Simran (actress)

Simran Bagga (born Rishibala Naval; 4 April 1976), known mononymously as Simran, is an Indian actress, producer and dancer. She has predominantly appeared in Tamil films, in addition to Telugu and Hindi films. She is well noted for her dancing and acting skills in the Indian film industry. In her long movie career, she has won three Filmfare Awards South, one Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress, three Cinema Express Awards, two Kalaimamani Awards, several regional awards and nominations.
Simran accepted offers to join the Indian film industry, which came as a result of her fame as an anchor in the show "Superhit Muqabla". Having acted in a few Hindi films, she later achieved her first success with "Tere Mere Sapne" (1996). Subsequently, she made her debut in South Indian cinema through the Malayalam film "Indraprastham" (1996) and Kannada film "Simhada Mari" (1997). In the same year, she debuted in Tamil through "V. I. P." (1997) and was followed by a string of commercial successes in her early career. In 1999, Simran received critical praise in the Tamil films "Thulladha Manamum Thullum" (1999) and "Vaali" (1999), establishing herself as the most successful actress in Tamil cinema at the time. Rediff has called her "one of Tamil cinema's top female draws."[1][2] In 1999, she was featured in Forbes Magazine as the most prolific actress with diverse portfolio from the Indian sub continent.[3] At the peak of her career she agreed to play the role of an antagonist in "Parthen Rasithen" (2000) and family girl who falls in premarital agreement in "Priyamaanavale" (2000), both went on to become commercial and critical successes.
Simran received her first Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actress for "Kannathil Muthamittal" (2002), where she played the mother of an adopted 9-year-old daughter. In 2002, Simran also appeared in two comedy films; "Pammal K. Sambandam" and "Panchathantiram". In Telugu, Simran starred in a series of commercially successful films; "Samarasimha Reddy" (1999), "Kalisundam Raa" (2000) and "Narasimha Naidu" (2001), and for latter both, she received Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Actress nomination. Simran took a break from the film industry following her marriage with her childhood friend Deepak Bagga in 2003. In 2004, Simran represented India in the Athens 2004 Olympic Torch Relay on 10 June in New Delhi. She participated in the Olympic Torch Rally as one of the torch runners selected by Coca-Cola India. [17] In 2008, Simran played a mother and a wife in "Vaaranam Aayiram", taking home the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Personal life and background.
Simran was born as Rishibala Naval on 4 April 1976 to Punjabi parents in Mumbai; her father is Shri Ashok Naval and mother is Smt Sharda Naval. Simran has two Younger sisters, Monal and Mrs Jyothi Anand, and a Younger brother Mr Sumeet Naval. She did her schooling from St. Anthony's high school, Versova and finished her 12th from children welfare centre yari road in Mumbai. She actively participated in Dance & Drama during her school and college tenure.
She married Deepak Bagga, her childhood friend on 2 December 2003. The Couple has two children, Adheep Odo (born 11 June 2005) and Aadit Veer (born 16 March 2011).
Career.
Debut and breakthrough (1995–1997).
Simran made her debut in the 1995 Hindi-language film "Sanam Harjai", directed by Saawan Kumar. It was the first Indian film to be shot in New Zealand , Simran was presenter of the show "Superhit Muqabla" on Doordarshan's Metro channel, and was subsequently offered a leading role by ABCL production, the romantic drama "Tere Mere Sapne" (1996); in which she is known for the hit song "Aankh Marey".
Her first break in South Indian film Industry was through Malayalam film "Indraprastham" opposite Mammootty. She appeared in her Kannada debut "Simhada Mari", opposite Shivarajkumar.
Her Telugu Debut was Abbai Garipalli with Suman, Sanghavi and Lakshmi. and Priya O Priya with Naveen Vadde, Vetren Brahmenandm and Lakshmi. and then Maa Nannaku Pelli with Krishnamraju, Meka Srikanth Directed by E.V.V.Satyanarayana. All three released in 1997.
Her Tamil Cinema Debut was marked in 1997 with films Once More and V.I.P. 
In "Once More" she played lead opposite Vijay along with veteran actors Sivaji Ganesan and Saroja Devi directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar. The film was a box office hit and stated that the film was a commercial family entertainer. And in "V. I. P." she was seen opposite Prabhu Deva, directed by D. Sabhapathi. The song "Minnal Oru Kodi" picturized with "Prabhu Deva" and "Simran" becoming a chartbuster and all-time hit for the actors." Both the movies emerged her to fetch Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South for the year. For "Nerukku Ner" she played opposite to Suriya (in his debut) and produced by director Mani Ratnam.
