That's it for today
Thanks everyone for your questions, and thanks to Meera. Until next time!
Youoffmyplanet asks:
Hi Meera, you were wonderful in Behind the Beautiful Forevers – were you surprised to find that it had taken so long to get an all-Asian cast on the Olivier Stage?
Guardian contributor Ta for that. Loved doing that production. We all did as a company - we were aware we were making a little bit of history. I guess I shouldn't be surprised about how long things take any more, I'm just glad it's done, and hopefully it'll happen on a regular basis. Especially I think with Rufus Norris at the helm - he's a mensch. Or as we Indians would say: good boy.
Priya Puri asks:
My brother and i have been big fans of your work since we were young (especially Goodness Gracious me) and are attempting to write a comedy play based on our own experiences in a panjubi british family. Do you have any advice on how to write comically without using over used Asian stereotypes?
Guardian contributor Hello Priya. The thing about stereotypes is that there's sometimes a grain of truth in them. I guess it's to find a way to tell that truth of your experience without going down the usual routes. The best thing I can advise is to watch the comedies that manage to do that somehow: Modern Family would be one. Dad's Army is a great example of what on the surface seems like a bunch of stereotypes: The Old One, The Young One, The Posh One. But the delicacy of the acting and writing is that you get surprised by the hidden depths the characters have - maybe that's the key.
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philipphilip99 asks:
I am a person of whiteness and you were the first person of colour I ever saw – a small autobiographical fact that I occasionally use to liven up dull social occasions. I may also unleash my Noddy Holder, Rob Halford or Bob Warman stories. Which Black Country legends feature in your anecdotes?
Guardian contributor Hello Philip - I hope I didn't scare you too much way back then. Well here's one - my dad's secretary was for many years the girlfriend/wife of Slade's drummer. And also also champion javelin thrower Tessa Sanderson was my dad's secretary in his mid-managerial position in a small Black Country firm. She bought him an ashtray back from Barbados which we still have. Impressed?
hvadaltsaa asks:
Hi Meera, I saw you in a play at the National Theatre in the 90s about an Indian Cart (or something like that) and I wrote a review for my university magazine. What has been your worst review and how did you deal with the criticism? :-)
Guardian contributor Actually my worst review was from the Guardian. Many years ago I was playing Mrs Candour in a production of School for Scandal at the Bristol Old Vic, and the review was: "Meera Syal's Mrs Candour pre-empts the pantomine season." I was told the usual critic was off sick, and that job had been handed to the football correspondent. I suppose I was lucky - he could have said Meera Syal is no good in midfield, and lacks the requisite dribbling skills for a good finish.
Steff Clarke asks:
Meera, why do dogs walk around in circles before lying down?
Guardian contributor Aren't they checking they haven't just weed in the same patch of grass? Isn't it to check they're not going to kip in a pool of their own urine? Or is it just their equivalent of fluffing the cushions like we do when we sit on the sofa? Oh, I've just seen there is a sensible answer above, so go with that one.
zuftawov943 asks:
Will Five Squeezy Pieces come back?
Guardian contributor That would be nice, but no-one's said anything to me. Start a petition! Break Twitter - isn't that the way to do it? It's ok if you're too tired, I understand.
nigelbryan asks:
Were you expecting to do a bit more than to just sit around in a wig and robes when you were offered a role in Broadchurch 2?
Guardian contributor Ah Nigel, but you didn't see what I was doing under the desk! I managed to get through four novels and several crosswords in those court scenes. Joking apart, as ever, and it's the nature of these things, I shot a lot more scenes which weren't included in the final edit. However, it was rather marvellous to be able to watch some rather good actors at the top of their game doing their stuff.
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fibionaccisequence asks:
Dear Meera, I am a trained Butler.
Would you consider hiring me? I work out of Corby but wouldn’t be that pressed to travel wider.
Guardian contributor Oh if only I could afford you, Fibionacci. And also frankly, my mother lives with me and I'm not sure she'd let you do your job properly. She's quite hands-on.
DavidoM says:
As I probably won’t run in to Meera this seems an opportune way to thank her. GGM through first the radio then the TV series is up with my favourite TV/radio and not just because it made me laugh, which it did, but the politics and the comment in it made it more than just a sketch show. It said something, well, lots of things, with real wit. Truly wonderful.
I introduced my son when he was in secondary school, two sketches on a popular video streaming service and he was hooked, he ordered the box set, when it arrived he sat down and watched the series back to back.
The sad note is I see little to compare with this now, I want thought-provoking comedy, I want prejudices ridiculed, I want to comedy that says something.
I would say my favourite sketch is but there are just too many to list. An example instead of why this was and remains in a different league, the sketch of the old Indian lady wistfully describing the gleaming buttons on the soldiers tunic when what she is describing a rape. You have to watch it to understand.
