Lekha Washington

Last updated

Lekha Washington
Lekha Washington.jpg
Washington in 2008
Born (1984-04-30) 30 April 1984 (age 40)
Alma mater Stella Maris College, Chennai
Occupation(s)Actor, product designer, artist, lyricist
Years active2007–2017

Lekha Washington (born 30 April 1984) is an Indian actress, artist, and product designer who has predominantly appeared in Tamil and Telugu language films as well as a few Hindi films. She was first recognised for her work as a sculptor in 2002 and then as a theatre actress in Chennai based stage plays. After appearing as a video jockey with SS Music, Washington's breakthrough film role was as an independent estranged sister in Jayamkondaan (2008), whilst she has gone on to portray roles in the multi-starrer Vedam and the comedy Va .

Contents

Early life

Lekha Washington was born to a father of mixed Burmese, Italian and Punjabi ancestry, and a Maharashtrian mother. [1] Despite the mixed heritage, Lekha has stated she considers herself South Indian due to her upbringing and speaks English and Marathi at home. [2]

Washington did her schooling in Good Shepherd Convent, Chennai [3] and later pursued a degree in Fine Arts at Stella Maris College, Chennai and went on to attend the National Institute of Design taking courses, first in Lifestyle Product Design, and then re-applying to enrol in the Film and Video Communication course. During her time studying film-making, she opted for a career in "front of the camera, rather than from behind". [2] During her time on the course, she made three short films called Spoonerism, Catch 22 and Sunn with locations ranging from Myanmar to Mauritius. [4]

Acting career

While pursuing her education, she decided to appear in Chetan Shah's experimental English film, Framed, and subsequently received offers to be a music video jockey from SS Music. In early 2007, Washington was signed on to play the lead role of an orthodox Tamil Brahmin girl alongside Silambarasan in his project Kettavan, after the actor and the film's director Nanthu had spotted her at a cinema hall. She replaced the team's original choice Sana Khan in the lead role, but despite completing a schedule, the film was shelved and later cancelled after the lead actor and director had creative differences. [5] [6] She had earlier made an uncredited appearance in a song from the 1999 romance film Kadhalar Dhinam and also made a guest appearance in director Jeeva's 2007 film Unnale Unnale as a bride at a wedding. In November 2007, Washington signed on to play a supporting role in R. Kannan's directorial debut Jayamkondaan alongside Vinay Rai and Bhavana (actress). [7] Appearing as Vinay Rai's estranged stepsister, Brindha, in the film, Washington won critical acclaim for her role with a reviewer citing that she "sparkles as the half sister in a well etched role" and is "the surprise packet and has the credentials to make it big". [8] Another critics cited that Washington "pulls off with élan" and "her costume spells class and character as does her performance", and subsequently the film went on to become a critical and commercial success. [9]

In 2010, Washington appeared in three films in three regional languages. Her first release was in the multi-starrer Vedam , where she played a role as a part of the troupe of a lead character, Manoj Manchu. The film won positive reviews, and Washington's small role was labelled as "adequate support" by critics, as the film enjoyed a successful run commercially. [10] [11] She then appeared in Pushkar-Gayathri's comedy film, Va , playing a suicidal schoolgirl who meets the characters of Shiva and Charan on an election night in Chennai. The film received average reviews, whilst Washington's portrayal also received mixed acclaim with a reviewer citing that she "carries off her role of a dimwit quite well", whilst another cites that she "does not impress and needs to brush up her acting skills and lip sync". [12] [13] Her final release of the year was the romantic Kannada film, Huduga Hudugi opposite Sameer Dattani, which became a commercial and critical failure, with Washington receiving mixed reviews for her role. [14] [15]

Washington was signed on to appear in her debut Hindi film, John Owen's Peter Gaya Kaam Se beating hundred other actresses in an audition, after the producers felt that "she looked like a super model, could play football and was an Anglo-Indian". [16] [17] The film opposite Rajeev Khandelwal features Washington as Mira, an undercover agent, but is yet to release, after disputes between the producers and the director. [18] She has also shot for another Hindi project, Power by Rajkumar Santoshi, featuring her as Sneha alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgan, though the film has been delayed. [19] In 2013, Washington was seen in Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola as Imran Khan's friend. [20] She won acclaim for her portrayal of a Tamil Brahmin bride in the romantic comedy Kalyana Samayal Saadham (2013), before portraying a guest role in the action thriller Arima Nambi (2014).