Success and stardom (1998–1999).
Following successful debuts in Tamil and Telugu films, in 1998 she had her first release in K. S. Ravikumar's "Kondattam", opposite Arjun. followed by successful movies such as "Natpukkaga" (1998), "Aval Varuvala" (1998) and "Kannedhirey Thondrinal" (1998) with leading actors Sarath Kumar, Ajith Kumar and Prashanth respectively.
In "Natpukkaga", she again team up with director K. S. Ravikumar paired opposite Sarath Kumar, the movie won several awards including Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil. Simran's role as modern belle Prabavati who takes revenge on Chinnayya (Sarath Kumar) for her mother's murder was praised by reviewers. Another success with Ajith Kumar in "Aval Varuvala", a Tamil remake of the 1997 Telugu film "Pelli". Her role as women suffers from adultery by her husband, was well received by the critics, Her next film was "Kannedhirey Thondrinal" directed by Ravichandran. For the first time, she paired with Prashanth. The success of the movie later led them to be paired in successful movies like "Jodi", "Parthen Rasithen" and "Thamizh". Her positive feedback got critical acclaim for her performance. She also appeared with Akkineni Nagarjuna in Telugu Movie "Auto Driver".
In 1999 all her movies became highly successful ventures and the year was the luckiest for the actress. Her first Tamil release for the year is "Thulladha Manamum Thullum", opposite Vijay. The film had a theatrical run for more than 200 days in theatres at Tamil Nadu. As a blind woman, she was highly appreciated for her performance in the film. She received Tamil Nadu State Award for Best Actress. Behindwoods noted her performance as one of the best blind roles ever played by an actor in Tamil cinema. The film was later remade in Telugu as "Nuvvu Vastavani" and she reprised her role again on the requisition of the actor Akkineni Nagarjuna. Her next release opposite Ajith Kumar is "Vaali", "The New Indian Express" labelled Simran's portrayal as "Outstanding". The film ran for more than 200 days and was a box office hit. Tamil magazine "Ananda Vikatan" dated 16 May 1999 praised the film by giving 45 marks and mentioned "Simran proved that she can act well than her contemporaries". for which she won Cinema Express Award for Best Actress – Tamil. She revealed that after working on the film, she became "alert in her choice of films", only signing ventures which had big production banners. Another successful feather in her cap is "Jodi", with Prashanth. The film opened in September 1999 to positive reviews. Her role joyful Brahmin girl appreciated by critics. Her next film was "Kanave Kalaiyadhe" with Murali, in which she played dual roles as bubbly Punjabi girl falls for south Indian boy (played by Murali) and a matured south Indian Brahmin girl, also gained mixed reviews. "Kannupada Poguthaiya" with Vijayakanth was her next where she played a village belle who forced to marry the brother of the man she loves. She then played a woman left alone in a joint family in "Time" opposite Prabhu Deva. The same year she did "Thottu Thottu Pesum" in "Edhirum Pudhirum" and "Maana Madhura" in "Anthapuram" Special Appearance and both were chartbusters.
In Telugu her release for the year was "Samarasimha Reddy", opposite Balakrishna was recorded as an "All Time Industry Hit" at the box office. Over the years, the movie was termed to be a trendsetter and achieved cult status
Same year Simran acted opposite Govinda in Hindi Film "Anari No.1".
Widespread success and critical acclaim (2000–2003).
