Anu Menon to be in Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad in March on her ‘ANcool’ tour

Anuradha Menon, popularly known as Anu Menon, is a versatile Indian actress and theatre artiste, best recognised for her portrayal of Lola Kutty, the iconic VJ on Channel [V]. Her portrayal of the quirky character earned her widespread fame and endeared her to audiences across the country. Building on her success, Anu expanded her career into stand-up comedy, notably performing alongside esteemed comedians Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie during their India tour. In 2019, she released her own stand-up special, Wonder Menon, on Amazon Prime Video, further showcasing her comedic talents. Anu also appeared as herself in Vir Das’ Amazon Prime Video series, Jestination Unknown. Beyond her career in stand-up, Anu has also acted in several films, including cult-favourite Quick Gun Murugun (2009) among others. She recently announced her latest tour, ANcool by Anu Menon that opened in Gurugram on February 15 and continues through Chennai (March 1), Coimbatore (March 2), Vadodara (March 21), Ahmedabad (March 22), Rajkot (March 23), Kochi (March 28), Hyderabad (March 29) and Bengaluru (March 30). We caught up with her ahead of her South Indian leg to talk about the tour, her life in comedy and so much more…

How did you evolve your unique style of comedy?

I think that when one does theatre, they are obviously hiding behind a character, right? In contrast, stand-up is probably the closest you come to being yourself on stage — or at least, the version of yourself that you are at that particular point in your life. I’ve always considered myself a storyteller comedian. I often say that my jokes are rooted in truth and that’s probably why people find them funny. Of course, that truth is often embellished and exaggerated — and because of my drama school training — it will always have a theatrical element to it. But I try to keep it centred around things that have genuinely happened to me.

Ensuring your sets stay fresh must be hard? How do you ensure that?

I believe certain jokes will work better in certain settings and that’s the beauty of stand-up. Sometimes, a joke that you think is a guaranteed hit might not land as well as you expected, but that’s what keeps you on your toes — and that’s part of what makes the art form so exciting. I consider myself an equal-opportunity offender; I talk about everyone, so no one ends up overly offended.

Lola Kutty is the OG South Indian comedy star! How did she come to life and why?

Lola Kutty came about largely because I was surrounded by people who didn’t believe I was from the South. I frequently heard, “Oh my God, you can’t be South Indian, you’re not black, you speak Hindi, etc.” I think, my identity was very confusing for them, so, I thought it would be fun to create a character that you wouldn’t expect to see on a cool music channel. My mother always laughs and says, “You went to drama school in England and came back as a Malayali character.” But she’ll always add, “Anu sucks, but Lola rocks.”

What does the next year look like for you and what do you hope for comedy in India?

For the past few years, for the first time in my life, I’ve stopped trying to manifest everything. I’ve stopped planning everything, because sometimes you won’t have work for a month and then you might not stop working for the next month. It’s a very unpredictable life. I just hope we reach a point where comedians no longer have to worry about what they say. That would be a refreshing change. I also sometimes get quite stressed about the fact that I feel every joke I tell must be great, because what if people say women can’t do comedy, after watching me? I’ve had to learn to shed the weight of carrying that gender-based pressure on my shoulders. That’s not how it should ever be.

What do you hope for your show in Bengaluru?

Bengaluru will always hold a special place in my heart and it’s also a fantastic audience to perform for. For some reason, it’s seen as the promised land for everyone, so I’m expecting a full house when I perform there.

And what do you hope for your show in Chennai?

I always love returning to Chennai. The people who come to the show are those who have watched me grow up. They’ve seen me as the girl with braces, glasses, and a boyish haircut. So, when I perform there, it feels like everything has come full circle.

Chennai: INR 499 onwards. March 1, 7 pm onwards. At Medai – The Stage, Alwarpet; Hyderabad: INR 499 onwards. March 29, 7.30 pm onwards. At The Comedy Theatre – Hyderabad, Gachibowli; and in Bengaluru: INR 499 onwards. March 30, 8 pm onwards. At Alliance Française de Bangalore, Vasanth Nagar

Email: romal@newindianexpress.com

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