Paras Kalnawat

Paras Kalnawat (born 9 November 1996) is an Indian model and actor best known for portraying Sanjay Singh Ahlawat in Meri Durga, Faraz Sheikh in Ishq Aaj Kal, and Samar Shah in Anupamaa.

Early and personal life
Kalnawat, belonging to a Brahmin family, was born on 9 November 1996, to a Nagpur-based businessman Bhushan Kalnawat and Anita Kalnawat in Bhandara, a district near Nagpur. He has an elder sister named Pragati Kalnawat Sharma.

He completed his schooling from a local school in Nagpur, and later joined S. K. Somaiya College to earn his Bachelor of Commerce degree. Later, he moved to Mumbai in 2014 to become an actor and completed his dance diploma from Terence Lewis Dance Academy. He also took formal training in acting from Barry John's Acting Classes.

In 2021, Kalnawat revealed that he is in a serious relationship with someone outside the entertainment industry.

On 27 March 2021, while shooting for Anupamaa, he received the news of his father's sudden demise due to heart attack.

In November 2022, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with Spondylitis during his stint on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10.

Modelling and early work (2016–2020)
Kalnawat began his career with modelling in 2016, and later started his acting career in 2017 by appearing in an episodic role as Dhruv in Aye Zindagi. In July 2017, he made his television debut opposite Srishti Jain in Meri Durga on StarPlus, where he portrayed the lead role of Sanjay Singh Ahlawat until the show went off-air in March 2018.

In May 2018, he was cast to play Rehaan Thakur opposite Priyanka Kandwal in Mariam Khan - Reporting Live by StarPlus, however, he quit the show in September 2018 due to some personal reasons. Later in the same year he portrayed episodic roles in Kaun Hai? and Laal Ishq.

In 2019, he made his digital debut by portraying Shivam Noon in ALT Balaji's Dil Hi Toh Hai 2 opposite Palak Purswani. He went on to play the antihero Faraz Sheikh in Ishq Aaj Kal alongside Ankitta Sharma, Angad Hasija, and Puneett Chouksey in the same year, and reprised his role as Shivam in Dil Hi Toh Hai 3 opposite Poulomi Das in early 2020.

Breakthrough and recognition (2020–2022)
In March 2020, he signed on to portray the role of Samar Shah in Anupamaa opposite Anagha Bhosale and Alma Hussein. It turned out to be a turning point in his career as he became a household name as Samar due to the show's immediate success.

He subsequently appeared in various music videos, including Tere Naal Rehna, Akhaa Vich, Khumariyaan, Yaar Ki Mehfil, and Baadal Barse.

In July 2022, he announced his participation in the dance-based reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10. However, this led to the termination of his three-year-long contract by Rajan Shahi, Anupamaa's producer, who termed the actor unprofessional because the show was scheduled to air on the rival channel Colors TV. Kalnawat revealed that he had already informed the makers about this conflict and they had asked him to choose between both shows. He chose Jhalak for his career growth, claiming his ouster to be a PR tactic in support of his former co-actor Anagha's allegations of set politics by the makers. He later revealed many dark secrets of the production house. He also confirmed that he would be paired up with choreographer Shweta Sharda for the reality show. On 6 November 2022, he was eliminated in the season's first double elimination, finishing in 10th place.

Further work (2023–present)
Since March 2023, he has been portraying Rajveer Arora Luthra opposite Sana Sayyad and later on opposite Adrija Roy in Zee TV's Kundali Bhagya.

In March 2024, Kalnawat was a part of Pocket FM's audio series called Secret Ameerzada (Season 2) as Ahaan Raizada alongside Bhumika Gurung.