Simi Garewal
Simi Garewal, popularly known as "The Lady in White" because of her signature white clothes, is an Indian actress and a popular TV host. She was born on 17 October 1947 in Ludhiana, in a Jatt Sikh family. Her father, J S Garewal served in the Indian Army, rising to the rank of brigadier. Simi grew up in England and studied at Newland House School with her sister Amrita. After spending much of her childhood in England, she returned to India.
Simi Garewal had a serious relationship at the age of 17, with the then Maharaja of Jamnagar, who was also her neighbour in England. In the early 1980s, Simi Garewal dated Salman Taseer, a Pakistani businessman. Garewal was married to Ravi Mohan of Chunnamal family from old Delhi but her marriage was short and she is now divorced. Some of her most works in the Hindi cinema such as ‘Karz’, ‘Siddhartha’, ‘Saathi’, Mera Naam Joker, and Do Badan, are still remembered by the movie freaks all over the world.
She made her debut alongside Feroz Khan in a film called Tarzan Goes to India in 1962. Because of her performance she fetched 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 in Mera Naam Joker (1970), Satyajit Ray in Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest), Mrinal Sen in ‘Padatik’ (The Guerilla Fighter) and Raj Khosla in Do Badan.
In 1972, her movie ‘Siddhartha’ couldn't be released in India due to censorship, as her nude scene in the movie created controversy. She starred opposite Shashi Kapoor in this English-language movie, which was produced by Columbia Pictures and was based on the novel by Hermann Hesse. Later, in the mid-1970s, she made appearances in several popular films like Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Chalte Chalte (1976) and Karz (1980). She starred in the BBC docudrama ‘Maharajas’ (1987), based on the book by Charles Allen.
In the early 1980s, she got involved with writing and direction, formed her own production company, Siga Arts International. She hosted, produced and directed a TV series for Doordarshan, made documentaries for Channel 4 in the UK. She produced television commercials and won the first prize for the 1988 Paters Award in Australia. Her talk show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal and India's Most Desirable made headlines.
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