Artistic career

Washington currently owns and runs a product design company called Ajji and has recently launched her first range of products in the Pallate store in Mumbai. She currently holds two patents to her name with respect to the products she has created. Washington has also enjoyed success as a sculptor, being featured by The Hindu newspaper in January 2002 for her maiden exhibition, Exhibition A, for which she won critical appraisal. [21] In January 2011, she showcased her work in an exhibition in New Delhi. [22]

Other work

Washington has also been involved in English stage plays held in Chennai, featuring in Madras Player's production of Twelfth Night in 2002 as Viola. [23] She has also been active in directing the theatre troupe, Khel.

During the maiden season of the Indian Premier League, Washington was signed on to anchor an analysis and interview show which provided coverage of the cricket played.[ citation needed ] To prepare for the role, Washington did research through cricketing journals and enlisted help from Ajay Jadeja, hoping for her reporting to reach a widespread audience. Notably during her time as a reporter, she was briefly criticised for asking umpire Asad Rauf which franchise he had rooted for, as a part of a joke. [2] However, her stint was considered successful and helped her gain more offers from film producers. [24]

Filmography

YearFilmRoleLanguageNotes
1999 Kadhalar Dhinam Girl at Computer Tamil Cameo appearance in "O Maria" song
2004 Yuva Girl at embassy Hindi Cameo appearance
2007FramedViniEnglish
Unnale Unnale Bride at a WeddingTamilCameo appearance in "Ilamai Ullasam" song
2008 Jayamkondaan Brinda SekharTamilNominated, Vijay Award for Best Supporting Actress
2010 Vedam Lasya Telugu
Va SaraswathiTamil
Huduga Hudugi Sonia Kannada
2013 Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola KaminiHindiCameo appearance
Kamina VasukiTelugu
Kalyana Samayal Saadham Meera Chandrasekaran Tamil
2014 Arima Nambi Megha SharmaTamilGuest appearance
Peter Gaya Kaam Se Mira Hindi
2015 Dynamite Neha SharmaTeluguGuest appearance

As lyricist

Notes

  1. ↑ Wrote the lyrics for two songs: "Shimmy Shake" and "Be Still"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meera Jasmine</span> Indian actress

Jasmine Mary Joseph, known professionally as Meera Jasmine, is an Indian actress who appears primarily in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films. Meera made her debut in 2001 with the Lohithadas film Soothradharan. She went on to star in various commercial and critically successful films in south Indian languages making her one of the successful actresses of the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trisha Krishnan</span> Indian actress (born 1983)

Trisha Krishnan is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films. She gained prominence after winning the 1999 Miss Chennai pageant, which marked her entry into Cinema. Trisha is the recipient of several accolades. Trisha is often referred as the "The South Queen" for her contributions to South Indian Cinema. She has been ranked among the top actresses in South Indian Cinema by The Times of India. She is a recipient of five Filmfare Award South, one Tamil Nadu State Film Award, one Nandi Award and eight SIIMA Awards respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhavana (actress)</span> Indian film actress

Karthika Menon, better known by her stage name Bhavana, is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Malayalam and Kannada language films in addition to Tamil and Telugu films. She is the recipient of two Kerala State Film Awards and a Filmfare Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silambarasan</span> Indian actor, director, producer and singer (born 1983)

Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar, nicknamed as Simbu or his initials S.T. R. and known as Little Super Star, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and musician in Tamil cinema. He is the eldest son of actor and director T. Rajendar. He began his acting career by playing roles as a child artist in films directed by his father, before his first lead role in his father's Kadhal Azhivathillai (2002).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shriya Saran</span> Indian actress (born 1982)

Shriya Saran Bhatnagar is an Indian actress who primarily works in Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi films. Although Saran aspired to become a well-known dancer, she became an actress and made her film debut with the Telugu film Ishtam (2001). Saran had her first commercial success with Santosham (2002).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anushka Shetty</span> Indian actress (born 1981)

Sweety Shetty, known by her stage name Anushka Shetty, is an Indian actress known for her work majorly in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards South, two Nandi Awards, two SIIMA Awards and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award. Having appeared over 50 films in a variety of roles, she is one of the highest-paid South Indian actresses.

