Anuradha Menon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Actress Voice Actress |
| Years active | 1987-present |
Anuradha Menon, also known as Anu Menon, [1] is an Indian actress and theatre artist. Lola Kutty, the popular Channel [V] VJ, is her alter ego.
Anuradha Menon | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Actress Voice Actress |
| Years active | 1987-present |
Anuradha Menon, also known as Anu Menon, [1] is an Indian actress and theatre artist. Lola Kutty, the popular Channel [V] VJ, is her alter ego.
Originally from Kerala, Anuradha Menon grew up in Chennai. Her parents Mini and Mohan Menon worked in the advertising industry. Anuradha Menon started taking part in theatre productions in school. She was associated with The Madras Players for some years. In 2000, she played Shubra in Madras Players' Lizard Waltz (written by Chetan Shah and directed by Bhagirathi Narayanan). [2] She also studied theatre at a school in London for one year, London school of drama. Then, she moved to Mumbai as it was the hub of English theatre in India. [3]
It was in Mumbai that she got her break into Indian theatre. She acted as a governess in Divya Palat's "The Verdict." In this she was required to act with a heavy Malayali accent and this is what landed her the "Lola Kutty" role in Television. In 2004, while auditioning for a producer, she was spotted by VJ Gaurav of Channel [V]. Gaurav immediately recommended her to Channel [V], [4] where she became popular as "Lola Kutty".
After she became famous as Lola Kutty, Anuradha Menon also got some film offers, but she considers theatre as her priority. [5] She has performed in many notable plays including Zen Katha [3] and Sammy! (both directed by Lillete Dubey). In the two-act award-winning play Sammy!, she played an ensemble of roles, including Sarojini Naidu. [6] In Only Women (directed by Deesh Mariwala), she played a nurse called Jasmine. The play deals with Jasmine's impending engagement and how it affects her swings in moods, one of which leads to fatal error in the profession, and how things are sorted out.
Apart from film roles in Quick Gun Murugun and Happy New Year in the character of Lola Kutty, she has acted in films such as Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi? [1] and Amit Sahni Ki List [7]
Anuradha Menon, otherwise known as Anu Menon, has donned the stand-up comedian's hat after Lola Kutty. She has popularly opened for Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie while they were on their India Tour. Her stand-up special Wonder Menon released in 2019 on Amazon Prime Video. She also featured in Vir Das's Amazon Prime Video series Jestination Unknown as herself.
Lola Kutty is a VJ on Channel[V]. Described as "the Channel [V] resident beauty on duty", [8] she is actually an alter ego of Anuradha Menon. [9] Anuradha Menon appears in many of her public dealings as Lola Kutty. [10] When invited for an interview with Pooja Bedi on zOOm with Mona Singh (Jassi of Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin ), she appeared as "Lola Kutty", unlike Mona Singh (who appeared as her off-screen self).
Lola Kutty is a bespectacled Keralite lady who speaks English with a heavy Malayali accent. Unlike other VJs, she has curly oily hair sporting a gajra and wears silk saris. Unlike Jassi of Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin , Lola has no plans for a makeover. [4] She is a huge fan of Abhishek Bachchan. [11] Her assistant is Shiny Alex, who wears fluorescent shirts, matching slippers, and mundu folded up.
In her show Celebrity Forum/Lola TV, Lola Kutty plays interviewer to celebrities esp. Bollywood personalities. [12] Lola's shows don't involve vulgar, corny or spicy humor; rather, they rely on witty asides and straight-faced questions for humor. [13]
In 2006, a Limited Edition Deluxe Official 2006 Notebook Chronicle of Lola— the VJ, the Woman and the Wisecrack was released. The Notebook features various facets of Lola—modelling her "LolaWay products", giving gyaan (knowledge) and discussing movies. [14] The first edition received a very good response. [15] Lola Kutty has also worked as agony aunt for The Record Music Magazine. [16]
Lola Kutty boosted Channel [V]'s TRP ratings considerably. Apart from India, she has a fan following among Indian diaspora in the Middle East and the UK. [17]
In real life (i.e. aside from her Lola Kutty alter ego), she speaks English with a tinge of UK accent. She is fluent in her mother-tongue, Malayalam, as well.
Lola TV won three Golds and one Silver at the PROMAX & BDA India Awards [18]
At The Indian Telly Awards 2006, Lola Kutty was nominated for "Best Anchor Award - Talk Show" for Lola T[v]. [19]
Lola Kutty also appeared in the 2009 movie Quick Gun Murugun as the Locket Girl, and in the 2014 film Happy New Year as a television reporter. [20]
Lola's character was criticized by some for being offensive to Malayali people. However, in an interview, Anuradha Menon asserted that "Lola is funny as a person, not as a region". [5]
Gauri Pradhan Tejwani is an Indian actress and former model who works in Hindi television. She is best known for playing the roles of Gauri Pratham Mittal in Sony TV's Kutumb, Nandini Karan Virani in Star Plus's Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Dr. Deepika Ghosh in Special Squad and Anita Sharma in Colors TV's Tu Aashiqui.
Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin is an Indian soap opera which aired on Sony Entertainment Television from 1 September 2003 to 4 May 2006. The series was an Indian-themed version of the Colombian drama Yo soy Betty, la fea.
Mona Singh is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and series. Having first gained prominence in 2000s for playing the eponymous heroine in the soap opera series Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin (2003–06), she has since appeared in several other television and film roles. Singh is the recipient of two Indian Television Academy Awards.
