'I like the drama of Bollywood'

An internship of six months in India turned into a stay of six years for model-cum-actor Andy Von Eich. Hailing from Dusseldorf, Germany, not to be confused with Cologne as he jokes, his stint with acting began with theatre at the age of three. But the actual journey began when he was at the university. “I was studying philosophy and economics when a lady at my university told me to come to India on an exchange. So I took it up as an adventure and came to Delhi in 2009,” he recalls. Initially, it was exhausting. “I remember calling up my mother and telling her ‘it’s interesting but I can’t survive here for so many weeks’,” he says. Interestingly, he stayed on for five months. He then went back, came back and now, it has been six years! 

His good looks got him a small role in the Julia Roberts-starrer ‘Eat, Pray, Love’. “I was sitting next to Julia in the scene in which she is praying in India,” he says. All praises for the Oscar-winner, he says, “She is a simple lady with no attitude who was just like one of us.” Ask him if he got her autograph and pat comes the reply, “No, I want to meet her as a colleague and not as a fan.” Soon, he gained more popularity acting in serials like ‘Airlines’.

Currently, he is working in ‘Fitoor’ opposite Katrina Kaif. “Let’s see if I get bigger roles in Bollywood in future,” he wonders. As excited to be behind the camera as he is in front of it, he adds, “Recently, I produced a photoshoot for a client who is from Barcelona. It came in a popular magazine there. I just wanted to show everyone that you can do photoshoots of international quality in India. It is just amazing to create your own ideas.” He has worked on another video project for an online web retail service.

A fan of Bollywood, he considers it as one of the biggest industries. “I like the movies of Aamir Khan like ‘Delhi Belly’ and ‘3 Idiots’. They are not just about love and I can relate to them. I liked ‘Don 2’ as it was shot in Berlin,” he quips. He likes the movies of his land too. “European cinema is very uncommercial, artistic and deep. I like that too but I also like the drama of Bollywood.” His dream role is to play a German in a Bollywood film. “Basically, someone who comes to India and slowly learns that the country is unique,” he says wishfully.

Andy has made a few friends in Bollywood too. “Saurabh Shukla is the funniest person I have ever met. Kunal Kapoor is a nice actor too,” he says. But what’s the scope for a foreigner like him in Indian cinema? “I know I have to play a foreigner in all Indian films but Bollywood films are getting more international. The quality is so good that even Europeans like to watch them,” notes the actor who has been learning Hindi too. Is the industry ruthless to newcomers? He laughs, “A job in the construction industry would be tougher.” 

Ask him about his future plans and he retorts rather philosophically, “If only I knew that so easily.” As someone who just goes with the flow, he says, “Sometimes, I plan things three days in advance while there are times, I plan three months in advance. In future, I don’t know if I will be in India, Germany or the United States. Who knows what will happen? I just make a decision and the universe opens for me.”