Simi Garewal

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Simi Garewal
SimiGarewal.jpg
Garewal in 2012
Born (1947-10-17) 17 October 1947 (age 73)
Ludhiana, East Punjab, India
OccupationFilm actor, producer, director, talk show hostess
Years active1962 – present
Spouse(s)
Ravi Mohan
​
(m. 1970⁠–⁠1979)​

Simi Garewal (born 17 October 1947) is an Indian actress, director, producer and a talk show hostess. She is the recipient of two Filmfare awards and a ITA Award. She is known for her work in Hindi films like Do Badan, Saathi, Mera Naam Joker, Siddhartha, Karz and Udeekaan (Punjabi film). She acted in the Bengali movie named Aranyer Din Ratri directed by Satyajit Ray. She is also known for her celebrity talk show, Rendezvous with Simi Garewal.

Early life[]

Garewal was born in Ludhiana, Punjab, India.[1][2] Her father, Brigadier J. S. Garewal served in the Indian Army. Simi is a cousin of Pamela Chopra, wife of film-maker Yash Chopra. Simi's mother Darshi and Pamela's father Mohinder Singh were siblings.[3] Simi grew up in England and studied at Newland House School with her sister Amrita.[4]

Film and television career[]

After spending much of her childhood in England, Garewal returned to India while a teenager. Her fluency in the English language induced the makers of the English-language film Tarzan Goes to India to offer her a role. A 15-year-old, Garewal made her debut alongside Feroz Khan in this film in 1962.[5] Her performance was good enough for her to fetch many more film offers. During the 1960s and '70s, she was in several notable Indian films, working with leading directors such as Mehboob Khan's Son of India, Raj Kapoor in Mera Naam Joker (1970), Satyajit Ray in Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest), Mrinal Sen in Padatik (The Guerilla Fighter) and Raj Khosla in Do Badan. She starred opposite Shashi Kapoor in Columbia Pictures' Siddhartha, an English-language movie based on the novel by Hermann Hesse. Garewal did a nude scene in this film which caused some controversy in India and was only released for exhibition after complying with cuts ordered by the Indian Censor board.[6][7] .[8] Later, in the mid-1970s, she made an appearance in the popular film Kabhi Kabhie (1976), made by her brother in-law Yash Chopra, and had a starring role in Chalte Chalte (1976).[9] Another notable role she played was as a vamp in Karz (1980). She starred in the BBC docu-drama Maharajas (1987), based on the book by Charles Allen.

In the early 1980s, her attention turned to writing and direction. She formed her own production company, . She hosted, produced and directed a TV series for Doordarshan called It's a Woman's World (1983). She also made a documentary for Channel 4 in the UK called (1984). This was followed by a three-part documentary on Rajiv Gandhi titled India's Rajiv. She wrote and directed a Hindi feature film Rukhsat and produced television commercials, for which she won the first prize from the 1988 Pater's Award in Australia.

Garewal anchored the talk show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal.[10]

She usually wears her signature white clothes on TV shows and at award ceremonies, and is popularly known as "The Lady in White".[11] Garewal recently appeared on Say Shava Shava 2008 as a host and judge.[12] After the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 2008, Simi Garewal aroused controversy by publicly calling for the Indian government to "carpet-bomb" the training camps in Pakistan.

She returned to television with her new talk show India's Most Desirable on Star Plus which would interview only eligible singles, Bollywood actors, business and media icons, and Indian cricketers about their "ideal and desirable beaus".[13]

Simi Garewal has her own website which she uses to interact with her fans. The site has her voice reading the text. She also has her own channel on YouTube where all her shows and documentaries are uploaded. The channel has received over 40 million views.