<i>Unnale Unnale</i> 2007 Indian film

Unnale Unnale is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language romantic musical film.The movie is directed and co-written by Jeeva and produced by Oscar Ravichandran. It stars Vinay, Sadha and Tanisha Mukherjee in lead roles; Srinath, Raju Sundaram and Sathish Krishnan in supporting roles; and Lekha Washington, Aravind Akash, Uma Padmanabhan, and Vasundhara Kashyap in cameo roles. Raju Sundaram also worked as a choreographer in the film. The Telugu dubbed version was titled Neevalle Neevalle and released simultaneously with the Tamil version. This film marked Vinay's feature film debut and Tanisha's only Tamil film that she ever acted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Priyamani</span> Indian actress

Priya Mani Raj, known by her stage name Priyamani, is an Indian actress. She is the recipient of several awards, including a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards South. She predominantly work in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada languages films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Jeremiah</span> Indian actress

Andrea is an Indian playback singer and actress who works predominantly in Tamil films apart from a few Telugu and Malayalam language films. She made her playback singing debut with "Kannum Kannum Nokia" in the Tamil film Anniyan, with music composed by Harris Jayaraj. She made her acting debut in the Tamil film Pachaikili Muthucharam (2007), with R. Sarathkumar and Jyothika and Malayalam debut with Annayum Rasoolum (2013) with Fahadh Faasil.

Vinay Rai is an Indian actor who primarily appears in Tamil films apart from a few Telugu and Malayalam films. He is best known for his performance in the films Unnale Unnale (2007), Jayamkondaan (2008), Endrendrum Punnagai (2013) and Aranmanai (2014). He turned villain in Thupparivaalan (2017) and has played negative roles in several films including Doctor (2021), Etharkkum Thunindhavan (2022), Christopher (2023) and Hanu-Man (2024).

<i>Jayamkondaan</i> 2008 Indian Tamil-language romantic action film by R. Kannan

Jayam Kondaan is a 2008 Tamil-language romantic action film directed and written by Kannan and produced by T. G. Thiyagarajan, Selvi Thiyagarajan,Sendhil Thyagarajan and T. Arjun. It stars vinay, Bhavana and Lekha Washington while Vivek, Santhanam, Kishore, Vasundhara Kashyap, Malavika Avinash, and Nizhalgal Ravi, among others, play supporting roles.

<i>Vaana</i> (film) 2008 Indian film

Vaana (transl. Rain) is a 2008 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film directed and produced by M. S. Raju. The film stars Vinay Rai and Meera Chopra while Suman, Jayasudha, Naresh, Seetha, and Diganth play supporting roles. Music is composed by debutant Kamalakar. It is a remake of the 2006 Kannada-language film Mungaru Male.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanjjanaa Galrani</span> Indian actress and model

Sanjjanaa Galrani is an Indian actress who made her film debut in the 2005 Telugu film Soggadu. She is known for her role in the Kannada film Ganda Hendathi (2006). She played a supporting role in the 2008 Telugu film Bujjigadu starring Prabhas. In 2017, she played Chandri in the Kannada crime drama Dandupalya 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. Kannan</span> Indian film director

R. Kannan is an Indian filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the successful Tamil film Jayamkondaan starring Vinay Rai and Bhavana in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anjali (actress)</span> Indian actress (born 1985)

Anjali is an Indian actress and model who appears in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. Following a stint in modelling, she was cast in starring roles in two Telugu productions; her debut film was the Telugu thriller film Photo (2006). She then bagged a role and gained attention in the film Kattradhu Thamizh (2007) with Jiiva. In 2010 and 2011, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil, for her performances in Angaadi Theru and Engaeyum Eppothum, respectively, and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Angadi Theru, subsequently recognised as one of the "finest young actors" in Tamil cinema, and noted for mostly playing "performance-oriented roles".

<i>Vaanam</i> 2011 film by Krish

Vaanam (transl. Sky) is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Krish. A remake of his own Telugu film Vedam (2010), the film features an ensemble cast of Silambarasan, Bharath, Prakash Raj, Anushka Shetty, Santhanam, Sonia Agarwal and Saranya Ponvannan. The score and soundtrack were composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, while cinematography and editing were handled by Nirav Shah and Anthony, respectively. The film, jointly produced by VTV Ganesh and R. Ganesh, and was distributed by Dayanidhi Azhagiri's Cloud Nine Movies.

