do just that. His debut film, Mile Naa Mile Hum, releases this week.
“I have always been a starry-eyed kid with my heart and mind set on just one thing — acting. I never gave myself another option,”

recollects Chirag. But what about politics? “That’s in my blood. I’ve been born into a political family and have accompanied my father on election campaigns over the last few years,” he states, adding, “But it’s not something that my father has imposed on me. He’s just as happy, if not happier, to see me on screen. In fact, he’s been a regular on the sets or even while we were dubbing. His excitement is quite encouraging for me.”

Chirag will be seen romancing three young girls in Mile Naa Mile Hum, one of them being Kangna Ranaut. Quiz him on his experience of working with her and he says, “She’s been around for quite some time and is yet so chilled out and accommodating. Working with her made my first film all the more memorable.” In the film, Chirag plays a tennis player and to perfect the game was quite a lot of hard work, he says. “I have never held a tennis racquet in my life; it took me almost eight months of training to perfect my moves,” he states.

With just a few days left to the release, Chirag can’t deny there are butterflies in his stomach. “It’s a mix of emotions — we’ve all worked so hard. It’s something that I always wanted and now that it’s here, I’m getting jittery,” the actor says. The self-confessed film buff, who eats, drinks and sleeps movies, thinks that amongst the current crop of actors, Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan are very inspiring and promising. “In their own ways, both Imran and Ranbir have created quite a mark — they have felt the pulse of the youth with such ease. I see myself doing the same,” Chirag signs off.