“How Can Someone So Good-Looking Be This Intelligent?” A Girl Asks, and Shashi Tharoor’s Witty Reply Steals the Show

Shashi Tharoor, a renowned Indian politician, writer, and former international diplomat, has been serving as the Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. A man of many accolades, Tharoor previously held the position of Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations and even contested for the role of Secretary-General in 2006.

Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology and the All India Professionals Congress. Previously, he led the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs from 2014 to 2019. Tharoor began his political journey with the Indian National Congress in 2009, securing a win in the Lok Sabha elections.

A celebrated author, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his book An Era of Darkness in the English non-fiction category. Among his other notable achievements, he was awarded the Robert B. Stewart Prize for academic excellence during his doctoral studies and was the youngest to earn a doctorate from the Fletcher School at just 22 years old.

Despite his impressive political and academic career, Tharoor’s eloquence and charm often make headlines. Recently, a video of the Congress MP went viral when a fan girl from Nagaland asked him a cheeky question during an event.

She asked,

“How can someone be so astonishingly good-looking and charismatic and even more implausibly brilliant and intelligent at the same time?”

In his trademark witty style, Tharoor replied,

“You are very sweet, very kind and generous, but all I can say there are things that you can’t help. And there are things that you can change yourself to do. So, the way you look and all of that, honestly, all I can say is choose your parents wisely. It’s all in the genes,”

His response left the audience in splits, once again showcasing his intelligence and quick wit, which continue to captivate his admirers.