New Delhi: Kangana Ranaut, the Bharatiya Janata Party MP and actor, has dismissed speculation about a romantic relationship with Chirag Paswan, the Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader, calling him a “good friend” she has known for a decade.
Speaking in a podcast interview with ANI, Ranaut addressed persistent rumours linking the two, which have circulated widely on social media following their electoral victories in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“I have known Chirag Paswan for the past ten years,” she said, adding pointedly that if there had been any romantic involvement, “we would have had children by now.”
The speculation has been fuelled by viral photographs and videos showing the two interacting in Parliament, as well as their past association in cinema. Ranaut and Paswan co-starred in the 2011 Hindi film Miley Naa Miley Hum, which marked Paswan’s debut—and ultimately his only—appearance in Bollywood before he transitioned fully into politics.
Ranaut also referenced the public attention around their interactions with characteristic irony. “Please, at least spare us inside Parliament,” she said in an earlier response to similar questions, adding that people were “only after us” because Paswan had made her laugh on several occasions.
In the same interview, Ranaut turned to national politics, taking aim at Rahul Gandhi. “I cannot unnecessarily place a crown upon Rahul Gandhi’s head—one that he does not deserve,” she said.
By contrast, she praised Narendra Modi, particularly in the context of the Women’s Reservation Bill. Ranaut described the prime minister’s political approach as rooted in equality, suggesting that appealing to women voters was both natural and politically astute.
Paswan, who leads the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), entered politics after his brief film career ended with the commercial failure of Miley Naa Miley Hum, directed by Tanveer Khan. Since then, he has emerged as a prominent political figure in Bihar and at the national level.
