Paris often conjures up dreamy images of candlelit dinners by the Eiffel Tower, elegant boulevards, and the charm of cafe-lined streets. But a viral video
is shaking up that glossy postcard picture, showing the French capital in a way many tourists don’t expect. Actor, traveller, and filmmaker Vinayak Mishra, currently visiting Paris, captured his raw first impressions in a clip that has already crossed 1.5 million views. Titled “Paris gave me a plot twist in the first 5 minutes,” the video begins with him stepping out of a metro station — and straight into a scene that caught him off guard. The streets were cluttered with garbage, the crowds were loud, and traffic buzzed chaotically around him. Shocked, Mishra remarked, “Kaha par hai ye? Ye Paris hai? Ye toh macchi market jaisa lag raha hai?” As he kept walking, however, the city slowly transformed into the iconic European dreamscape most people imagine. He noted, “This neighbourhood is normal, but the other place was weird. People are coming from all directions and screaming, as well as garbage lying around. I did not have this image of Paris in my mind.”
Still, Mishra made it clear that his experience didn’t dampen his appreciation of the city. In his caption, he wrote, “Paris is real, raw, and still so beautiful. Paris is a multicultural city, and not every part looks the same. The area in this reel has a very different vibe, but that doesn’t mean the whole city looks like this. Just like in India, every place has different sides, and that’s what makes travelling so real and interesting.”
Viewers online quickly chimed in with their takes. One commented, “The other side of Paris they don’t wanna show us.” Another warned, “Brother, stay in central Paris, if you are staying even slightly outside, then this is what you will get. Also don’t step out in such areas at night. It’s extremely unsafe.''
