‘I can’t stay away from the arc lights’
 

She may not Aankh Maare (her popular hit in her debut Tere Mere Sapne) anymore, but Simran still commands the same adulation she enjoyed before she quit films after marriage. The heart-throb of Tamil filmdom will soon be seen making a long-awaited comeback in Gautam Menon’s Varanam Aayiram.

“I’ve just discovered that I can’t stay away from the arc lights — acting is my passion. I can’t sit idle, so I had to get back,” says Simran.

In Varanam Aayiram the actress plays the mother of the hero, Surya. For someone who’s always been popular for her glamour, did Simran have reservations about wearing a grey wig and being in a saree throughout? “If I had any, I was relieved when I got to know that Surya would also be playing Surya’s father in the film. And Gautam is a very sensitive director. When he narrated the role to me, he also gave me a reading of the script and said, ‘Find yourself Simran.’ And I found myself doing that throughout the film. It was an instant ‘yes’,” explains the actress.



 

The fact that she had also played the role of a mother, albeit a relatively young one, in Mani Ratnam’s Kannathil Muthamittal, also strengthened her decision to accept the role. “I was at the peak of my career and fans loved it when I essayed such a different role. I think it’s also the funda of my success — I don’t stick to any particular genre. I’m very practical that way,” she says.

Most comebacks, including Madhuri Dixit’s Aaja Nachle, have been quite thanda at the box office. But that’s no deterrent to Simran. “Even at the peak of my career I’ve had flops. I’m too much of a professional to be bothered by such things,” she states.
While the audience has always been wowed by her acting skills, Simran’s also been popular for her gyrations on screen. Has marriage and motherhood changed that? An emphatic Simran says, “Of course not, I won’t stop dancing — I love it.”

Movies and two top TV shows — how does she juggle work and being a mommy? “My mother has always been a working woman and managed it effortlessly. So does my mother-in-law. I draw inspiration from them and my son travels with me everywhere (he was around in the remote village where Simran was shooting for her forthcoming flick Seval). And once he grows up, I’ll start working things around him,” she says