Anuradha Menon is a cool mother. While different mother and father should make themselves appear cool, she units out to show to her son that she is certainly uncool. “My 12-year-old son told me that I come under the category of cool parent and that is very annoying for him because when all his friends complain about their parents, he has nothing to contribute. So he has to lie about how horrid I am,” she says, laughing. Growing up as a nerd with braces, boy reduce, and glasses, she refuses to simply accept the title of ‘cool mom’ and units out to do what she does finest — write a couple of jokes about how uncool she is.
Her newest stand-up special ANcool is stuffed with anecdotes of how really uncool she is and digs into the vulnerabilities of rising up with out get-ready-with-me (GRWM) movies, facial filters, and concealers that disguise your zits. Being a story-based comic, her stand-up specials are stuffed with anecdotes. “I’ve always believed that the basis of all humour is the truth. Of course, truth is exaggerated and embellished in order to raise a laugh, but it is rooted in fact,” she says. Anu Menon is finest identified for her bespectacled persona, Lola Kutty, who was clad in Kanjeevaram saris and spoke with closely Malayalam-accented English on Channel V. This too was rooted in fact, as she is from Kerala.
ANcool, which she describes as theatrical, contains act-outs, facial contortions, and quite a few hand gestures. “I always worry that with all the facial contortions, I’ll wrinkle very soon. I suppose one will just have to invest in some anti-wrinkle cream,” she says.
Anu Menon
| Photo Credit:
Neville Sukhia
Coming again to Chennai, the place she grew up, she says that her accent is one thing that subconsciously adjustments when she visits town or speaks to somebody from Chennai. “I say things like ‘something and all she was saying,’ and my husband finds it amusing,” she says.
Speaking about being weak on stage, she says that in stand-up comedy, you’re the closest model of your self as a result of there isn’t a character to cover behind. “When it comes to a show like mine, where I’m talking about stories from my past, there is a great deal of vulnerability because you are exposing so much. But I think that’s the beauty of being human.” In the present, she contains anecdotes from her private life, which contain different individuals, and “you have to find a delicate balance of making them part of your story. I suppose you hope and pray that no one takes offence,” she says.
However, Anu is an “equal opportunity offender” as a result of her jokes usually embody everybody she is near. Her mother and father, son, husband, in-laws, and anybody who comes shut will discover themselves in a joke. “I would like to believe that it is all innocent fun, and the good thing is I have a very supportive family. So my mother-in-law gets a 20% cut of all jokes about her,” she jokes.
In occasions when stand-up comedy is being scrutinised and put beneath the lens, Anu says that we’ve misplaced the flexibility to stay and let stay utterly. “Sometimes when I’m asked to do some shows, they’ll say, ‘Anu, we’re very cool. You can joke about anything you want except sex, religion, politics, politicians, plants, animals, authors, poets, Hollywood movies, Bollywood movies, actors, actresses, parents, spouses, children, tall people, short people, tea, coffee, alcoholic beverages, non-alcoholic beverages, sports, especially cricket and football, states, regions, news channels, reality shows, and OTT platforms.’ I ask, ‘Oh, is it okay if I breathe?’”
Anu Menon is bringing her second comedy special ANcool to Chennai on March 1. Tickets on in.bookmyshow.com beginning ₹499
Published – February 19, 2025 04:38 pm IST