Shwetha Menon is an Indian actress, model, television anchor and beauty pageant titleholder. She has won Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994. She has predominantly acted in Malayalam and Hindi language films, besides appearing in a number of Telugu and Tamil Language Films. She won two Kerala State Film Awards for Best Actress. She participated in Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 1.
Anu Hasan is an Indian actress and TV anchor. She made her film debut in the critically acclaimed Indira (1995) and has since appeared in many Tamil films, playing minor roles. She hosted the celebrity talk show Koffee with Anu on the Tamil channel Vijay for three seasons.
Shilpa Saklani is an Indian television actress. She known for her role as Ganga Sahil Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Vidhi in Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin. She was a contestant on the reality shows Nach Baliye 1 and Bigg Boss 7.
Narasimham is a 2000 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by Shaji Kailas and written by Ranjith. Narasimham was released on 26 January 2000, India's 50th Republic Day, and ran for 200 days in theatres and grossed 20 crores worldwide. The film stars Mohanlal in the title role with Thilakan, Kanaka, N. F. Varghese, Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran and Jagathy Sreekumar in pivotal roles. Mammootty appears in a cameo role. The film was the first production of Aashirvad Cinemas, owned by Antony Perumbavoor, the former chauffeur of Mohanlal.
Quick Gun Murugun: Misadventures of an Indian Cowboy is a 2009 Indian English-language Comedy Western film directed by Shashanka Ghosh and written by Rajesh Devraj. The film stars Rajendra Prasad as the title character alongside Rambha, Anuradha Menon and Nassar. It is a spoof on Indian western films, featuring songs, melodrama and action sequences including a duel in a traffic jam.
Sindhu Menon is an Indian former actress, who has starred in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films.
Passenger is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language conspiracy thriller film written and directed by debutant Ranjith Sankar and starring Sreenivasan, Dileep, Mamta Mohandas, Jagathy Sreekumar and Nedumudi Venu in major roles. It was a path breaker in Malayalam cinema in terms of its story telling and started the Malayalam new cinema wave. Owing to its critical and commercial success, Passenger was to be remade into Tamil as Muriyadi by Selva.
Meera Vasudevan is an Indian actress, who has mainly appeared in films and TV soap's in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu language. She received the Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize in 2005 and the Kerala State Television Award for Best Actress in 2007. Currently she is playing a main lead role Sumithra in the popular Malayalam soap opera Kudumbavilakku telecasting on Asianet.
Uttara Baokar was an Indian stage, film, and television actress. She acted in several notable plays, such as Padmavati in Mukyhamantri, Mena in Mena Gurjari, Desdemona in Shakespeare's Othello, the mother in playwright Girish Karnad's Tughlaq, the nautch girl in Chhote Saiyad Bade Saiyad, and the lead role of Umrao in Umrao Jaan. In 1978, she directed Jaywant Dalvi's play Sandhya Chhaya, translated to Hindi by Kusum Kumar.
Manini De is an Indian film and television actress who rose to stardom by playing the role of Katiya in Ssshhhh...Koi Hai, Pari Kapadia in Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin. She is also known for her role as Dr Sonali Barwe in C.I.D. She has been a part of many TV serials. She has also appeared in films. She played the role of Shagun in Laado 2. From November 2023 to April 2024 she was seen as Rajrani Param Dhillon in Dalchini.
Lakshmi Menon is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil films. After making her acting debut in a supporting role in the Malayalam film Raghuvinte Swantham Raziya (2011). She made her first main female lead with her Tamil debut film Sundara Pandian in 2012.
Umarji Anuradha is an Indian writer known for her works in Telugu cinema and journalism. She wrote continuously on The Legends of Indian Cinema for Sitara Film Weekly Magazine, the largest circulated Telugu film weekly in India. She also wrote number of dramas for All India Radio and television channels, for daily serials like Pelli Chesukundamra, for E TV., Vaisaali Serial for Zee Telugu and Gharshna serial for E TV. She was also the winner of Akkineni Abhinandana Award for Best Dialogue Writer of the year 2010 and Super Hit Film Weekly Award Super Hit Film Weekly Magazine, for the blockbuster movie, Ye Maaya Chesave.
Pooja Ramachandran is an Indian actress, VJ and model. After her studies, she participated in beauty pageants, winning the 'Miss Coimbatore 2004' title and was the runner up for Miss Kerala 2005. She then went on to become a VJ at SS Music before venturing into acting. She entered as a wild card contestant in the Telugu reality TV show Bigg Boss Telugu 2.
Channel [V] India was an Indian television channel affiliated to the international Channel [V] launched on 27 May 1994, as Channel [V] South Beam on the AsiaSat 2 satellite. The channel owned by STAR India and 21st Century Fox broadcasts a mix of music and original fiction programs. It went from an international music channel in its early days to a music driven one to a youth-oriented entertainment one.
Lakshmi Unnikrishnan K, better known by her stage name Lakshmi Nakshathra, is an Indian television presenter and radio jockey who works in Malayalam television and stage shows. She is best known for hosting Star Magic on Flowers TV.
Mambalikalathil Sarada Menon was an Indian psychiatrist, social worker and the founder of Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF), a Chennai-based non-governmental organization working for the rehabilitation of people afflicted with schizophrenia and other mental disorders. An Avvaiyyar Award recipient, she was a former Madras Medical Service officer and the first woman psychiatrist in India. The Government of India awarded her the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1992, for her contributions to society.
Sheena Bajaj is an Indian actress known for portraying Dolly Singh in the Disney channel sitcom Best of Luck Nikki. She has also worked in Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi, Thapki Pyar Ki, and Khatmal E Ishq.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)