Guardian contributor Thanks David. That's so great to hear. You force fed your son GGM and he liked it - hooray! I agree there's not much around at the moment comedy-wise that is that blissful mixture of funny, smart, and satiric. However isn't the theory that the best and most savage writing comes in eras of repression, because the creatives have something to kick against? If that's true, we should be in for a glorious four years of gutbusting, brilliant comedy. Or not. And yes, I remember that sketch of the old lady - dark wasn't it? But did the job beautifully I thought.
"When you are the person telling the joke and not the punchline, the Them and Us disappears"
Welshresponse asks:
Meera, my experience is that the best way to tackle ignorance and prejudice is to get close enough to individuals to see them as a funny/interesting/glamorous person who happens to be Gay/Jewish/Hindu rather than seeing the label. Do you agree? How is UK doing as a society?
And – supplementary question – what is Hindi for “foxy”?
Guardian contributor Labels help nothing, unless you're looking for the fat content on something in the supermarket. And yes again, the majority tend to see the minority as Them until they get to know an individual and then you become one of Us - i.e. not like those other ones over there. That's why comedy is so powerful I think, because as shown in GGM, when you make someone laugh and when you are the person telling the joke and not the punchline, people are suddenly stepping into your world and the Them and Us disappears, and there's a connection which slowly, slowly, starts breaking down the ignorance. That's my hope anyway.
Sunita Sehmi says:
I love your work Meera and your boldness really had such an empowering effect on me. GGM was not only funny but clever and changed the perceptions of British Asians forever.
Now my question/request is I have a story I really want to write or script but don’t have your talent! Would you be interested in hearing it ? Worth a try init? Contact details are sunita.sehmi@bluewin.ch
Guardian contributor Admire your pluck! I'm not in a position to hear a pitch because I can't commission anything but I would say if you have a good idea, the first thing you have to do is put it down on paper in as entertaining and short a way as possible - that's essentially your pitching document. When you've done that, drop me a tweet, and I'll see what I can do: @MeeraSyal.
bungling_official asks:
Just a little perplexed. Why is The Real Mccoy almost always airbrushed from any profile or interview you have done? Surely it was the springboard for your other creative endeavors?
Guardian contributor I've never airbrushed The Real McCoy out of any interviews - it may be that it's just not been included. I've been very open that it was my big break in television comedy - if it hadn't been for The Real McCoy showing that black sketch comedy could happen on British television, Goodness Gracious Me could never have happened. What's shocking is that there's never been anything else since then - what's happening there?
bungling_official asks:
Do you have any idea if the inspiration for “Anita” in Anita and me knows who she is?
Guardian contributor I don't know I'm afraid, as she moved out of the area, but I did hear apocryphally that she's happily settled, which makes me happy.
thejokerstrick asks:
Do you think Asians who appear on British TV are expected to over-compensate their non-threateningness to be successful/accepted? ie, to be likeable, funny (especially) and not overtly/obviously political? Do you still find it easy to be honest about your views, or do you think there’s actually a greater burden to conform, be quiet and fit in – more so even than a few decades ago?
Guardian contributor It's a delicate balancing act sometimes, speaking out and then being seen as a big mouth/troublemaker/ungrateful, and often you're not speaking about yourself, you're trying to open a debate on an issue, ie diversity. That's a particularly tricky one, because you're seen to be criticising the hand that feeds you. Of course there's always more strength in numbers, and what you hope is that when you speak out, lots of other people speak out with you, and you don't become a troublemaker, but part of a movement that has teeth. But someone has to start the debate. Certainly my parents generation felt that head down, don't make any trouble was the best way to go, even though they got a lot of abuse. It was the second generation who knew that wasn't an option any more: if we were ever going to have a voice and a sense of belonging here... that's why the Southall uprising was so important, it was the first time that generation said it wasn't going to take this any more. So being well-behaved and not making trouble may seem the easiest option a lot of the time, but ultimately the harder you hold a spring down, the higher it's going to bounce when you take your hand off.
"For my family, me accepting an MBE became symbolic of the struggle they had for independence"
RPMacMurphy asks:
Meera, I am a great admirer of you as a performer and writer and I love Goodness Gracious Me. I particularly remember a brilliant sketch that you did that criticized British colonialism in India. With that in mind, what are your thoughts about accepting an MBE and more recently a CBE?
Guardian contributor You echo the dialogue that was going on in my head, when I was first offered an honour. I have Indian freedom fighters on both sides of my family; both my grandfathers were very involved in the Quit India movement, and actively fought against the Empire. Ironic then, that it was the grandparents' and parents' insistence that made me reconsider my initial misgivings. For them, this became symbolic of the struggle they had for independence, so that a generation or two later, their children would be walking through the doors that were closed to them. Certainly for my parents it seemed to justify all the sacrifices and struggle, and the main reason they always quoted for leaving India was to give us better opportunities. As always it comes down to what side of the fence you're on: whether you think it's better to break an old system, or get inside it and change it. It's a very personal choice, and I don't judge anyone who sits on either side of that fence.
