30 January,2010 08:54 AM IST | | Bryan Durham
The name's Anand. Anand Kumar. Okay, maybe that wasn't the best of introductions, but that is the name Channel [V]'s VJ Andy, who hosts Dare2Date is lesser known by.
We caught up with this VJ over the phone and he startled me with his Londoner accent, quite a departure from his Hindi avatar on the show. "I'm a choreographer", he says, "I trained in London."
"Joined the channel six years back and did their Diva show and other projects, some music videos and a few fashion shows. Oh and I'm a photographer as well." Okay then!
He takes a breather and continues, "One time, the Creative Head comes up, we talk a couple of times, I get put in the season of Get Gorgeous. Besides, I wanted to do the job", says he about taking up the VJ job.
u00a0Wonder where the comfort level with Hindi comes from? "I'm a Punjabi, says he, adding, "So it helped. Besides, I've been in India seven years. Also was going to work here. Had to to 'do as the Romans do'."
u00a0So who comes up with the all-too-funny blurbs you see popping up on screen during the show? "We're four of us. Writers from the production team and my own brand of humour."
Is there any interference on the part of the production team? Is the couple expected to behave in a certain way? "We do give them pointers. But we let them do their thing. Just keep them happy."
He has a rather zany style. I ask him about it and that outrageous haricut and he replies, "I know how to dress myself and I enjoy doing that. My weight keeps yo-yoing so I know what looks best on me. About the hair, I go through phases, had a platinum look once and now sport streaks." Interestingly, Andy has styled for films, he says, and even for his own company.
If you haven't watched Dare2Date yet, you probably should, considering the first season is winding up, with the two-part season finale starting this week.
D2D is an anti-romance where Andy pairs together two people who are complete opposite of the other's idea of their perfect match.