<i>Huduga Hudugi</i> 2010 Indian film

Huduga Hudugi is a 2010 Kannada-language comedy film written and directed by Indrajit Lankesh. The film features Dhyan and Lekha Washington in the lead roles, whilst other noted actresses play roles in the film. The film was launched in 2008 as Thunta Thunti with Ganesh and Praneetha in the lead roles and then a second launch was conducted in March 2010 with Ganesh and Ishita Sharma but the pair later opted out of the project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deeksha Seth</span> Indian actress (born 1990)

Deeksha Seth is an Indian actress and model who mainly worked in Telugu and Tamil-language films and was a finalist at Femina Miss India 2009. She made her acting debut in the Telugu film Vedam (2010).

<i>Annakodi</i> 2013 Indian film

Annakodi is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language film directed and written by Bharathiraja. It stars Lakshman Narayan, Karthika Nair and Manoj Bharathiraja. The film has music by G. V. Prakash Kumar. The film was earlier titled Annakodiyum Kodiveeranum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anushka Shetty filmography</span>

Anushka Shetty is an Indian actress who appears in Telugu and Tamil films. She made her acting debut in Puri Jagannadh's 2005 Telugu film Super, and appeared in Mahanandi, released later the same year. The following year, she had four releases, the first being S. S. Rajamouli's Vikramarkudu, which helped her gain recognition, followed by Astram, the Sundar C.-directed Rendu,, and a special appearance in AR Murugadoss' Telugu film Stalin. She had two releases in 2007: Lakshyam and Don. In 2008, she appeared in six films, including Okka Magaadu, Swagatam and Souryam. In 2009, Shetty played two roles in the fantasy Arundhati. She went on to win the Nandi Special Jury Award and the Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award for this film. Her next release that year was Billa, a Telugu remake of the 2007 Tamil film of the same name. Her final release in 2009 was her second Tamil feature film, the masala film Vettaikaaran, where she appeared as a medical student.

References

  1. ↑ "She was never much of a cricket buff – Entertainment – DNA". Daily News and Analysis. 24 May 2008. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bowled over". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 14 June 2008. Okay, I was raised in Chennai, so I consider myself South Indian. I speak English at home and Mom yells at me in Marathi.
  3. ↑ "Art, Life and Filtered Water: The Lekha Washington Interview". Sinndhuja Ramprasad. Silverscreen. 4 May 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2018.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ Archived 2 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "Lekha Washington remains in 'Kettavan'". The Hindu . Chennai, India. 13 October 2007. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  6. ↑ "Simbu Cheated Me : Kettavan Director GT Nandhu First Exclusive Interview | STR Kettavan Coming Soon - YouTube". Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017– via YouTube.
  7. ↑ "Vinay signs a film!". Sify.com. 14 November 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  8. ↑ "Jayam Kondaan". Sify.com (Moviebuzz). Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
  9. ↑ "The makings of a winner". The Hindu . Chennai, India. 5 September 2008. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  10. ↑ "Vedam is outstanding". Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ↑ "Review : (2010)". Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "The Hindu : Cinema Plus / Film Review : Cut and dried -- Va, Quarter Cutting". The Hindu . Chennai, India. 14 November 2010. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  14. ↑ "'Huduga Hudugi' is a remix of Bollywood blockbusters (Kannada Film Review)". Archived from the original on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  15. ↑ "Nothing new in Huduga Hudugi". Archived from the original on 18 January 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  16. ↑ "What's in a name, asks Lekha". The Times of India . 12 November 2009. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "Lekha Washington to break hearts – Entertainment – DNA". Daily News and Analysis. 11 February 2009. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  18. ↑ "Lekha Washington goes to Bollywood!". Sify.com. 18 February 2009. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  19. ↑ "Lekha is Santoshi's latest muse". The Times of India . 8 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  20. ↑ "Weary about future projects: Lekha Washington". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  21. ↑ "Expressing ideas differently". The Hindu . 17 January 2002. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  22. ↑ "I love shaping images with clay: Lekha". The Times of India . 18 October 2010. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  23. ↑ "An evening with Shakespeare". The Hindu . Chennai, India. 8 February 2002. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  24. ↑ http://bollyspice.com/view.php/1390-washington-in-a-capital-performance.html%5B%5D
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.