"I like my pakoras like I like my men – deep fried and greasy"
Glen Pierce asks:
Dear lady I have always found you soooooooo very sexy (just thought I’d let you know). By the way, how’s your Pakoras taste? Peace and love.
Guardian contributor Thank you Glen. I'm forwarding this to my husband, because I think he needs reminding. I like my pakoras like I like my men - deep fried and greasy. Oh dear, that metaphor didn't really work.
MrPrintmaker asks:
Hi, you are obviously a very talented woman, but if portals existed and you had one in your house, where would you want the other one (don’t say at work, so my journey is quicker)?
Guardian contributor Can it be a time-travelling portal? Because then suddenly I'm excited. First performance of a Shakespeare play at the Globe, hearing Nehru's speech in August 1947 declaring Indian independence at the Red Fort... the possibilities are endless. If I can't do that, then it would have to be a direct one to the school gates, because somehow, even though I only live ten minutes away, I always seem to be late.
Zufi Raj asks:
Meera, have you been watching HBO’s brilliant new comedy, The Brink...?
Guardian contributor Obviously I've only been watching my bits on freeze-frame, again and again, to remind myself I got to share the screen with the divine Jack Black. My first experience of filming in Los Angeles, and luckily for me I got to do this one. I think it's a really smart show - really dark, really funny; reminded me in tone of M.A.S.H. Jay Roach directing, he directed the Austin Powers film, Tim Robbins directing one of the episodes I was in - it's all very classy. And they managed to make Santa Monica look like Pakistan - see, the magic of television!
ilGatto asks:
Why is TV comedy so shit now? I am referring to sitcoms and sketch shows, not stand-up and panel quiz shows. Feels like the 90s were a golden era.
Guardian contributor Of course I would agree with you because the 90s is when I was in some hit comedy shows! The whole landscape is changing, the way things are commissioned, the way people watch stuff, so it's not surprising that maybe there's a lot of scrabbling around for the right material for the right audience. I think it will settle eventually and in the end maybe we'll get much better comedy because there are so many more places to go to and get commissioned for broadcast. However it all goes back to writers. Unless we start investing more in writers, maybe having a writers' room and group-led comedy the way the Americans do might throw up better stuff - who knows. On the plus side there are a couple of scripts that I'm reading right now where I do think there's some great writing coming through. Also, commissioners seem to go through phases of likes and dislikes - for example we're being told that sketch comedy is passe, and everyone wants to conquer the family comedy slot. But if some brilliant sketch comedy comes along next week, of course everyone will want to do it. As I said before, it all comes back to the writers and scripts.
ufm804l asks:
Meera, do you like mince and baked beans?
Guardian contributor I'm so sorry to tell you that mince is one of the things I really don't like. Apart from the fact I hardly eat meat, it's something about the texture. It must be linked to some early childhood trauma - you'll have to ask my mother. Baked beans are ok, only with brown sauce, and lots of toast and tea, in bed.
Asishna Prasad asks:
Loved Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee. Looking forward to new book. Good job.
I’m part of the Indian diaspora as well, albeit in NZ. Do you write for the British audience or do you have a sense of writing for a global audience? Or is it just organic?
Guardian contributor Hey, is this a good time to tell you that my new book came out two weeks ago after a 16 year gap? It's called The House of Hidden Mothers. Available in all good bookshops. End of plug.
Actually I don't think of any specific audience when I'm writing, I just try and write what I feel is authentic from my perspective. It was a similar vibe when we all created and wrote Goodness Gracious Me - we didn't tailor our material to try and make it more accessible/authentic/acceptable, because inevitably that means you're not writing what turns you on or makes you laugh. You just hope that if you write with authenticity, it will travel, because it's your truth.
Bushofghosts asks:
Meera, when are you going to sing again? I remember you doing some jazz standards way back when.
Guardian contributor Funnily enough there are plans afoot to possibly doing a musical next year, and if that doesn't work out, you can stand outside my bathroom every morning. The acoustics are good in there.
"My mother named me after her favourite pupil when she was a teacher in India"
ID8594623 asks:
Always wanted to know why you changed your name from Feroza to Meera? Is there any significance?
Guardian contributor Well, a couple of reasons. When I first started out, my agent at the time advised me that another actress was around at the time with the name Fairuza, and said though our surnames were completely different and we looked completely different, it was something to consider! You see, we really all do look the same... Feroza is actually a Muslim name even though I'm the product of a Hindu and Sikh marriage, my mother named me after her favourite pupil when she was a teacher in India, and for that reason I've never changed my name legally. Because it was the name my parents gave me and I love it. However, my middle name is Meera, and as I was just starting out, I thought if I was going to change my name, it was the time to do it then.
