Back to the big screen

In the 90s, when youngsters were still dancing to ‘Chikku Bukku’ and basking in the Baasha hysteria, out came two young heroes trying to make their mark in the film industry. The 1997 Vasanth-directed Tamil film Nerukku Ner, saw Vijay and Suriya in lead roles, both aiming for top positions in the industry, and a relatively new actress called Simran.

The two heroes are superstars today. Simran, after earning the tag of ‘queen of Kollywood’ for several years and playing mature roles in films like Kannathil Muthamittal and Vaaranam Aayiram, took a break. And now, she’s back in business, not in a big making-a-comeback-sort-of-way, but in a quiet, ‘here-and-there’ manner, as she prefers to put it.

“I’ve always been here,” she says categorically, when you ask her where she disappeared off to in the last few years. “Whether it was a TV show or a guest appearance in a movie, I’ve always been on and off. And that’s how it will continue to be.”

Besides playing a key role in the upcoming film Trisha Illana Nayanthara, she will also star in the vital climax scene in Karai Oram. “I loved the way director Adhik narrated the script of Trisha Illana… and so I agreed to do it,” she recalls. “And, my part in Karai Oram is crucial to the ending.” The logic of picking films now, for the actress, seems to be based on comfort level and character. “I take up projects that I feel work for me; I know that things have changed a lot since the 90s and early 2000.”

It sure has. Back then, she’d be in the big movies with top stars and shifting from one set to another to complete projects in time. “If it was 60 movies then, it’s 360 now. The good side is that there’s so much of work available for everyone and it’s up to you to choose the right ones.”

Simran cites the example of Jyotika, who recently made a big comeback with 36 Vayadhinile. “Take a look at Jyotika and her beautiful role in the film. She almost overtook the script with her performance,” she says.

Simran speaks with maturity, and that has come with many years of being in the limelight, followed by years off it. “I remember working almost 24 hours a day in the late 90s; that was not the whole me, it was just a part of me. After the high, I wanted to live life. I decided sometime back that I did not want to take up films — but then, I could not sit at home either. So, I started working again. As a person, I do not look back at the past or contemplate my future; I concentrate on the present. If that is good, you can shape your future,” she says.

Success and fame is short-lived these days, she feels, with starlets appearing in a film or two and then fading away. “An artist’s shelf life is short now. Youngsters coming into the industry have to understand that the profession is not their life. If they live in the profession, it’s dangerous.”

During the time she was hot and happening in Kollywood, she tried not to live in the profession. Back then, doing a big-budget film with an established star meant success — it’s not the same anymore. This shift, Simran reasons, is because audiences have become much smarter and want value for money. “If they’re going to malls to catch a film, they want to ensure that it better be good. It’s no longer about just the Rs 120 ticket at a mall; it’s Rs 500 a head, if you include the donuts you have to buy for your kids and the shopping at the retail outlets.”

It’s to cater to this smarter audience that she’s set up a production house, which will soon roll out a couple of projects. “We’re working on two scripts,” she reveals. “I may even act in one of them, if the script demands it.”

Today, films are just a part of her life; her priorities lie with her two young children, Adheep and Aadit. “Motherhood has got me into my senses; the children shook me up,” she laughs. “It’s not easy to bring up two boys, but I’m enjoying this wonderful experience. When I’m down and out, I just sit with them and read a book — that makes me forget all the troubles in the world.”

The other thing that makes her feel that way is dance; it’s what prompted her to do two seasons of a show called Dance Tamizha Dance on television. “Dance is close to my heart; I wanted to explore how this passion could become a sensation in India. There were other dancing reality shows, but I wanted to do something different, like the shows abroad that take you right into the heart of it,” she says.

Finally, ask her about her association with Kamal Haasan, with whom she has worked on a couple of rib-ticklers, and she says, “He’s like a teacher on spot; he does so many rehearsals so that everything is fine before we go for a take. He reads a lot and it shows in his films, like Vishwaroopam. Like everyone else, I’m also eagerly waiting for Papanasam.”