She has been in the cinema for over 25 years and yet never ceases to amaze the audience with her penchant for choosing challenging and different roles. Recently, she was seen in Kollywood star Ajith Kumar’s hit Good, Bad, Ugly. She is now looking forward to the release of Tourist Family, a family drama with Sasikumar that is hitting theatres on May 1. As Simran chats to Hindustan Times, she says that she is in a happy space where her career is concerned right now.
On Tourist Family
Speaking about why she signed debutant director Abishan Jeevinth’s Tourist Family, she told HT, “What excited me was that this is a family drama with comedy. With so much humour in it, it caters to the audience well. When the family audience comes out of the theatres laughing and talking about the film, it tells us that the team’s hard work has paid off. A Tamil film like this has been released after a long time. The entire team behind the film is young, and the producers have given two hit films already – Good Night and Lover. My co-star Sasikumar is a director himself and a good, subtle actor. The film has a mix of emotion, romance, comedy, drama, and I feel it’s really going to be nice.”
While the Petta actor has been receiving constant offers, she’s been choosy about what she has signed on. “The script is the master of everything, and it’s only a good script that makes me sign a project. I never sign a film because of a famous actor, producer, or director. Yes, if that’s there along with a good script, then great. Only with a good script do people remember the films. Sometimes you have to let go of films because the roles don’t work or they are not good paymasters. Some people feel like they are doing us a favour by offering us a role and giving poor remuneration – I don’t like such people and don’t want to work with them,” Simran reveals candidly.
On the experience of Good, Bad, Ugly
Coming to director Adhik Ravichandran’s Good Bad Ugly, the Citadel: Honey Bunny actor says working in the Ajith Kumar film was delightful. “When Adhik narrated the script, we could feel how the vibe would be in theatres when the movie released. I think it’s the clear foresight he had that got me and with Good Bad Ugly a benchmark as created – you can the film again and again, especially the part where I come. That whole portion was so good. It was a good experience. It was nice to hear the applause and whistles in the theatres. It felt really good and blessed,” she smiles.
Interestingly, Priya Varrier replicated Simran’s cult classic dance number Thootu Thotthu Pesum Sultana from Ethirum Puthirum for Ajith’s Good, Bad, Ugly. The song went viral, and Simran is all praise for Priya. The actress, who was hailed as the dancing queen, adds, “The song itself is so good. We should thank technology for connecting the young generation to that song. I shot it in 1999 and it has become a youth sensation again now. Priya did a really good job, and she looks very pretty, and even Arjun Das is fabulous.”
Ask the Tiger 3 star if there’s any role she’s still not explored, and pat comes the reply, “I would love to do an action role! It would be really nice because when I saw Priya (Simran) in Good, Bad, Ugly, in the whole Kill Bill costume, the attitude really piqued me. The audience was so happy to see me in that avatar. I felt why not do something full-fledged along those lines, but with a good solid script, of course.” As for whom she wants to work with, she cites Charlie Chaplin as her most favourite actor along with Alfred Hitchcock, the director.
Given that there are opportunities for actors now on TV, OTT and films, why is Simran still not seen so frequently across all these platforms? “There are opportunities that keep coming, but I think the remuneration is not up to the mark. I wonder how many actresses are really getting paid the number of crores they say they are. Maybe I am not marketing myself well,” she laughs, adding that PR for her is not the top priority. “But nothing can replace your hard work – no matter how much publicity you do, it’s your work that talks and the audience and applause that talks. What is most important is how much the audience appreciates your work. Nothing beats authenticity, the original OG.”
On her ‘aunty roles’ comment
Recently, at an award function, Simran narrated an incident about how an actress friend in the industry mocked her for doing ‘aunty roles’. “I was feeling really upset then, and I shared my feelings. That’s all. I have been doing aunty roles since the beginning of my career, and it’s a favourite word of mine. Doing aunty roles is not a bad thing,” she states, adding, “I don’t think actresses can be friends in the industry. This incident just proved it. It’s very hurting when friends hurt you. The person spoke to me the next day – it wasn’t uncomfortable, but the relationship won’t stay the same.”
