She was never much of a cricket buff

With her cheery voice and pretty face, Lekha Washington is adding her own brand of excitement to the IPL. While she herself was never much of a cricket buff, she’s hit it off as a TV host. “Well it’s a crazy, roller-coaster ride. I have seen the good, bad and ugly in these days. I love interacting with people and I am learning my cricket too,” grins the 20-something.

What’s behind her unconventional name? “I have a confused heritage. My father is a Burmese-Italian-Punjabi and my mom is a Maharashtrian. My name sounds bizarre, lacks credibility, but the firang genes in me are minimal - I am more of an Indian,” she says.

Having started her career as a theatre artist, Lekha is a qualified film-maker from NID, Ahmedabad. “I’ve been wanting to act since I was five. I took up direction because that was the closest to acting, and it paved my way to the world of showbiz.”

Has donning the director’s cap for a while helped her polish her acting skills? “It has its pros and cons. It’s instinctive to have a holistic understanding on the frame, lighting. But knowing how to salvage a shot at times causes a chaotic clash with the top-notch director - that’s when I put the director in me to rest,” she says.

She quite admires her co-commentator, former cricketer Ajay Jadeja. “His experience in the field of cricket has been a huge help. Though serious pre-match analysis is replaced by cool, hip hop conversations, I had to brush up my cricket gyaan about offsides, lbws and more.” So which is her favourite team? “Chennai Super Kings.”

Fittingly, Lekha made her film debut with Tamil film Kettavan. “I then moved on to play the leading role in English film Framed directed by Chetan Shah. My latest Tamil film is Jayamkondaan - I play a headstrong, independent girl opposite South star Vinay. It’s scheduled for release on June 14.”