Actor, Model, Anchor, Emcee, Talk Show Host, Narrator, Beauty, Fashionista, Socialite, Style Icon, Columnist...Maverick...
Many facets, One Woman...Presenting to you The:
Simone Singh - the versatile actor who's made audience love her and
loathe her in equal measure & who's managed to capture imagination
of audience in any shade of roles she's portrayed be it the docile Heena
or the steely Sakshi Goenka in Ek Hasina Thi and managed to make mark in even brief roles such as Camilla in Kal Ho na Ho and Rukhsaar in K3G.
Simone Singh was born on 10 November 1974 in Jamshedpur , to
Sikh-Bengali parents, (father) cricketer Daljit Singh and (mother) Krishna. She
has a younger sister named Dipannita. She spent her growing years in Jamshedpur
and Bangalore. She is a trained Kathak
dancer and can play the guitar. She used to sing and perform on stage in school
and college and her talent was noticed even then. Simone described herself as an extremely outgoing child, naughty but lovable child and says she used to love reading books from a young age.
After completing her degree in English Literature, Simone
worked at a TV production house in Delhi for two months and did some modeling
assignments. She later came to Mumbai to meet a childhood friend and figure out
her next move. For a lark she dropped her portfolio at a production company
called Plus Channel and got selected for roles in A Mouthful of Sky (her debut show, India's first English language
fiction serial) and Sea Hawks.
From thereon there was no looking back for her as she went
on to perform in some of the most popular and acclaimed shows of that time such
as Swabhimaan (first Indian serial to complete 500 episodes), Jhoota Sach,
Thoda hai thode ki zaroorat hai, Chitrahar, Superhit Muqabla, Gaatha, Hello Friends etc.
However, the show that made Simone Singh a household name
nationwide was Heena (1998) on Sony TV.
Simone played 18 year old Muslim girl who discovers after marriage that
her husband is in love with an other woman. The show was about trials and
tribulations in married life and was lauded for shedding light on concept of
"Talaaq" in Islam. Heena was the highest rated show on Indian Television at
that time and still holds place in Top 5 most watched shows of Indian
Television in 2000s decade as per TAM & IndianTelevision.com. The serial Heena and as heroine
Simone Singh also gained popularity abroad as Heena was aired in different
countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Middle East, Maldives, Malaysia, USA, UK
etc. It earned her several awards,
honours and nominations and till date she is remembered as "The Heena Girl". Heena
ran for 5 years on Sony TV, making it the longest running Muslim social drama
on Indian Television. Simone Singh became the Face of Sony TV as Heena.
Besides TV shows, Simone was also a popular model in 1990s
and 2000s, appearing in several commercials such as Lakme, Pantene,Nirma, Samsung, Santoor soap, Ultra Doux Shampoo etc., music videos - Asha Bhosle's "Parde mein rehne do" with
Bikram Saluja and Jagjit Singh-Gulzar's "Shaam se aankh mein" with Jimmy
Shergill.
In 2000, Simone got married to filmmaker Farhad Samar in a
quiet ceremony at her parents' home town Chandigarh.
In 2001, Simone forayed into movies with Ek Rishta A Bond of
Love where she played Priya, Amitabh Bachchan's daughter and Akshay Kumar'
sister. The same year she did a cameo in Karan Johar's blockbuster Kabhi Khushi
Kabhie Gham in which she played Rukhsaar, Kajol's neighbour and best friend.
This was her most popular role in movies as she shared screenspace with stars
like Kajol and SRK.
In 2002, she
appeared in Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya as Abhishek Bachchan's friend. Her other
release that year - Sur earned her critical acclaim and she won Stardust Best
Supporting Actress Award for her role.
In 2003 she did a cameo in Karan Johar's superhit Kal Ho Na
Ho where she played Camilla, Saif Ali Khan's girlfriend who is a golddigger.
This was another one of her popular appearances in movies. In an interview,
Simone said, she did movies and roles like Camilla to break free from image of
Heena.
The same year Simone Singh became the first Indian actor to
present an award at International Emmy Awards in NYC. It was considered a
landmark for an Indian television actor on a global platform.
Meanwhile she kept doing TV shows - Tum Pukar Lo, Aandhi,
Kasshish on Zee TV and hosted non fiction shows like Kosmic Chat on Zoom TV,
Blockbuster on Channel 9 Gold, The
Lounge on CNBC-TV18.
In 2005, Simone served on the jury of the first
International Emmy Awards held in India.
Her most appreciated and critcally acclaimed performance in
movies came in 2006 film Being Cyrus, where she played a grey shade role of
Tina Sethna. The English language film was directed by Homi Adajania and Simone
shared screen with actors like Boman Irani, Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia,
Naseeruddin Shah. Her co star Dimple Kapadia complimented her "for stealing the
show".
In 2007 Simone hosted Mission Ustaad on 9X, a one of its
kind musical reality show co-produced by the United Nations to raise awareness
about Millennium Development Goals.
Simone's last role in fiction serial was in Viraasat on Star
One as Anoushka Lamba (2007) where she was paired opposite Aman Verma. Her last
cameo in movies was in Ram Gopal Varma's Rann (2010) as Priya Malik -
Shankalya.
