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Rishibala Naval (born 4 April 1976), known professionally as Simran, is an Indian actress, Producer, Dancer and TV personality who prominently works in
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
films along with a few Telugu,
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been d ...
,
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
and
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native sp ...
films.


Personal life and background

Simran was born as Rishibala Naval on 4 April 1976 to Punjabi parents in Mumbai; her father is Ashok Naval and mother is Sharda Naval. Simran has two younger sisters,
Monal A monal is a bird of genus ''Lophophorus'' of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. Description The males all have colorful, iridescent plumage. Their physique is rather plump. Their diet consists of plants such as roots and bulbs and insects. D ...
and Jyothi Anand, and a younger brother 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 and drama during her school and college time. She married Deepak Bagga, her childhood friend, on 2 December 2003. The couple has two children, Adheep and Aadit Veer.


Career


Debut and breakthrough (1995–1999)

Simran made her cinematic debut in the 1995
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been d ...
-language film ''Sanam Harjai'', directed by
Saawan Kumar Saawan Kumar Tak (9 August 1936 – 25 August 2022) was an Indian film director, producer, and lyricist. He directed many Hindi films, including successful films like ''Saajan Bina Suhagan'', '' Souten'', '' Souten Ki Beti'', '' Sanam Bewafa'' ...
. 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 Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
film '' Indraprastham'' opposite
Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, ...
. She appeared in her
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native sp ...
debut ''
Simhada Mari ''Simhada Mari'' () is a 1997 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Om Prakash Rao and produced by Ramu. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar, Telugu actor Krishnam Raju and debutant Simran. The flash back portion which is considered to ...
'', opposite Kannada actor, Shivarajkumar, while her Telugu debut was "Abbai Gari pelli"with Suman, Sanghavi and Lakshmi. Her Tamil Cinema debut was marked in 1997 with films '' Once More'' and '' V. I. P.'' In ''Once More'' she played the female lead opposite Vijay along with veteran actors
Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Gan ...
and
Saroja Devi Bangalore Saroja Devi (born 7 January 1938) is an Indian actress who has acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. She acted in around 200 films in over six decades. She is known by the epithets "''Abhinaya Saraswathi''" ( Saraswathi of ...
. The film was directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar and was a box office hit. In ''V. I. P.'', she was paired opposite
Prabhu Deva Prabhu Deva (born 3 April 1973) is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada language films. In a career spanning 32 years, he has performed and designed ...
. Both films garned her the
Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South The Filmfare Best Female Debut is presented by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of T ...
for the year. In ''
Nerrukku Ner ''Nerrukku Ner'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Vijay, Suriya, Simran, and Kausalya, while Raghuvaran, Shanthi Krishna, Baby Jennifer, Ka ...
'', she was paired opposite
Suriya Saravanan Sivakumar (born 23 July 1975), known by his stage name Suriya, is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter and a philanthropist. He primarily works in Tamil cinema where he is one of the highest paid actors. He received numerou ...
, in his debut. The film was produced by director
Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Na ...
. Following a successful debut in Tamil film, in 1998, she had her first release in
K. S. Ravikumar K. S. Ravikumar (born 30 May 1958) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, primarily working in Tamil films. Career 1990–1997 Ravikumar worked as co-director on R. B. Choudary's production '' Pudhu Vasantham'' dire ...
's '' Kondattam'', opposite Arjun, ''
Natpukkaga ''Natpukkaga'' () is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. S. Ravikumar, starring R. Sarathkumar, Simran, Vijayakumar and Sujatha. It became a blockbuster upon release. The film won two Filmfare Awards South and Tamil Nad ...
'' (1998), '' Aval Varuvala'' (1998), '' Kannedhirey Thondrinal'' (1998), and '' Jodi'' (1999). In 1999, her first Tamil release for the year was ''
Thulladha Manamum Thullum ''Thulladha Manamum Thullum'' () is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by debutant Ezhil. It stars Vijay and Simran, while Manivannan, Dhamu and Vaiyapuri among others play supporting roles. The film is produced by R. B. ...
'', opposite Vijay. As a blind woman, she was highly appreciated for her performance in the film. She received the Tamil Nadu State Award for Best Actress. The film was later remade in Telugu as '' Nuvvu Vastavani'' with
Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...
. Her next release opposite Ajith Kumar was '' Vaali''. Due to the critic acclaim for her performance, she won the Cinema Express Award for Best Actress – Tamil. Her next film was Kanave Kalaiyadhe, '' Kannupada Poguthaiya'', ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'', Telugu film, '' Samarasimha Reddy'' and Bollywood film, '' Anari No.1''.


