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Anjana Vasan on We Are Lady Parts season 3 and why her biggest opportunities have all come from women
The hilarious and zany Channel 4 sitcom follows an all-female, all-Muslim punk rock band.
Photography: Rachel Louise Brown, Set Design: Penny Mills, Stylist: Rachel Fanconi, Sponsor: BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises, Shoot Location: Sea Containers London, Lancôme MUA team: Sophie Finlay, Holly Regan and Lauren Freeman, Schwarzkopf Professional hairstyling team: Philipp Haug, Nikos Dika, Jessika Anderson and Liberty Hunter
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
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Indian-Singaporean actor Anjana Vasan, 38, plays lead guitarist Amina in We Are Lady Parts, about an all-female Muslim punk band.
She’s also starred in Black Mirror, the film Wicked Little Letters and as Stella in a stage production of A Streetcar Named Desire, for which she won an Olivier Award.
How does it feel to be nominated for a BAFTA?
We Are Lady Parts is a very special show and it changed my life. It was the first time I played a lead woman of colour on TV – but it’s not just me, it’s five women of colour leading the show, and that’s rare. I feel like TV is often catching up with real life.
We Are Lady Parts isn’t the first time punk music has been represented, it’s not the first time women of colour have done punk, but there’s real power in seeing it on screen.
How important is it for the industry to trust diverse voices and female writers like Nida Manzoor (the creator, writer and director of We Are Lady Parts)?
People can be quite scared to make something different, but audiences aren’t scared. The biggest opportunities I’ve ever had have come from women. Bisha K Ali co-wrote the Black Mirror episode Demon 79 with Charlie Brooker, and her presence was a big part of how I came into the picture, and the same with Nida.
Any news on We Are Lady Parts season 3?
I will ask Nida when I see her at the BAFTAs! I message her all the time – the WhatsApp group is still going very strong. The best thing that has come from the show is I found so many sisters that I never had growing up.
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We Are Lady Parts is available to stream on Channel 4.
Laura Rutkowski is the Junior Commissioning Editor at Radio Times magazine, where she looks after a column called "What it's like to…", which spotlights behind-the-scenes roles within the TV and film industry – from stunt coordinators to costume designers. She loves finding out how productions are made and enjoys covering a wide variety of genres. Laura is half-American and half-British and joined Radio Times in 2022. She has a degree in Psychology and a Master's in Magazine Journalism.
