At the age of 22, he was declared Mr India 2005. Not only this, he is the youngest person to win the coveted title. After conquering the ramp, Kushal Tandon is now seen as Virat in Cinevistaas show Ek Hazaron Mein Meri Behna Hai aired on Star Plus. And he is doing wonders for the show, adding the much required spunk and charm with his boy next door looks. In an exclusive interview with TellyChakkar.com the young lad talks about his show, career and love life. Excerpts. You have had a successful career as a model. So what made you take up a TV show? Yes, I had a successful career as a model. And in those five years (as a model) I got a chance to work with almost all the top designers in the country. In fact, even at that time, I used to get offers for daily soaps, but the idea didn’t interest me much. Instead, I accepted a film offer that came my way; but due to some reasons the movie got stuck. But even after that I got another TV offer. While I was in New York Film Academy doing my acting course, Siddharth Malhotra of Cinevistaas, who is also a very good friend of mine offered me the role of Virat and I agreed to do it. The reason I took the offer was that I had one year in hand and also because the character appealed to me. I found the story to be very different from the typical TV dailies which are all about saas-bahu drama and rona-dhona and hence decided to be a part of this unusual story. But did you ever imagine that you would be an actor one day? Yes. In fact, since childhood, my only aim was to be a part of the entertainment industry. Woh kehte hain na jabse hosh sambhala, tab se actor banana chahta tha (smiles). I have been a movie buff since childhood, even when I went to boarding school. I always knew that one day I will become an actor. And after winning the Mr. India contest, there was no looking back. The sole reason I went to New York acting school was to polish my acting skills. Talking about your character Virat, how much do you relate to it? I think Virat and I are similar in many ways. Though Virat lives with his family and follows all the family rules, he has his own philosophy in life. Similarly, I live life by my own rules and call a spade a spade. As an individual, I am highly focused and I have strong grounds both in my personal and professional life. In fact, I find the character of Virat very relatable; the naughty things that Virat does in the show are very realistic. And to tell you the truth I don’t rehearse my lines. Instead, I try to use day-to-day dialogues. Any boy who belongs to Delhi or North India will behave in the same way as I do. How is the real Kushal? I love fast cars and I also have an ear for music. I love to travel and some of my favourite destinations are Miami, France, Los Angeles, Kerala and Goa. Tell us something about the environment on sets? Well, we all have a blast on the sets. While everyone behaves professionally during shoots, during breaks we have lots of fun. We just need a chance to pull each other’s leg; but the best part is that everyone takes it sportingly. We also play a lot of pranks on each other and enjoy a lot. Ok. How is your equation with co-stars Karan Tacker and Nia Sharma? Oh!! Karan and I are like buddies and gel really well. Once it so happened that Karan was sitting on his chair and I went and sat on his lap. And due to our combined weight, the chair broke and we both fell on the ground. (Laughs) So we have lots of fun on the sets. And Nia and I are frenemies (friend-enemies) only because we are constantly fighting with each other in the show. However, off screen we are great friends. And since we both play such characters which have lot of shades and have a lot of scenes together, we give each other inputs. But are there any insecurities since Karan has a huge fan following? No, not at all. As I said we are like buddies on the sets. And the question of insecurities doesn’t arise as I am not new to the industry. I have been a part of the entertainment business for almost five years, so fame is not new to me. And after doing Ek Hazaron Mein Meri Behna, I have been able to make my mark as an actor. So there are no insecurities from my side. But if you ask me whether I am insecure about Karan, then I would tell you this. I totally respect Karan’s achievement; but if he has a fan following of 30,000 today after two shows, then I too have at least 15,000 fans in a short span of two months. How do you unwind yourself? I watch movies; I think it is the best way for me to relax. Apart from that I love travelling, hanging out with my friends and driving. Kushal, you have done it all; modeling, daily soaps and films. What next now? I will definitely act for a decade, but after that I would certainly produce films. I would make such movies that are based on the young generation. Talking about your personal life, you are in a long distance relationship. What are the mantras to make such a relationship work? Yes, I am the best person to speak about it. I believe, till the time you give each other space and you don’t force yourself on each other the relationship works. And in our situation, we don’t have egos. We understand each other very well and we totally respect the fact that we both belong to different countries. We both love each other a lot and there is no commitment phobia. Any message to fans? Thanks a lot for your love and appreciation. Keep loving and supporting me the way you have been and continue it in the future. And I will continue to entertain you in whatever way I can (smiles).