Continuity to success (2000–2003)

In 2000 she had two Tamil films '' Parthen Rasithen'' and '' Priyamaanavale''. Her other release '' Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven'' opposite
Ajith Kumar Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil N ...
, was a commercial and critical failure. Her Telugu films '' Yuvaraju'' with
Mahesh Babu Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works mainly in Telugu cinema. He has appeared in more than 25 films, and won several accolades including, eight Nandi Award ...
and '' Goppinti Alludu'' with Balakrishna were released in the same year and claimed to be average grossers in box office. She was the leading actress in the film, ''
Kalisundam Raa ''Kalisundham Raa'' () is a 2000 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by Udayasankar and produced by D. Suresh Babu. It stars Venkatesh and Simran, with music composed by S. A. Rajkumar. It received the National Film Award for Best Fe ...
'' with Venkatesh. In 2001, she concentrated on Telugu films and had a mixed year with '' Mrugaraju'' and '' Daddy'', with
Chiranjeevi Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, film producer and former politician, who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. Chiranjeevi starred in over 150 feature films in Telugu, as well as some fil ...
and '' Bava Nachadu'', with
Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...
. Her movie '' Narasimha Naidu'', which was with Balakrishna, became an industry hit and Simran, who played the role of a wife who becomes the victim for her husband's opponent, was appreciated and gained her a nomination for the
Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu The Filmfare Best Actress Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Telugu films. The awards were extended to "Best Actress" in 1972. Film world, p 43 The year indicates the year of release of ...
. In the Tamil film Industry, she had only two releases in 2001. Her first release was the directorial debut of cinematographer Jeeva's ''
12B ''12B'' is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed and written by cinematographer Jeeva; it is his directorial debut. The film stars Shaam in his debut, with Simran and Jyothika. Hindi actors Suniel Shetty and Moonmoon Sen play su ...
'', opposite then-newcomer
Shaam Syria (Hieroglyphic Luwian: 𔒂𔒠 ''Sura/i''; gr, Συρία) or Sham ( ar, ٱلشَّام, ash-Shām) is the name of a historical region located east of the Mediterranean Sea in Western Asia, broadly synonymous with the Levant. Other ...
and
Jyothika Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress, model and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films.
. 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's role as a young widow with affections for her colleague, was highly appreciated by critics and audience. ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the second ...
'' mentioned that "Simran does a commendable job in the climax". ''
Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 ...
'' 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". In the same year, she worked with Balachandar in his 100th production venture '' Paarthale Paravasam'' paired with Madhavan. The film tells the story of a couple going through a break-up after the husband is exposed of having a pre-martial child. In 2002, she starred with Balakrishna in '' Seema Simham'', which was an average grosser. She also starred in several successful Tamil films; ''
Ramanaa ''Ramanaa'' is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language vigilante action film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, stars Vijayakanth, Ashima Bhalla and Simran in lead roles. The film is about a man named Ramana who decides to abolish corruption comp ...
'' with
Vijayakanth Narayanan Vijayaraj Alagarswami (born 25 August 1952), better known by his stage name Vijayakanth, is an Indian politician and former actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Leg ...
, '' Pammal K. Sambandam'' and '' Panchatanthiram'' with
Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali ...
and ''
Thamizh ''Thamizh'' is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Hari, in his directorial debut and produced by Amudha Durairaj. The movie stars Prashanth and Simran, while Vadivelu, Urvashi, Nassar, Ashish Vidyarthi an ...
'' with
Prashanth Prashanth Thiagarajan (born 6 April 1973), known professionally as Prashanth, is an Indian actor and businessman, known for his works predominantly in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil films, he has also appeared in few Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam f ...
. In 2002, she was also cast as the female lead for
Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Na ...
's ''
Kannathil Muthamittal ''Kannathil Muthamittal'' (also released internationally under the translated title ''A Peck on the Cheek'') is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language musical war film produced and directed by Mani Ratnam. It was based on a short story, "Amuthavum Avanum" ...
'' with Madhavan. She won South Filmfare Award for her performance for ''Kannathil Muthamittal''. 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''. She made a return in 2008 with '' Okka Magaadu'', 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 Saravanan Sivakumar (born 23 July 1975), known by his stage name Suriya, is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter and a philanthropist. He primarily works in Tamil cinema where he is one of the highest paid actors. He received numerou ...
's wife and mother in
Gautham Vasudev Menon Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu and Hindi films that either simultaneously shot with or rem ...
's ''
Vaaranam Aayiram ''Vaaranam Aayiram'' () is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon and produced by Venu Ravichandran of Aascar Films. The film stars Suriya in dual lead roles as father and son, with Sameer ...
'' was critically acclaimed and she won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Tamil and the Vijay Award for Best Supporting Actress. She simultaneously explored the small screen where she has acted in
Jaya TV Jaya TV HD is a Tamil language satellite television channel based in Chennai, India. Jaya TV HD is also broadcast to the expatriate Tamil community via various media partnerships. Hemant Sahai of HSA had Jaya TV HD as his first client. Jaya TV ...
's serial ''Simran Thirai'', which consisted of mini-serials featuring Simran and included many popular stars such as Ramji,
Raaghav Venkataraghavan Ranganathan, better known as Raaghav on screen, is an Indian actor and television personality in Tamil Nadu. Before his break into films, he appeared in season 1 of ''Jodi Number One''. Career He first appeared in supporting ...
, Saakshi Siva and
Abitha Abitha is an Indian film and television actress who appears in Tamil language films and teleserials. She appeared in notable productions including ''Sethu'' alongside Vikram. She is famous for her role as Archana in the teleserial '' Thiruma ...
playing supporting roles. In 2012, she hosted ''Jackpot'', a game show on
Jaya TV Jaya TV HD is a Tamil language satellite television channel based in Chennai, India. Jaya TV HD is also broadcast to the expatriate Tamil community via various media partnerships. Hemant Sahai of HSA had Jaya TV HD as his first client. Jaya TV ...
which was earlier hosted by
Khushbu Sundar Khushbu Sundar (born Nakhat Khan; 29 September 1970) is an Indian actress, politician, film producer and television presenter. She is known for her works predominantly in Tamil, besides Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. She is a re ...
and
Nadhiya Zareena Moidu, known by her stage name Nadhiya, is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She made her debut in the Malayalam film '' Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu'' (1984), alongside Mohanlal and ...
. In 2013 Simran and her husband Deepak Bagga produced a reality show ''Dance Tamizha Dance'', In 2014, she made a guest appearance in '' Aaha Kalyanam'' under the banner
Yash Raj Films Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. It mainly produces and distributes Hindi and Punjabi films. The company has grown to be one of the largest film studios ...
and in ''
Trisha Illana Nayanthara ''Trisha Illana Nayanthara'' ( ''If Not Trisha, Then Nayanthara'') is a 2015 Indian Tamil language sex comedy film written and directed by Adhik Ravichandran. The film stars G. V. Prakash Kumar, Simran, Manisha Yadav and Anandhi, with VTV Ga ...
'' in 2015. In October 2015, she made a special appearance in the Kannada films '' Alone'' and'' Koditta Idangalai Nirappuga'' and ''
Thupparivaalan ''Thupparivaalan'' () is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Mysskin. The film is produced by Vishal, who also stars in the lead role with Prasanna. The film also features Vinay Rai, Anu Emmanuel, Simran ...
'' in 2017 and '' Odu Raja Odu'' in 2018. In the same year, she appeared in a negative role opposite
Sivakarthikeyan Sivakarthikeyan (born 17 February 1985), also referred to as SK, is an Indian actor, singer, film producer, lyricist, and television presenter, who works predominantly in Tamil films. He has also won a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, four Edison A ...
in the Tamil film ''
Seemaraja ''Seemaraja'' () is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Ponram and produced by R. D. Raja. The film stars Sivakarthikeyan in a double role with, Simran in Negative role along with Samantha, with a supporting cast ...
''.


