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Anu Menon: I want to be hired for my skill rather than my ethnicity
Updated On: 08 March, 2022 07:22 AM IST | Mumbai | Mohar Basu
Four More Shots Please director Anu Menon discusses coming on board to helm two episodes of Killing Eve season 4
Anu Menon
Desi audiences remember Anu Menon as the director of Vidya Balan’s Shakuntala Devi (2020) and the hit Amazon Prime Video series, Four More Shots Please. But over the past week, there’s only one way to describe her — the director of the fourth season of Killing Eve. Contrary to what many actors who straddle Bollywood and the West believe, Menon says the difference in terms of work culture is merely a myth. “I think content is made in a similar fashion the world over. It starts with having a vision, getting the best bunch of people and going all out. Killing Eve is an American-British set-up. Initially, I did think ‘What if I forget everything I knew? What if I make a fool of myself?’ But I felt comfortable in my skin thereafter,” starts Menon, who is currently in London.
The Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer-starrer is one of the biggest network shows of recent times. Bringing a female gaze was imperative when telling the story of two women protagonists. While the series previously had writers like Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Emerald Fennell, the latest season has been helmed by an all-female trio — Emily Atef, Stella Corradi and Menon. From its cast to the talent behind the scenes, it’s evident that the series believes in championing diversity. “I went to the London Film School. I live in London. But I never got to make anything here. I don’t wish to be an exotic Indian in a western film. Neither do I want to make a story about God and honour killing. There is a perception that an Indian should say of a certain kind of story in today’s market. I passed a lot of those things. I want to be hired for my skill rather than my ethnicity.” Killing Eve ticked the box on that count. The makers were looking for a strong-minded woman director. “I made my presentation; they liked it and gave me the job. It matters to me that it was a meritorious process. I didn’t get it because I am a woman, nor because I am South Asian. I interviewed and got the job.”
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