Her success continued in 2000 with Tamil with films "Priyamaanavale" again with Vijay and "Parthen Rasithen" again with Prashanth. In "Priyamaanavale", she played a suffering woman from a premarital agreement was gained wide appreciation for her role. Her performance was labelled by cinematoday as "a clean family entertainer that with its Indian culture-versus foreign culture theme would appeal to family audiences" and mentioned that "the script is cleverly crafted", and that "Vijay neatly underplayed his role with Simran as the perfect foil." In "Parthen Rasithen", a romantic thriller which was released on 11 August 2000, and received positive critical reception, she portrayed the role of an antagonist for the first time in her career. The film also saw a third collaboration between Simran and Prashanth following "Kannedhirey Thondrinal" and "Jodi". Simran's performance received unanimous critical acclaim. Also, Prashanth and Simran received Best Onscreen Couple Award in Cinema Express Award. Hindu wrote "It is a spectacular role for Simran and she has made optimum use of it. A well-etched character that is suspenseful at every turn. After her Strong performance in VAALEE Simran has come back with yet another Strong and good role in "Parthen Rasithen". She was the best in this movie. One could really feel her acting in her expressions. It's not that easy for heroines today to do a role like this. Especially her Villain role in the second half of the movie. Critic Balaji noted "Simran is the star of the show here. She proved in Vaali that she was not all glamour but also had the goods when it came to acting and she cements that reputation here. Her expressive eyes speak volumes whether radiating happiness or showing fiery anger and her dialog delivery enhances her performance in the second half. Quite possibly the best performance of her career so far. She also looks beautiful, especially in the dream sequence". In 2013, Vijay Sethupathi was asked about his favourite romantic moments in cinema and what Valentine's Day means to him. He commented that "I've always been a huge admirer of Simran. I loved her in films like "V. I. P.", "Once More" and "Parthen Rasithen"". Simran's performance was featured in JFW magazine's list of "5 Heroines Who Stunned Us By Playing Negative Roles". Similarly, Indiaglitz.com also listed Simran's portrayal in their list of "The Super Villains of Tamil Cinema" and credited her for the success of the film. Her other release "Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven" opposite Ajith Kumar is a commercial and critical failure.
Her Telugu films "Yuvaraju" with Mahesh Babu and "Goppinti Alludu" with Balakrishna were released same year and claimed average grossers in box office. But she received acclaim for her performances in both films. For "Yuvaraju" idlebrain.com referred Simran as "Simran enters the film at the time of interval and dominates the whole second half with her demure and under played emotions. But it's her demure action that won the laurels." telugucinema.com called "Coming to heroines they have been used for a glamour boost and they look good. Simran shows her acting talents while Sakshi has nothing to offer in the movie.". for Goppinti Alludu, Idlebrain.com stated "Among three heroines obviously Simran who is looking gorgeous and also emotes well." And she made dance number with Chiranjeevi in Annayya.
But she also had highly successful "Kalisundam Raa" with Venkatesh and "Nuvvu Vastavani" with Nagarjuna same year. "Nuvvu Vastavani" is the Telugu remake of her own Tamil film "Thulladha Manamum Thullum" where she reprised her role again. Same as Tamil, she received anonymous praise for her performance in Telugu too. Review from fullyhyd noted "Simran looks fabulous and emotes as blind woman more realistically". In National Award winning industry hit "Kalisundam Raa", She played the highly egoistic girl "Mangaa" who sacrifice her love for the sake of her family was also acclaimed. "Simran is so fresh and coming up with a thumb-up performance by overshadowing others she holds the entire film" a critic noted.
In 2001, she concentrated on Telugu films and had a mixed year with "Mrugaraju" and "Daddy", with Chiranjeevi and "Bava Nachadu", with Nagarjuna which became poor grossers. Her movie "Narasimha Naidu", was with Balakrishna became industry hit and Simran as wife who becomes the victim for her husband's opponent was appreciated and gained her a nomination in Filmfare Award in Telugu Cinema for the first and last time.
In Tamil film Industry She had only two releases. Her first release is directorial debut of cinematographer Jeeva's "12B", opposite then-newcomer Shaam and Jyothika. The plot of the movie is loosely based on the British-American romantic drama film "Sliding Doors". Though the film performed modestly at the box office, Simran as "Young widow who has soft-corner on her colleague, struggles to cross her cultural lines" was highly appreciated by critics and audience. The Hindu mentioning that "Simran does a commendable job in the climax".Rediff.com concluded "Simran continues with her policy of shifting gradually from glam roles to the more sedate, serious ones and proves to have what it takes." Same year she worked with Balachandar in his 100th production venture "Paarthale Paravasam" paired with Madhavan, tells the story of a couple going through a break-up after the husband is exposed for having a child from a juvenile relationship. Though the movie is commercial failure "Simran" as "Simi" "an obsessed possessive wife" was well received by critics. Lolluexpress.com noted that Simran's performance as "Simran was too good in many places and only because of her the movie has something to watch".
In 2002, she again starred with Balakrishna in "Seema Simham", which was an average grosser. Also she did several successful Tamil films; "Ramana" with Vijayakanth, "Pammal K. Sambandam" & "Panchathantiram" with Kamal Haasan, "Thamizh" with Prashanth. In A. R. Murugadoss directed "Ramana" She portrayed the wife of a college professor who fights against corruption. The film was received well by critics and audiences and had a cult following. Simran was nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
Also, she was cast for Mani Ratnam's "Kannathil Muthamittal" with Madhavan. The film tells the story of a child of Sri Lankan Tamil parentage adopted by Indian parents, whose desire is to meet her biological mother in the midst of the Sri Lankan Civil War. The film was a box-office success and was received positively by critics at its release. She won several accolades for her performance for "Kannathil Muthamittal", including a Filmfare award and also briefly considered for National Film Award for Best Actress, yet she didn't lend her own voice led her to lose it. In an interview with Hindu, Maniratnam stated Simran as one of the most talented female artists he ever worked, along with Manisha Koirala, Aishwarya Rai and Revathi.
