05.03.02
Meera
Syal - why I considered arranged marriage
The
actress and comedienne Meera Syal tells the new Radio Times that
she contemplated an arranged marriage as a 22-year-old, when her
grandfather advertised her availability in an Indian newspaper.
She
also believes her TV sketch show Goodness Gracious Me has changed
the way Asians are perceived in Britain, adding that Asian comedy
"is like Jewish humour with a sun tan".
On
the arranged marriage, she says: "My grandfather put an ad
in the paper and I thought, 'What have I got to lose?' It was another
way of meeting a man. After a couple of proposals, I realised I
have respect for the system. It works for lots of people."
Syal,
who won an Asian Voice Asian Achiever Award last October, says Goodness
Gracious Me "would have been unthinkable ten years ago, and
probably broadcast on the 2am minority ghetto. Programme controllers
used to be grossly patronising, saying to viewers, 'We're now going
to tell you what Asians are like, so are you listening?' Goodness
Gracious Me was unapologetic and credited the audience with intelligence.
"There's
this love/hate relationship between England and India, and we could
take a few liberties, like speaking Punjabi, doing humour specifically
to British Asians. If the audience gets it, fantastic. If not, we've
lost nothing. Ours is like Jewish humour with a sun tan - warm,
family-based. We share a lot of neuroses such as food, guilt, overachieving
children and controlling mothers."
She
says the programme has helped to dispel some of the "ignorance"
about Asian life. "You still meet those who ask if there are
any good black actors, which is shocking. We're all stereotyped.
Scottish actors are fed up with playing people on the dole or villains.
But everything evolves. I started rebellious, and now I'm sure young
Asian stars see me as part of the Establishment. At least we're
now cast because we're good, not to make a political point. I'm
an actor, not a social worker."
And
she admits that racism "was always around" during her
childhood. "At school there was name-calling, and attempts
at bullying, but I was a tough cookieΒ…a bit of a scrapper,
and usually won. I was brought up to believe the best revenge is
success."
Notes
to editors:
Syal appears in the new Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ1 sitcom All About Me from Friday
8 March 2002 and is interviewed in the 9 - 15 March 2002 edition
of Radio Times, on sale Tuesday 5 March.
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