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The Two Sides Of Ananda Lewisby Gene Geter Until I met MTV's new veejay, Ananda Lewis, I had a different expectation (or should I say perception?) of celebrities. Before I'm formally introduced, I witness her on camera ecstatically practicing her lines in front of the television prompter. I'm about to meet a wild woman. "The more Ananda, the better," jokes the production assistant. "That's right," she agrees. First, I thought, oh, she's getting her energy from the extremely, psychedelic designed set. Second, the camera has been on her for a while. It wasn't any of those. Ananda has a lot of energy, period. I notice, besides her beauty, her long sleek hair and her painted blue toe nails, was her intellect. A quirk personality of spontaneity dipped in an impressive, machiavellian articulation. Also, her funny, agile responses to staff jokes or surprisingly enough, jokes of jokes she had all ready made. I ask myself: Does she ever stop? A half an hour later, I'm exhausted just by watching her. And I still haven't spoken to her or yet, have been formally introduced. I must admit that I am enjoying myself. Watching her sing cartoon renditions of The Smurfs and mistakenly introduce the R&B group K-Ci and Jo Jo as Jo Jo and K-Ci and Jo Jo, does put a smile on the face. Honestly, a chuckle or two. The taping's over. She happily kicks off her sandals and places them back on. It's finally time to know Ananda off-camera. As we walk with the communication director through the ivory hallway of MTV Networks at Times Square, I realize the whole place is energetic. Each corner has a direction sign that mocks the New York train station and other sets draped in vivid artwork. Ananda is still hyper like she had an espresso followed by a cappuccino. But she did say earlier because of no real sleep, "I feel like a four-year-old kid running around the house when they're bored." We finally step in somebody's dressing room and sit down. Who is Ananda Lewis? "A girl from San Diego," she laughs. "who grew up around four really strong women along with my dad. I consider myself a survivor." She thinks for a second. "I wouldn't say innovator, but definitely about doing what I think is right for me regardless of other people's involvement, anticipation and opinions." A lady dips in and hands Ananda a videotape of her bloopers. What would I have to do to see this tape? I can't do anything. Ananda seems like she wants to be embarrassed by herself. Does Ananda have two different sides? "No," she defines. "Even though I have a wide variety of personalities, it's important for me to be specific in which one I want to convey. With MTV, I see the potential to be more of the me that I am. And it's not, not me, it's a different me. Who I am changes based on my environment. It shouldn't be any different for me because I'm on the air. So you may see a bunch of different Anandas on MTV and that's okay. It's okay!" With such wit, I'm curious of her age. But the age question is not an important question, it's just a question I ask because I can. She replies, "Old enough to know not to tell. Like my great grandmother told me." Okay? Someone broke the mode with this one! Ananda, who was once on BET's Teen Summit, left Washington, D.C. to audition for MTV veejay last fall because members of MTV suggested it. She says she was hired in three weeks and felt overwhelmed to have the job so fast. "I just had enough time to get my two weeks notice," she recalls. Rumors went around that Ananda didn't like working at BET, but for the record, she dispels all hearsay. "I loved it," she explains. "It was definitely the best experience I've ever had. BET prepared me for this. I couldn't have done this without that." Following a short list of African-American veejays such as J. J. Jackson, Downtown Julie Brown and Bill Bellamy, Ananda sees anything is possible. MTV will open doors for her she couldn't unlock before such as music and movies. "I don't want to bite off too much," she says. "I'm focused on being here. I already have a job." As the host of "12 Angry Viewers," a show about twelve different youngsters a week picking their favorite videos to go in to heavy rotation, Ananda loves the exposure. However, the exposure is slightly different on the outside. She's often mistaken for Tatayna Ali, who was Ashley on The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air. "People don't trip as much in New York as they do in smaller towns." Has anybody ever scared her? "Men are scary to me than anybody because they have more physical power than me and they are more aggressive. Women come up to me, say hello, ask for autographs and leave. Men are incognito, wanting to play it cool and keep their ego intact. They start to slink around me where you have to say, 'why are you following me?' They just want to talk to me privately, but I don't know them. That's when the exposure becomes a little freaky because by nature, I'm a fighter and I will defend myself." Strange, she doesn't seem like the type. "That's because you're looking and not feeling," she replies. "That's all right, it's all good." Oops, my mistake. She says she's also been followed a few blocks, but she's observant and wear mirror glasses. What concerns Ananda more than herself is her family. Because of her success, people have contacted them which she doesn't like. "But I've become more careful about saying my family's names to the masses." Ananda hopes she'll be able to handle future exposure. She wishes she could go back in time and meet Dinah Washington. "How fabulous would that be? I would go right back to 1940s, get her on stage and sing with her. She probably would trip out because I knew her music." Ananda says her friends think she's wild. It works for her and I like that. She's a celebrity, but she's also a person. She doesn't want to be on a pedestal. She's no different from anybody else. I respect her because of that. In the future, Ananda wants to travel more, live on a ranch and grow her own food. She says she has no time for men. "They couldn't handle me. I'm really interested in living in the moment. It's been all good so far." |
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