At the height of her career, Simran took a break from the film industry after her marriage.
Return to films and television debut (2004–2018).
After her marriage, Simran completed her film "Udhaya". Simran made a return in 2008 with "Okka Magadu", opposite Balakrishna, "John Appa Rao 40 plus" and She starred in the Tamil films "TN-07 AL 4777" , "Ainthaam Padai" and "Seval" . Her role as Suriya's wife and mother in Gautham Menon's "Vaaranam Aayiram" was critically acclaimed and she won Filmfare and Vijay awards for the same. . simultaneously exploring the small screen where she has acted in Jaya TV's serial "Simran Thirai", which consisted of mini-serials all featuring Simran and included many popular stars such as Ramji, Raaghav, Saakshi Siva and Abitha playing supporting roles. In 2009, she started acting in the Telugu serial "Sundarakanda", telecast on Gemini TV, where she did a guest role. The serial was dubbed in Tamil as "Sundarakandam" and telecast on Polimer TV. In 2012, she hosted "Jackpot", a game show on Jaya TV which was earlier hosted by Khushbu Sundar and Nadhiya. She acted in "Agni Paravai", a serial telecast in Puthuyugam TV. In 2013 Simran and her husband Deepak Bagga produced a reality show "Dance Tamizha Dance" , for Zee Tamizh , under there banner Arigem Movies, where Simran is a Celebrity Judge. After successfully Completing two seasons of "Dance Tamizha Dance" The couple Ventured into the Hospitality Industry by setting up The Multi cuisine Restaurant "Godka" which eventually was shut in 2018 due to operational reason.
She made a Guest appearance in "Aaha Kalyanam" in 2014 and "Trisha Illana Nayanthara" in 2015. In October 2015,She made a special appearance in Kannada films "Alone" in 2016."Koditta Idangalai Nirappuga" and "Thupparivaalan" in 2017 and "Odu Raja Odu" in 2018. The same year she appeared in a negative role opposite Sivakarthikeyan in "Seemaraja".
"Petta" and beyond (2019–present).
In July 2018, Sun Pictures announced that Simran had joined the cast of "Petta" opposite Rajinikanth, to be directed by Karthik Subbaraj. The film was released on 10 January 2019 to positive reviews and was a commercial success as well. She then went on to appear in a segment of the Netflix original "Paava Kadhaigal" and won the Best actress OTT at the JFW awards.
Simran has joined the cast of Karthik Subbaraj's upcoming "Chiyaan 60" film, marking her second collaboration with Karthik after the Rajinikanth-starrer "Petta" and her third collaboration with Vikram after her cameo appearance in "Pithamagan" and the yet-to-be-released "Dhruva Natchathiram". She will also appear in the Tamil remake of "Andhadhun", titled "Andhagan", hence collaborating with Prashanth for the sixth time. She has completed the Madhavan-starrer, "", an upcoming biographical drama film based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, marking her reunion with Madhavan after 17 years. She has also signed PS Mithran’s next with Karthi titled "Sardar".
Brand Ambassador.
In March 2002, Simran was signed up to endorse Fanta, the tangy orange-flavoured drink from Coca-Cola. According to a company spokesperson, "Film stars cut across various segments to establish a direct connect with the brand." The ad was conceived by the Lowe and directed by filmmaker Latha Menon. In the same year, Jyoti Labs launched Jeeva soap with Simran to endorse the brand and the ad. On 4 June 2008, PepsiCo announced Simran as the new brand ambassador for Kurkure for their brand in the South Indian market. Simran was chosen as the brand ambassador for the low-calorie sugar substitute "Sugar Free Gold" by Cadila Healthcare.
She is also connected with General Mills India for Pillsbury Atta and has appeared in several TV commercials. She has recently signed with Dabur India for Dadur Sanitizer.. Few of her endorsements are Enfagrow A+ with her Younger Son , Pothys silk sarees by Pothys, Arun ice creams, Nac , Chinni Masala by cavinkare , lion dates and Manna health care.