Saira idolises Sister Squire as a trailblazer for British South Asian women musicians.
The casting of Meera Syal as Sister Squire is perfect for this.
Meera was part of a group of 4 comedians on a sketch show called Goodness Gracious Me in the 90s. Their sketches were all about the British Asian experience. Their 'Going for an English' sketch is a Brit comedy classic and perfectly lampoons the white Brit tradition of going for an Indian meal after a piss-up.
She also wrote 'Anita and Me', a comedic coming of age novel about a South Asian kid growing up in the West Midlands. It's taught in schools for English GSCE (qualifications taken at age 16).
Basically, in terms of comedy Meera Syal is a big deal, and I imagine Nida Manzoor's first meeting with her went a lot like Sister Squire and Saira's talk.
