In today’s industry, Andy Kumar is well-recognised for his work as a VJ, stylist, dancer, and TV personality. Although he now enjoys unmatched fame and money, the path to get there was by no means simple. He describes his travels and notes how difficult it has been.
Andy says, “I grew up and was raised in the United Kingdom, in England. Although I had a wonderful childhood, I lost my father when I was about 13 years old. Growing up, we had to overcome several challenges. My father owned three or four restaurants in London. He was a restaurateur. Yet he was insolvent when he passed away from cancer. My mother and my family were left in charge of the situation. One of my twin sisters has been physically challenged since birth, and I also have an elder brother.”
“Throughout my early years, I faced a lot of adversity and suffering. We had nothing left to our name. My mother put in a lot of effort; after working as a restaurateur, she spent many years working in a factory. She put a lot of effort into providing for our needs and raised us with strong Indian values.” He claims, “She is my strength.”
Andy Kumar gets candid:
Speaking about his mother, Andy Kumar claims that she made quite an impression on him during the Bigg Boss house’s family week when she paid him a visit. “That was enjoyable, and she gained a lot of notoriety; people still remember her. Every day I run into fans who want to know about her. My mother put a lot of effort into providing for us. I went a different route. It was not my calling to become a lawyer or a doctor, as was typically expected of Indians.”
“Because I was a strong math student and received outstanding grades, I tried accounting school. My passion is dance. I attended dance school while supporting myself by doing other jobs as a coffee barista, usher at a movie theatre, and table service throughout the university. In order to pay for my dance education, I used to work as a club dancer three to four times every week.”
He further adds, “As a struggling Indian dancer in India, I made the decision to try my luck in Bollywood and immigrated to India at a very young age. I have to admit that I am extremely fortunate. India has treated me so graciously. In my first two years, I produced about 12 music videos. I worked as a choreographer for Universal Music’s Vinay Sapru & Radhika Rao in my first position. The tune was titled Kaliyon Ki Chaman. That song quickly rose to fame. Meghna Naidu served as the model, who was taught by the choreographer for the video for roughly six weeks.” Sony Music’s “Yeh Kya Hua” is among Andy’s credits. Times Music’s “Nacho Nacho.” Kanta Laga and numerous others!
Candid Chat:
The actor states, “After that, there was no turning back. The first movie I got was ‘Page 3’, directed by Madhur Bandharkars. Superhit Kuan Ma Doob Jaungi gained popularity. I composed every song in the movie. I had the good fortune to work on a lot more fantastic film projects with major production companies after that.”
He soon had to shift his field of work though. “ I had a successful job up until that point, but then something happened… I was forced to return to England. When I returned and resumed the choreography, I discovered that I was a costume designer for a movie. I completed my A levels in costume and apparel design. I, therefore, had knowledge of costume design and work experience in the motion picture industry. Thus, in order to support myself, I made this decision. I contributed to my first movie, Tashan, and we handled all of the supporting performers. We also performed the songs after that. Bachnae Hasseno was my second movie, followed by Ghajini. After that, I worked on a lot of movies.”
Luck Factor:
His life has always been significantly influenced by luck. “Following that, I was sitting nearby in Bandra, doing what I do best: making people laugh. I didn’t realise Sheetal Sudhir, the Creative Director of channel V at the time, was laughing when I was enjoying myself while sitting there. Because I talk to everyone, I considered them to be friends. After that, I received a call from channel V asking me to join the all-female band VIVA girl group. As a choreographer and director, I joined channel V and began directing the music videos they were producing, such as Jaha Ho Pyaar Ka Mausam. Anushka Manchanda, Neha Bhasin, Pratichee Mohapatra, Mahua Kamat, and Seema Ramchandani were some of the well-known members of the girl band ensemble.” According to him.
“When Get Gorgeous 5 took place, I was meant to be the choreographer backstage and make sure everything was running properly, but after they saw the first episode, they said to make my seat at the panel because my point of view needed entertainment,” he continues. “I was shortly invited to a meeting and given the chance to represent Channel V’s brand.”
“They informed me that they were seeking for three new faces to relaunch the channels. I suggested names by looking through my phone book, but I was ordered to be the channel’s face instead. Also, I told them I couldn’t do it, but they assured me that I did it really well and that my performance was favourably received. I decided to give it a shot, and my first shoot—which took place at channel V—was such a complete failure. I sobbed all the way home, concluding that this position wasn’t for me.”
Way to success:
He adds, “Some things will work and some things might not, but you have to keep trying, Sheetal informed me. Later I was given the chance to host a programme called Dare To Date. I travelled to Delhi to film it, and everything went quite smoothly. We took a tonne of shots. I worked for the station for over ten years.”
“Then, I left channel V and did nothing for a year,” he claims. “Afterwards, I produced a show for travel, Fox Life, and Discovery. I couldn’t earn much money from those shows, though, until someone suggested I try out for Bigg Boss one day. They were introduced to me in 2013 by a buddy. When I went to meet the production team, they questioned me. I was chosen as a very good contender by Manisha, who is currently in charge of the station, and I competed on Bigg Boss 7 and placed fifth.”
In the years after Big Boss, Andy hosted India’s Got Talent. IGT was a lot of fun, and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa followed. Andy concludes, “Later while filming Sunny Leone’s role in Leela Ek Paheli, I also worked with Balaji on a programme called BCL (Box Cricket League). This project and Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 were intermingled. We filmed this movie in London, and I was also offered Laila Majnu,”
