IMAGE CREDITS: Shot by Onkar Naik: https://www.instagram.com/infinityprojkt/ | Styled by Edward Lalrempuia: https://www.instagram.com/edwardlalrempuia/ | Hair and MakeUp by Neha Parmar: https://www.instagram.com/neha.parmar_/
Vishü Rita Krocha
Kohima | May 26
At the age of fifteen, when she had no clue what modelling agencies even were, supermodel and the latest Bollywood sensation, Andrea Kevichüsa was scouted by her agency, Anima Creatives. It was then, she began to outgrow her childhood dream of becoming a medical doctor and took a completely different career path. The rest, as they say, is history.
Now featuring as the female lead in Anubhav Sinha directorial Anek, the much anticipated film that is all set to hit the theatres across India on May 27, she says, “I’m extremely thrilled and grateful to have been cast to play such an interesting and unconventional role, with creatives that are such reputed names in the industry. Being that it is my first film, I don’t really know what to expect and am just taking it one day at a time.”
In an exclusive interview with The Morung Express, she reveals that she plays the role of “a boxer who is intent on qualifying for the national team to get an opportunity to represent her country internationally.” To this, she also adds that “after having received the script, I was very happy to find that my character in the film was one that I could explore extensively, skill-wise. She is an independent character that very much embodies an empowered strong female-lead and I am delighted to have played her.”
Andrea Kevichüsa is the youngest of five daughters and was born and raised in Kohima. “My father was an Angami and my mum, an Ao,” she says while recalling that her parents were quite protective and strict. “But I had a fairly regular childhood growing up,” she adds to this. She studied in Little Flower Higher Secondary School until her 10th and subsequently moved to Shillong to pursue her further studies.
It wasn’t until then that I had to actually learn how to “take care of myself,” she says in this regard. By then, she had also started working part-time as a model—the transition, which she would describe as “quite steep”. “But I made do with it because I think I’ve always been blessed with a great support system around me,” she says.
Growing up, she was rather headstrong about becoming a doctor and working back home but in her words, that notion took a complete turn after she was scouted at 15 and eventually signed up with her mother agency, Anima Creative Management at the age of 16.
Recalling this period when she had no idea about modelling agencies, she relates, “The directors of my agency were kind enough to come all the way to Kohima from Mumbai to meet my family and I to run us through how the industry generally worked. Though I was still quite adamant on doing my medical studies, I decided to give it a shot after a few months, when I turned 16.”
Still in school at that point of time, she juggled between her studies and shoots. “I would fly to Mumbai every summer and winter break or whenever I could afford to miss classes and would often find myself preparing for exams in-flights,” she recollects.
When she turned 18, Andrea Kevichüsa moved to Mumbai for work and it was just a matter of time that she was cast for the role in Anek. After a few months since she moved to Mumbai, to be precise.
Talking about this, she highlights, “I had received news from my agent that I had a meeting with a production house for a role in a film and I had obviously assumed it to be a minor one.” Being 18, she further expresses that, “I was excited to audition and try something new because Bollywood and acting were things I was completely unfamiliar with.”
Affirming her belief that it would give her the space to not only grow as a person and also learn new skills, she says, “I met Sir Anubhav Sinha, the writer and director of Anek, the next day and I was told that they wanted to not only cast me as the female lead in their next film but a boxer at that.”
“Being aware of what a challenging task it would be, I was initially on the fence about it,” she goes on to say while expressing that “I didn’t think I was ready to take that big of a step in my life yet but after much deliberation and back-and-forth with my parents, I put into account the enormity of an opportunity I was being handed and decided to do it.”
As for the much anticipated movie, on what she hopes it would achieve, she says, “Besides, of course, hoping that it is an entertaining watch for everyone, I also hope that people from other parts of India take it as an opportunity to educate and sensitize themselves on issues regarding the North-Eastern region.”
Mention may be made here that Andrea has been featured on editorials of prestigious magazines such as Vogue India, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Grazia, Femina and most recently on the cover page of Filmfare among others.
