Dame Meera Syal has been thinking about marrying her on-screen grandson after being cast as a grandmother in The Kumars At No at the age of 40. 42.
The comedy legend, 65, played Sushil ‘Ummi’ Kumar in the show, which ran from 2001 to 2006, alongside her husband Sanjeev Bhaskar, 62, who played her grandson Sanjeev, the aspiring chat show host.
The couple tied the knot in 2005, but Meera admitted the arrangement was “weird,” saying, “I mean, it was a little weird that the man I was going to marry played my grandson. But that’s acting, right? That’s acting.’
On the Dish Podcast, she also reflected on her casting as a grandmother when she was only 40, saying, “Well, in a nutshell, I was cast because the character needed a lot of improvisational skills.”
In her chat with hosts Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett, she spoke about Sanjeev, who she met when they worked together on Goodness Gracious Me from 1996 to 2001, which led to a close friendship that blossomed into romance.
Dame Meera Syal has been thinking about marrying her on-screen grandson Sanjeev Bhaskar after being cast as a grandmother in The Kumars At No. 42, only 40 years old
The couple tied the knot in 2005, but Meera admitted the arrangement was “weird,” saying, “I mean, it was a little weird that the man I was going to marry played my grandson. But that’s acting, right? That’s acting
She appeared on the Dish Podcast
They famously got together on a flight to Australia in 2003, with Sanjeev revealing that the long flight gave them a chance to realize there was more between them after years of friendship.
They married in January 2005 in a private ceremony in Staffordshire and share son Shaan, 20, while she has a daughter, Chameli, 34, from her previous marriage to journalist Shekhar Bhatia, which lasted from 1989 to 2002.
About her first marriage, Meera earlier revealed, “My first marriage was semi-arranged. I mean, I chose him, we’re still very good friends and I don’t regret it because we had some good years and a great daughter…
‘I’m sure there was whispering and gossip. I think I was the first Asian woman in our circle to get divorced.’
About her casting as the grandmother, she said, “Well, I was actually cast in a nutshell, because the character needed a lot of improvisational skills…
“And they auditioned a lot of older women, you know, women who fit Aile’s age. And they just weren’t, they couldn’t do the improvisation. Probably not in the training they had at the time. And once I saw the part, and I thought, this is the best part…
Meera (second from left) is pictured with ex-husband Shekhar Bhatia (far left), daughter Chameli (second from right) and husband Sanjeev (far right) in 2010
The couple met on the set of Goodness Gracious Me in 1996
“This kind of hand grenade from a grandmother in the middle of this Indian family, who is the exact opposite of what people think old women should be….”
‘Provocative, naughty, flirty. You know, internet smart. Gets away with flirting with every male guest. Because it is possible, because you are a grandmother. And I would be a fool to turn this down.”
Elsewhere in the chat, she revealed that Queen Elizabeth was a fan of the show.
Meera said, “She is no longer with us, but apparently she is. And she was basically asked the report, no it wasn’t Sanjeev, it was a reporter who then passed it on to Sanjeev, who interviewed her match…
‘And as a final question: what are you currently looking at? What’s your favorite show? And she said, I like those Kumars at number 42, that old lady. She’s very funny.’