Simone Singh has been hailed among the most beautiful and
stylish women in India by magazines like Elle, Verve, Vogue, Femina and websites like
Rediff. Her contemporary Sangeeta Ghosh named her among most stylish women on
Indian Television and producer Ekta Kapoor described her as "well spoken and
stylish".
Simone Singh has featured in fiction and nonfiction shows
across all major channels such as Doordarshan, DD Metro, Sony, Zee TV, Star
Plus, Star One, Zoom, CNBC TV18, 9X, Channel
9 Gold etc. And featured in a couple of movies from 2000 to 2010.
Simone Singh also emerged as
a sought after emcee with events like Sansui Awards, Laadli Media
Awards, Indian Telly Awards to her credit, along with several other events including product launches.
She is a socialite and fashion icon. She's a favourite
across fashion blogs, still called the most stylish star on TV, and listed
among hottest female Page 3 faces in India (recently by MensXP e-zine).
Simone was also one of the judges in the Bangalore round of ZEE India's Best Cinestars ki Khoj in 2004. She served on the jury of Vogue
Beauty Awards in 2011, HT Mumbai's Most Stylish Awards (2012-2013), Kashish Mumbai
International Queer Film Festival (2012-2013).
She is a contributor to magazines like Vogue, Hello! , Verve, Upper Crust, Elle, You and I etc., on lifestyle related topics.
She has also been a narrator and lent her voice to a documentary, Narmada: Power to People (2011).
Simone spent last few years hosting talk shows such as Leap of
Faith (ET-Now, 2010), spending time at home and taking spiritual courses etc. She maintains
she has never planned anything and was never
too ambitious. "I am a dabbler, a dilettante. I never had the ambitious streak in me. I
never wanted to be in news courtesy some quotes. Offers have always
chased me, including film leads. I kept on refusing them for I never
wanted to be an actress. Sounds cliched, but in my case it's really
true." (quote in The Hindu, 2006)
She is said to
have refused several offers on television after Heena since she did not want to
get stuck in daily serial routine with no work life balance. She is choosy
about roles and subjects of shows she takes up.
In her interviews, she maintains she is happy with the kind of work she has
done.
HER NAME - "Simone" is French for "The Beautiful One"
BIRTHDAY- 10 November, 1974
SUNSIGN - Scorpio
HEIGHT - 5'1"
FATHER - Daljit Singh, former Ranji Trophy cricketer, qualified coach, BCCI Chief curator
MOTHER - Krishna, a Bengali
SIBLING - Dipannita, younger sister
SPOUSE - Farhad Samar, producer, filmmaker, author
SCHOOL - D.B.M.S. English School, Jamshedpur, Convent of Jesus and Mary, Delhi
HOMETOWN - Has roots in Chandigarh, grew up in Jamshedpur, Bangalore and Delhi and finally came to Mumbai
FAVOURITE ROLES -
She enjoyed playing
Rupal in Sea Hawks and Madhulika in A Mouthful of Sky.
FIRST SHOW - A Mouthful of Sky
FIRST JOB and SALARY - Was a third assistant director and also helped with the costumes for a show in Delhi. Got paid 3500 bucks.
MOST FAMOUS ROLE ON TV - Heena
MOST FAMOUS ONSCREEN PAIRING - With Anup Soni in Seahawks
MOST FAMOUS APPEARANCE IN FILMS - In Karan Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (2001) and Kal Ho Na Ho (2003) as Rukhsaar and Camilla
MOST ACCLAIMED ROLE IN FILMS - As Tina Sethna in Being Cyrus (2006)
FAVOURITE ONSCREEN LOOK - Heena and Camilla in Kal Ho na Ho
ENDORSEMENTS - Lakme, Garnier, Ultra Doux, Ponds, Nirma, Santoor,
Pantene, Samsung, Punjab Jewellers, Everest Masala, Meena Bazaar etc.
FAVOURITE PASTIME/HOBBIES - Spending time with family, being at home,
travelling with husband, reading, cooking, baking, shopping, surfing the internet
FAVOURITE SMELL - Smell of wet earth after first rains
FAVOURITE FEATURE - Her favourite feature of hers is her nose.
FIRST CRUSH - Vinod Khanna (after she watched him in a
movie)
FAVOURITE ACTOR - Russel Crowe, Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Kajol
FAVOURITE STYLE ICONS - Madonna & Audrey Hepburn
FAVOURITE VACATION SPOTS - Goa, New York and Europe
TALENTS - Simone
sings well, is a trained Kathak dancer and can play the guitar. She
also has a flair for design and is personally involved in styling her
look for projects she works in.
FAVOURITE CUISINE - Italian. Also loves Japanese, Thai and Chinese.
BEST ADVICE - We live in a world that is overly focused on appearance. And while it is
a blessing to be beautiful, people might also be touched by your
kindness; therefore enjoy your sparkling wit or be informed by your
intellect. After all, physical beauty is only one part of a
well-developed personality, and there are other qualities that can make
us unique.
FAVOURITE QUOTE - Life is what happens to you when you're busy making plans.
Edited by atominis - 9 years ago
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