Anu Menon lived a character, on screen and off, with varying results. Most of us remember Anu from her Lola Kutty days and the immediate picture that pops into our head is that of a Malayali woman wearing a Kanjeevaram saree, talking in her peculiar accent. Anu is back to entertain the audience, and this time she appears as just Anu in the recently released Amazon Prime stand-up special, Wonder Menon.
She says, “I changed from the Lola set of background and image, so it’s not like I juggled to get time from comedy producers to try out new jokes. It has been lovely as you work around your schedule. I have a six and a half-year-old son. I am around him all day and all the shows are at night, so that is an advantage. You meet excessively talented people which is also a good thing, hence I have no complaints.”
Talking about the show, she adds, “It is my one-hour-long standup special on Amazon Prime Video. I am a story-based comedian, so whatever happened in my life appears on screen – whether it’s my marriage, husband, parents, in-laws, travel, essentially about marriage and motherhood in a nutshell. They are all real-life stories. I hope people like the series and support it.”
She continues, “Amazon Prime Video has done a great job in terms of showing Indian stand-up comedians on their platform. I think you are capturing a live medium on camera. In our thing, it is shot in an interesting fashion that makes the viewers feel that they are part of the session. Like they are part of the room. I think that is the interesting part. It is also a great and happy challenge.”
Ask about her preferred platform, and she shares, “You can’t really pick and choose – they are all different aspects of an art form. Stage has always been my first love. The great thing is that Amazon Prime gives you the stage and that is the advantage. There is no favourite platform. I think, with newer platforms, opportunities for performers to showcase their talent increase. Now they have a new platform to explore and experiment with ‘hatke’ content.”