Simi Garewal (born Simrita Garewal; 17 October 1947) is an Indian actress, director, producer and a talk show host. She is the recipient of two

Filmfare awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

and an ITA Award. She is known for her work in Hindi films like ''

Do Badan Do Badan (English: Two Bodies) is a 1966 Hindi film directed by Raj Khosla, and starring Manoj Kumar, Asha Parekh, Simi Garewal and Pran. The music is by Ravi. The film became a big hit at the box office. The film idea was suggested by Mano ...

'', '' Saathi'', ''

Mera Naam Joker ''Mera Naam Joker'' () is a 1970 Indian Hindi romance drama film, directed, edited and produced by Raj Kapoor under his banner R. K. Films, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. The film stars Raj Kapoor as the eponymous character, with his son ...

'', '' Siddhartha'', '' Karz'' and ''Udeekaan'' (Punjabi film). She acted in the Bengali movie ''

Aranyer Din Ratri ''Aranyer Din Ratri'' (; English: Days and Nights in the Forest) is an Indian Bengali adventure drama film released in 1970, written and directed by Satyajit Ray. It is based upon the Bengali novel of the same name by Sunil Gangopadhyay. It ...

'' directed by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of ...

. She is also known for her celebrity talk show, Rendezvous with Simi Garewal.

Early life

Garewal was born in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

.Rendezvous-with-Simi-Garewal
''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...

''. Her father, Brigadier J. S. Garewal served in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

. Simi is a cousin of

Pamela Chopra Pamela Chopra (born 1938) is an Indian playback singer. She is the wife of veteran Bollywood film director Yash Chopra. She has also written and produced several films. Early life Chopra was born as Pamela Singh, the daughter of Mohinder Singh ...

, wife of film-maker

Yash Chopra Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 21 October 2012) was an Indian film director and film producer who worked in Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chopra was the recipient of ...

. Simi's mother Darshi and Pamela's father Mohinder Singh were siblings. Simi grew up in England and studied at

Newland House School Newland House School is an independent co-educational preparatory school located in Twickenham, London, England. Introduction Newland House School has over 440 pupils from the ages of three to thirteen, based in the Nursery (age 3-4), Pre-Prep ...

with her sister Amrita.

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 ''Tarzan Goes to India'' (1962) is the first film featuring Jock Mahoney as Tarzan. It was written by Robert Hardy Andrews and directed by John Guillermin, who also directed '' Tarzan's Greatest Adventure''. The film also stars Indian Bollywood ...

'' to offer her a role. A 15-year-old, Garewal made her debut alongside

Feroz Khan Feroz Khan or Feroze Khan may refer to: * Feroz Khan (actor) (1939–2009), Indian actor and film director * Feroz Khan Noon (1893–1970), Pakistani politician and 8th Prime Minister of Pakistan * Feroze Khan (born 1990), Pakistani VJ, televisio ...

in this film in 1962. 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 Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of th ...

in ''

'' (1970),

in ''

'' (''Days and Nights in the Forest''),

Mrinal Sen Mrinal Sen (''Beng.'' মৃণাল সেন; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was an Indian film director, and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Bengali, and few Hindi and Telugu language films. Regarded as one of the finest Ind ...

in '' Padatik'' (''The Guerilla Fighter'') and

Raj Khosla Raj Khosla (31 May 1925 – 9 June 1991) was one of the top director, producer and screenwriter in Hindi film industry from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was known for bringing in "neo-noir" and style in Indian cinema, and also as a "women's dir ...

in ''

.'' She starred opposite

Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ (born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and film producer who is best known for his work in Hindi films. A recipient of several accolades, including four Nation ...

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

' '' Siddhartha'', an English-language movie based on the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include '' Demian'', '' Steppenwolf'', '' Siddhartha'', and '' The Glass Bead Game'', each of which explores an individual ...

. 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. Later, in the mid-1970s, she made an appearance in the popular film '' Kabhi Kabhie'' (1976), made by her brother in-law

, and had a starring role in '' Chalte Chalte'' (1976). 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 Charles Allen may refer to: Politicians *Charles Allen (Massachusetts politician) (1797–1869), American politician and congressman in Massachusetts * Charles Allen (Australian politician) (1833–1913), Australian politician and member of the ...

. In the early 1980s, her attention turned to writing and direction. She formed her own production company,

Siga Arts International Siga was a Berber and Roman port located near what is now Aïn Témouchent, Algeria. Under the Roman Empire, it was part of western Mauretania Caesariensis, bordering Mauretania Tingitana. History Siga was a major Mediterranean port in the an ...

. 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 '' Living Legend Raj Kapoor'' (1984). This was followed by a three-part documentary on

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

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''. She usually wears her signature white clothes on TV shows and at award ceremonies, and is popularly known as "The Lady in White". Garewal recently appeared on ''Say Shava Shava 2008'' as a host and judge. 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 StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedi ...

which would interview only eligible singles, Bollywood actors, business and media icons, and Indian cricketers about their "ideal and desirable beaus". 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 Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

, who was also her neighbour in England. 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 Sharmila Tagore (also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana; born 8 December 1944) is a retired Indian actress, primarily known for her work in Hindi and Bengali cinema, Tagore is the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, and the F ...

Filmography

As an actress

Television

Awards and nominations

* 1966–

Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role. Although the Filmfare ...

– ''

'' * 1968–Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – '' Saathi'' * 1980–

Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, an ...

Nomination as Best Supporting Actress – ''Karz'' * 1999–

Screen Awards The Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony held in India honouring professional excellence in Bollywood. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professionals from the industry. The awards were introduced by t ...

for Best Talk Show & Best Anchor * 2001–''RAPA'' Award for Best Anchor & Talk show * 2003–

Indian Television Academy Award The Indian Television Academy Awards, also known as the ''ITA Awards'', is an annual award ceremony organised by the Indian Television Academy to honour excellence in Hindi-language television. Ceremonies Categories Popular Awards * ITA Aw ...

for Best Anchor * 2003–''Rotary'' Award for Vocational Excellence in Media & Television * 2004–''Indian Filmgoers Association'' Award Best Talk Show

References

External links

Simi Garewal's Official YouTube Channel, of Siga Arts International
* *Kesavan, Mukul
"The Mumbai tragedy and the English language news media"
''The Telegraph'', 4 December 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Garewal, Simi 20th-century Indian actresses Indian women film directors Actresses in Hindi cinema 1947 births Living people Indian television talk show hosts Indian Sikhs People educated at Newland House School Punjabi people Actresses from Delhi Indian women television presenters Indian television presenters Indian women television directors Indian women television writers Indian television writers Filmfare Awards winners