'I never expected my stint on Jhalak Dhikhhla Jaa to be so short'

'I am not saying I am the best dancer but I could have fared better if I had a good choreographer.'

Andy lists reasons for his elimination in Jhalak Dhikhhla Jaa 7.

VJ Andy is the first contestant to be eliminated from the latest edition of Jhalak Dhikhhla Jaa.

Andy claims he isn’t disappointed but quite surprised by the turn of events.

“Someone has to be the first to get eliminated from the show and it was me. I am surprised because I never expected my stint to be so short,” Andy explains. “I had reservations from the start because my dance partner Bhavini was new with no experience of reality shows.

“She is an excellent choreographer but she didn't know the format of the show,” he adds.

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Andy says that another reason was that their dance, costumes and theme were changed just two days before the performance.

He had to rehearse almost 18 hours a day but to put up a whole new dance with a new choreographer wasn't easy.

“There was so much pressure. It was quite a task to learn the dance in 48 hours. Experienced choreographers will guide you through new concepts and make you a better performer. Obviously, they have an upper hand over inexperienced choreographers. To top that, my performance was bad and I scored low."

Andy says he took up the show because he wanted to give back the love the audience gave him (in Bigg Boss), and also because they wanted to see him once again on television.

“I had given up dancing 10-12 years back due to a back injury. But when I got the offer to participate in the dance show, I took it up thinking that I need to give back to the people, who gave me love. I made a conscious decision to take this up because I believe I can dance," Andy says.

"People expected too much from me since I had danced before but I could not fulfill it because both my performances lacked concepts. I am proud of my achievement,” Andy says.

Soon after his elimination, Andy headed out to Goa to relax with friends.

“It’s hard to believe that I didn’t get too many votes. It’s shocking because I have a huge following on social media. I know people have voted for me,” he adds.

Andy competed with Sophie Choudry in the Face Off round.

“Competition between a previous winner (Sophie’s choreographer Deepak Singh had won Jhalak in the past) and a first-timer isn’t fair. I am not saying I am the best dancer but I could have fared better if I had a good choreographer,” Andy says. 

“My second performance was better than the first. Maksim Chmerkovskiy, the new judge on the panel, said I should have never been in the bottom two with an act like that. It was quite a compliment,” he says.

Would he like to come back as a wild card?

“I don’t think that will happen. If it does, I will come back only if the audience wants me, and with an experienced choreographer,” Andy answers.

Who does he think will win?

“Shakti Mohan is phenomenal. She’s the most experienced and a beautiful dancer. But if it’s about the growth of a performer then everyone has a chance of winning the show. Sophie and Ashish Sharma are also very good,” he says.

As Andy looks ahead, he says Bollywood is beckoning him.

“But I am in no rush,” he says.  “I’m sitting on some scripts and want to be sure of the film I take up. I am looking at hosting some shows in July. I want to bring my show Dare To Date back, or something on those lines. I am also developing a chat show concept. I am here to stay on television,” he concludes with a smile.