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ewj002 asks:
Do you miss Essington at all? There may be a statue in the works.
Guardian contributor Oh good, a statue, I hope it's gold plated. Will there be a fountain? And will it have spikes on the shoulders to stop pigeons crapping on it? I do actually take a sentimental drive through the old hood when I'm back in the Midlands - however the bit I grew up in no longer exists. The community of 50-odd miners tithe cottages were raised some time ago to make a Barratt-style estate. Kind of amazing that 20 houses now sit on that patch of land where so many families used to live. The old part of the village is still intact along with the church, and I went back there a few years ago for a meet and greet and saw a few familiar faces. Very special.
solomongursky asks:
What’s happening to Leytonstone? Miss it?
Guardian contributor Ah Leystonstone, gateway to the East! Lived there for 20 years so still go back quite often to catch up and have my eyebrows threaded, usually not at the same time.
"Whatever you think of Andrew Lloyd Webber, he was the only western producer who stuck his neck out to showcase the brilliant composer A R Rahman to a wider audience"
rabab asks:
What’s your favourite Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical? And why? WHY???!!
Guardian contributor Well obviously I would have to say Bombay Dreams. I do think composer A R Rahman is a genius, and whatever you think of ALW, he was the only western producer who stuck his neck out to showcase this brilliant Indian-based composer to a wider audience. I've heard Cats is good, if you like cats...
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"Most Asian parents are happy if you find anyone you can stay with for over a decade, and actually be happy"
ID9260798 asks:
In your latest novel, the protagonist finds love with a younger non-Indian man. Do you think there’s less pressure now on Indian men and women in Britain to marry fellow Indians from their parents as there once was or is it as intense as ever?
Guardian contributor Certainly in the circles I move in, yes. A generation on, when lots of people's marriages have gone tits up, I think most Asian parents are happy if you find anyone you can stay with for over a decade, and actually be happy.
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rabab asks:
If you were choosing a book to go on the GCSE syllabus, what would it be?
Guardian contributor The Malorie Blackman series which starts with Noughts and Crosses, in which she imagines an alternative world where blacks are the ruling class and whites an almost slave class. A fantastic read even though they're written for young teenagers. I also think The Humans by Matt Haig might be a great choice - it's a deceptively profound read where an alien comes to Earth intending to destroy our race, but frankly screws up in so many ways, and gradually discovers that for all our flaws, human beings are really rather marvellous.
clareyesno asks:
What comes easiest to you: acting, singing or writing?
Also do you think the UK is more tolerant of other cultures than ever before, or is Islamophobia and general immigrant-bashing sending us back to the bad old days?
Guardian contributor Ooh, not sure I find any of them easy, but sad to say I've never had a proper job so I'll have to stick with those three. Writing is the loneliest, acting is the most exposing, singing is the most joyful, and I feel lucky I have the chance of a pop at all three. I suppose singing is the easiest because it's the only one I can do in the shower.
LordMoseley asks:
Where would you place your honorary degree from the University of Wolverhampton in your list of achievements? I graduated on the same day and now have a career in academia and have sat through many graduations with some pretty tedious talks from honorary graduands, none of whom were anywhere near as entertaining as you!
Guardian contributor Hello dear Lord. Was dead chuffed to get my hon degree from the University of Wolverhampton - it was after all the place I was born, and I spent some of my formative years in the Mander Centre trying not to get flobbed on by the youths on the upper balcony. Glad my talk was entertaining - wish I could remember it! But Wolverhampton will always have a special place in my Midland heart.
Meera is here
Here she is at the Guardian, ready to start answering your questions:
Post your questions for Meera Syal
Actor, novelist, screenwriter, musician – Meera Syal is one of those multihyphenate talents who has tried a bit of everything and is, almost annoyingly, capable of it all.
She’s perhaps best known for her characters on Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at Number 42, two shows that put British-Asian life at the heart of the national conversation; her screenplay for Bhaji on the Beach did a similar thing back in 1993. Syal’s recent performance in David Hare’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers was much praised, as were her appearances in British TV perennials Holby City and Doctor Who. She even had a stint in all-Indian girl band Saffron.
During all this she has written three novels: the semi-autobiographical Anita and Me, Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee, and now The House of Hidden Mothers, about a 47-year-old woman trying to start a family with her young lover. Syal is joining us to discuss it and anything else in her hugely varied career, in a live webchat from 1pm BST onwards on Tuesday 30 June. Post your questions in the comments below, and she’ll answer as many as possible.
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Thanks all for your comments, questions, and making me laugh. Have a lovely summer.