With just the trailer of socio-political action thriller Anek being out, it has made quite a stir on social media.
Andrea Kevichüsa, a newcomer, will make her Hindi Bollywood debut. Andrea is a model from Nagaland who has turned heads on many a fashion catwalk with her grace and charisma.
Andrea has taken a significant stride forward by being the first actor from the North East to land a lead actress part in a Hindi film.
In an interview, Andrea highlighted the Northeast’s representation in Anek, how important it is, and recounted an unhappy episode in which she was discriminated against because she was from the Northeast.
Andrea appears in the film as a national lever boxer. She stated that she must go through training and brush up on her Hindi.
When asked if she had ever experienced discrimination, she said,
I was probably about 16 years of age and I remember telling the makeup artist that I have a flight to Nagaland and I am dying to go back home because I miss being with my parents. And she was like, ‘Oh is it? When are you going back to your country?’ I was really taken aback because she didn’t really know that Nagaland is a part of India.
Andrea gave her thoughts on how one becomes an Indian, referencing to the trailer’s ‘sirf Indian kaise bante hai’:
“It shouldn’t matter how I look or what language I speak. I am an Indian because I was born in this country. I think it’s quite a disservice to the fact that people have to prove that they are an Indian. I am from Nagaland and I don’t think it’s right to prove myself of being an Indian to other cities or to the rest of the country.”
Sharing if she ever felt that she won’t be welcomed because she did not know how to speak Hindi, Andrea said,
I was always of the idea that the diversity of this country is so wide, beautiful, and unique. It’s actually amazing the number of cultures or the number of languages that we have so that’s why I really didn’t have the thought of not being accepted just because I can’t speak Hindi.