Anuradha Menon is an Indian stand-up comedienne who is known for her jokes that she bases on personal experiences. In chat with us she talks about her life, comedy and much more ahead of her show here in the city.
Growing up Anu (as she is called) was a quite and hardworking child. It was only at the age of 14, her teacher heard her speak during a play. “We rented out videos of the Bill Cosby show and watched it as a family. I also saw other random shows like Who’s the Boss and Full House. But it was only in my teens I started watching stand-up comedy.” Majoring in Drama from London the initial idea was to come back get a job in television. She adds, “I did this to support my theatre habits. Being on stage is the love of my life. But the truth is one can’t earn a living by doing theatre. Initially I never thought of doing stand-up as an option until it became one”. It was only when her son turned two, she got to do stand-up. She further adds, “When I write down sets I don’t know if people will find it funny and appreciate it. Every show is different, one should be ready to deal with days when some shows receive love while others don’t. Its sort of the art of being vulnerable on stage and yet having a laugh at it.”
On who inspires her she says, “I love Joan Rivers. The fact that she was 80 and was doing stand-up comedy show was really great. She was sarcastic, vocal and witty and hosting The Tonight Show at that time was really great.” Anu respects people with an opinion. She may not agree with your opinion but it is important to have one.
This South-Indian girl never had the pressure to become a doctor or an engineer or a lawyer. “My mother was very encouraging and gave me her go ahead very soon. Stand-up comedy is just an expansion of what I do and not the only thing I do and think this makes it more exciting”. Describing to us her first time on stage she adds, “It was a school play that I had co-written with a friend. I played a coic character and was really blown away by the response and laughter I got from the audience,” she adds.
Lucky Anu never had to deal with a hostile crowd but she did encounter a a dead audience. “They thought brick laying and kitchen fittings more hilarious than my jokes,” she laughs. On her style of comedy she says, “I’m more of a story comedian. I mostly talk about stuff that happens in my life. There is a marked difference between the nature of what we say from woman to a man. Things that men say maybe be cute but when women says it, she is critised. But in my opinion, if I have to pay for my son’s material needs in this material world then I can use him as a material.”
Anu feels that while working on a particular set it is important to give it time. She adds, “Write a set, walk away, then come back and see if anything from what you have written strikes you. People told me to be more proactive and my only answer to them is not to put pressure of the entire gender on me”. An all female line-up is good and encouraged, Anu feels that men and women should not be differentiated. This mother of a five-year-old feels that there is a lot of assumptions made about the things women talk about in stand-up comedy show.
“People think women talk only about those so called womanly stuff but its not true at all. There are different people with different voices and different take on things” she adds. On her take about the stand-up comedy scene in the city she says, “The scene in Bengaluru is really fantastic. The city has so many open mic shows and the crowd here is great and lively. Comedians nation wide want to perform here and a lot of non Bengalureans get their specials shot here which is a testament for the city.” People can a expect a bunch of stories pieced together on variety of topics from romance, marriage to children etc. although she doesn’t have a lot of time for hobbies,
Anu will be performing on February 18 at Vapour Pub and Brewery.