Personal life[]

Garewal had her first serious relationship at the age of 17, with then Maharaja of Jamnagar, who was also her neighbour in England.[14]

Garewal was later in a relationship and going steady with Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi but he broke up with her after he met Sharmila Tagore.[15][16]

Garewal was married to Ravi Mohan of Chunnamal family from old Delhi but her marriage was short and she is now divorced.[17]

Filmography[]

As an actress[]

Year Film Role Notes
1962 Raaz Ki Baat Kamal
Son of India Lalita
Tarzan Goes to India Princess Kamara
1965 Teen Devian Simi/Radha Rani
Johar-Mehmood in Goa Simmi
1966 Do Badan Dr. Anjali Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
1968 Aadmi Aarti
Saathi Rajini Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
Ek Raat Rekha B Sharma
1970 Mera Naam Joker Mary
Aranyer Din Ratri Duli Bengali film
1971 Andaz Mona
Do Boond Pani Gauri
Seema
1972 Anokhi Pehchan
Siddhartha Kamala
1973 Padatik Woman who shelters activist Bengali film
Namak Haraam Manisha
1974 Haath Ki Safai Roma S Kumar
1975 Dak Bangla Simi Nitin Sethi and others
1976 Naach Uthe Sansaar Somu
Chalte Chalte Geeta
Kabhi Kabhie Shobha Kapoor
1977 Abhi To Jee Lein Miss Mahajan
1979 Ahsaas Asha Choudhry
1980 The Burning Train School Teacher
Karz Kamini Verma Nominated - Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
Insaf Ka Tarazu Lawyer
1981 Naseeb Herself Cameo Appearance
Professor Pyarelal Rita
Biwi-O-Biwi Nisha
1982 Teri Meri Kahani Meena Shastry/Seema
Hathkadi Pammi Mittal
1986 Love and God Ghazala
1988 Rukhsat Radha Talwar Also Director

Television[]

Year Show name Role Notes
1985 Living Legend Raj Kapoor Writer/director Documentary on Raj Kapoor for Channel Four Television, UK
1991 India's Rajiv Writer/director Three-part documentary series on Rajiv Gandhi
1997 Rendezvous with Simi Garewal Host 5 seasons (140 episodes)
2011 Simi Selects India’s Most Desirable Host

Awards and nominations[]

  • 1966–Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award – Do Badan
  • 1968–Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award – Saathi
  • 1980–Filmfare Nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her role in Karz
  • 1999–Screen Awards for Best Talk Show & Best Anchor
  • 2001–RAPA Award for Best Anchor & Talk show
  • 2003–Indian Television Academy Award for Best Anchor
  • 2003–Rotary Award for Vocational Excellence in Media & Television
  • 2004–Indian Filmgoers Association Award Best Talk Show

References[]

  1. ^ "Happy birthday Simi Grewal". NDTV.com.
  2. ^ "Exclusive biography of #SimiGarewal and on her life". FilmiBeat.
  3. ^ "Pamela and Simi".
  4. ^ Rendezvous with Simi Garewal – The Times of India. Timesofindia.indiatimes.com (1 February 2004). Retrieved on 26 June 2011.
  5. ^ [1] Archived 30 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ 'I Don't Know One Editor In India Who Is Well-Read'. www.outlookindia.com. Retrieved on 26 June 2011.
  7. ^ Movies: Siddhartha, a lost tale. rediff.com (21 September 2002). Retrieved on 26 June 2011.
  8. ^ Siddhartha (1972). PopMatters. Retrieved on 26 June 2011.
  9. ^ Gloriously grey Archived 17 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Screenindia.com (17 October 2008). Retrieved on 26 June 2011.
  10. ^ Simi Garewal's Rendezvous 100 Party. Sify.com (14 June 2004). Retrieved on 26 June 2011.
  11. ^ "Archive News". The Hindu.
  12. ^ Screen > The Business of Entertainment[permanent dead link]. Screenindia.com (4 January 2008). Retrieved on 26 June 2011.
  13. ^ [2]
  14. ^ "I'm a sucker for looks: Simi Garewal - Times of India". The Times of India.
  15. ^ "From TOI Archives: Tiger Pataudi's untold tale". The Times of India.
  16. ^ Joshi, Sonali; Srivastava, Priyanka (3 October 2011). "'Rendezvous with Simi'to rekindle Pataudi's romance". India Today.
  17. ^ Simi Garewal: the icon of style. Rediff.com. Retrieved on 26 June 2011.

External links[]

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