7.2 /10 1 Votes
Publisher New Press (UK) Originally published 1996 Genre Comedy-drama | 3.6/5 Goodreads Pages 336 pages Paperback Adaptations Anita and Me (2002) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Publication date April 1st 1997 / June 1st 1999 by New Press ISBN 1565845293 (US) / ISBN 9781565845299 (UK) Country United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Similar Meera Syal books, Fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Anita and me behind the scenes with meera syal and mandeep dhillon
Anita and Me is Meera Syal's debut novel, and was first published in 1996. It is a semi-autobiographical novel which won the Betty Trask Award.
Contents
- Anita and me behind the scenes with meera syal and mandeep dhillon
- Anita and me behind the scenes meera syal
- Film
- Stage Adaptation
- Secondary literature
- References
The story revolves around Meena, a British Punjabi girl (the "me" of the title), and her relationship with her English neighbour Anita as they grow up in the fictional Midlands village of Tollington in the 1970s.
It is used as a GCSE set text for an English literature examination provided by examination boards AQA, Edexcel, OCR and WJEC.
Anita and me behind the scenes meera syal
Film
The novel was made into a film of the same name in 2002, in which Meera Syal appears as Meena's Auntie Shaila. Syal also wrote the screenplay for the film. The film starred Chandeep Uppal and Anna Brewster.
The story follows young Meena Kumar, a girl who would be considered very normal by today's standards, and the life she lives with her parents in Tollington, near Birmingham. One seemingly ordinary day, her life is turned upside down by Anita Rutter, played by Anna Brewster. Meena is a brilliant character, with a wise head on young shoulders but one who retains a childlike exuberance. An aspiring writer, Meena pines for some of the breaks that white children had; upon patronisingly being asked "what do you want to be when you grow up", Meena replies "blonde".
Stage Adaptation
The novel was adapted for the stage by Tanika Gupta for the Birmingham Repertory Theatre where it premiered on 9 October and ran until 24 October 2015. It was followed by a transfer to the Theatre Royal, Stratford East from 29 October to 21 November 2015. The production was directed by artistic director Roxanna Silbert and starred Jalleh Alizadeh as Anita, Amy Booth-Steel as Mrs Ormerod / Deidre, Ameet Chana as Shyam, Janice Connolly as Mrs Worrall, Ayesha Dharker as Daljit, Mandeep Dhillon as Meena, Joseph Drake as Sam, Kiren Jogi as Aunty Shaila / Fortune Teller, Megan McCormick as Tracey / Sandy, Tarek Merchant as Ned / Bazzer, Chris Nayak as Uncle Amman / Mr Bhatra and Yasmin Wilde as Nanima / Mrs Lowbridge.
In 2017 the production will tour the UK with The Touring Consortium Theatre Company. The touring cast comprises of Laura Aramayo as Anita Rutter, Sam Cole as Sam, Therese Collins as Mrs Worrall, Rina Fatania as Nanima, Shobna Gulati as Daljit, Rebekah Hinds as Mrs Ormerod and Deidre Rutter, Sejal Keshwala as Aunty Shaila and Fortune Teller, Megan McCormick as Tracey and Sandy, Robert Mountford as Shyam, Tom Oakley as Ned and Bazzer, Aasiya Shah as Meena, Humera Syed as Pinky, Aaron Virdee as Uncle Amman and Mr Bhatra, Claire Worboys as Mrs Lowbridge.