Simran: Red, blazing HOT!

Subhash K Jha

With Mani Ratnam's new film Kannathil Muttam Ittaal, which opens February 1, Simran has joined the league of Tamil Nadu's most respected actresses. Not that she has left her glam doll days behind.

In her last release, Pammal K Sambandham [with Kamal Haasan], Simran is every bit the glamorous diva seducing the camera with looks that could kill.

The soft-spoken Simran can't believe her luck. Pammal K Sambandham is a raging hit. She is now doing another film with Kamal Haasan, the shooting of which begins next month: "I can't begin to tell you what an experience it was to work with Kamalji. He is much more than an actor or filmmaker. He is a legend.

"He was so encouraging. In New Zealand, I was scared to death about bungee jumping. But he made me do it. It was so much fun. He makes acting so entertaining."

Entertainment of another kind comes in her new release Kannathil Muttam Ittaal, where she plays Madhavan's wife and mother of three children. Simran recalls, "We would start work early morning and go on almost non-stop until 1900 hrs. Mani Ratnam's energy level is unbelievable. Anyone working with him is bound to be enthused into outdoing herself."

Simran is proud that Mani Ratnam allowed her a chance to dub her own lines in Kannathil Muttam Ittaal even though someone else did the needful -- Simran couldn't get the accent right. The Punjabi girl from Mumbai who started her career with a role in the Hindi film, Tere Mere Sapne, is quick to point out she is fluent in Tamil and can rattle off sheets of dialogue on the sets.

After playing two antithetical roles in her two new films, Simran seems to have graduated to dramatic roles. Though she does see a change in her career after breezing across meaty roles in films by stalwarts like K Balachander, K Ravi Kumar and Mani Ratham, she is reluctant to leave her glamorous days behind. "I agree I am no longer considered for purely decorative roles. I have been around in the Tamil industry for five years. And it is now that I am getting roles that require me to show my talent. But yes, glamour is a very essential part of any actress' career."

Though she is open to Hindi films, Simran isn't running after them. She doesn't need to: "If I get something worthwhile, why not? But nothing that drags on for four years, please!" she shivers, drawing attention to Sanjay Gupta's Khauff, where her role had to be slashed because she couldn't go on sparing dates for years on end. "I think I'm much better off in the Tamil industry with its discipline. Offers from Hindi films have been coming in. But I don't have the time."

What does Tamil Nadu's Number One heroine do in her free time? "Whenever I have a day off, I hop over to Mumbai to catch up with old friends and new films," admitting she has no friends in the Tamil film industry. "Over here, it's just hi and bye with everyone."