Simran

Simran Bagga (born Rishibhala Naval; 4 April 1976), also known by the mononym Simran, is an Indian film actress, Producer and Television personality. She has predominantly appeared in Tamil and Telugu language films, as well as a few films in Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada.Simran was born in Mumbai and spent most of her childhood there. Although Simran initially aspired to become a fashion designer, she accepted offers to join the Indian film industry, which came as a result of her fame as an anchor in the show Superhit Muqabla, making her Bollywood debut in Sanam Harjai (1995). Having acted in a few Hindi films, she later achieved her first success with Tere Mere Sapne (1996) alongside Arshad Warsi. Subsequently, she made her debut in South Indian cinema through the Malayalam film Indraprastham in 1996, and starred in her first Kannada film Simhada Mari and Telugu film Abbai Gari Pelli the following year.The same year, she debuted in Tamil through V. I. P. and was followed by string of commercial successes in her early career. In 1999, Simran received critical praise for playing a blind woman in Thulladha Manamum Thullum. However, the turning point of her career came with the success of Vaali (1999), which made Simran the most successful actress in the industry. At the peak of her career she agreed to play the role of an antagonist in Parthen Rasithen (2000) and a suffering woman from a premarital agreement in Priyamaanavale (2000), both went on to become commercial and critical successes. She received her first Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actress for Kannathil Muthamittal (2002), as the mother of an adopted 9-year-old daughter. Other than romantic dramas, Simran had also appeared in two comedy films alongside Kamal Haasan; Pammal K. Sambandam and Panchathantiram, both released in 2002. 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 nominations. With the success of the 2004 Sci Fi film New, Simran left the film industry following her marriage with her childhood family friend Deepak Bagga. In 2008, she made a comeback to Tamil cinema with Vaaranam Aayiram, where she played the role of a mother and a wife to the characters played by Suriya and won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.In 1998, entertainment portal Rediff.com called her one of Tamil cinemas top female draws. In 1999, she was featured in Forbes Magazine as the most prolific actress with a diverse portfolio from the Indian subcontinent. Well noted for her dancing and acting skills in the Indian film industry, she won three Filmfare Awards South including Best Female Debut for Once More, V. I. P. and Nerrukku Ner, one Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress for Thulladha Manamum Thullum, three Cinema Express Awards and was awarded the Kalaimamani award twice, in 1999 for her acting talent in films Thulladha Manamum Thullum & Vaali and in 2003 by appreciating her dancing skills.Having her film career spanning from 1995, she has featured in 93 Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films.

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