Simi Garewal: I had given up that dream of Cannes long ago

Simi Garewal recently made her Cannes red carpet debut, more than five decades after shooting Aranyer Din Ratri . The Satyajit Ray classic was restored in 4K and screened at the Cannes Classics section. “It’s something I never dared to hope for! I gave up that dream long ago and for this to suddenly happen now it’s more than a dream – it’s a gift from the universe,” she says. In a conversation, the veteran actress talks about the film, the roles for women in cinema and more.
‘FROM A MODERN, WESTERNISED GIRL, I TRANSFORMED INTO A RUSTIC, UNINHIBITED ADIVASI’
Simi played Duli, a tribal woman in the Aranyer Din Ratri (1970) – a role that was far from her real-life image. But Satyajit Ray saw something in her. “Manik da , so gentle yet intense, led me to portray a character so different to who I am. I mean here was I, a modern, westernised girl transformed into a rustic, uninhibited adivasi ! It doesn’t get more challenging than that,” she says.
She remembers watching the film again, decades later, and being shocked by how fully she had disappeared into Duli. “For an actor, it’s creative fulfillment to ‘become’ another person. When I watched the film I couldn’t see even a jhalak of Simi anywhere. It was Duli.” She adds, “I loved the film, the comedy, the slice of life. It looked so natural, so organic. But that’s Ray’s forte, capturing reality on celluloid.”‘IT SEEMS CINEMA CATERS PRIMARILY TO MALE AUDIENCES’
Simi says she has not watched too many recent films. “But I will ask – where are the roles for women in cinema?” she questions, adding, “It’s all male-oriented. The female is simply decorative, and always the hero’s sidekick. And that’s not representative of today’s India, where women are strong, independent and achievers in their own right. So, it seems cinema caters primarily to male audiences. The only roles for women are on OTT, and TV, with its serials, caters to women. A gender divide.”

‘AT THE MOMENT, I’M WRITING MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY’
Simi says that she’s currently working on her autobiography. “At the moment, I’m writing my autobiography. I am writing every single word myself. Nobody else has read it, nor looked over my shoulder while I write. It’s between my keyboard and me. It’s very personal. I haven’t held back. I’m on the last few chapters now, presently on Rendezvous with Simi Garewal . You will read everything about my life in my autobiography – from my childhood in London to my joining films (against great family opposition) Every detail about working with Raj Kapoor, Manik da , my films, my private life, my loves, my marriage – my whole life is written in these pages.”
'WHITE IS A HAPPY COLOUR FOR ME'
Simi chose to wear her signature white at Cannes too. Talking about its significance in her life, the actress says, “Why white? I feel good when I’m wearing it. Sometimes I put on another colour, yellow or blue, and I immediately take it off because it disturbs my sensibility. White is a happy colour for me,” says Simi. Her thoughts on walking the red carpet? “I wish Manik da was here to see this...”


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