(2019–present)

Simran acted in '' Petta'' with
Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
. She then went on to appear in the self-produced Hindi music video "Mein Aur Meri Khwaishein" which was released under her own production "Simran And Sons", directed By Deepak Bagga. In 2020, she starred in the
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a film ...
OTT film, ''
Paava Kadhaigal ''Paava Kadhaigal'' () is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language anthology drama film consisting of four short films directed by Sudha Kongara, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Vetrimaaran and Vignesh Shivan. Through four unique stories, the film explores how prid ...
''. In 2021, Simran was seen in '' Mahaan''. In 2022, she then starred in the films '' Rocketry: The Nambi Effect'' and ''
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
''.


Brand ambassador

In March 2002, Simran was signed up to endorse
Fanta Fanta is an American-owned German brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks created by Coca-Cola Deutschland under the leadership of German businessman Max Keith. There are more than 200 flavors worldwide. Fanta originated in Germany as ...
, the tangy orange-flavoured drink from
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlan ...
. 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 along with the advertisements. On 4 June 2008,
PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...
announced Simran as the new brand ambassador for
Kurkure Kurkure is a brand of spiced crunchy puffcorn snacks made up of rice, lentil and corn, owned by PepsiCo. The snack was originated in India and was launched in 1999 in the country. The snack is currently being manufactured and sold in India, Paki ...
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 Dabur Sanitizer. Her endorsements include 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.


Awards


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simran Actresses in Tamil cinema Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Filmfare Awards South winners Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Indian film actresses Indian television actresses 20th-century Indian actresses Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award 21st-century Indian actresses International Tamil Film Award winners Punjabi people Living people 1976 births Actresses from Mumbai Actresses in Tamil television Actresses in Hindi television Actresses in Telugu television