Simi Garewal, the seasoned actress, celebrates her 75th birthday today. She gained widespread recognition for hosting the English talk show “Rendezvous with Simi Garewal,” which was broadcast on Star World.
Simi Garewal turns 75 today. The popular Bollywood actor is best known for her English talk show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal. She later hosted another talk show, India’s Most Desirable, though not with the same result. In an old interview with Filmfare, Simi had explained why either of the shows did not see a longer run on television.
Simi on why her talk shows weren’t renewed
“English channels have miniscule budgets because they are niche. Slowly but steadily, English is becoming a dinosaur on Indian television. Also, Hindi channels have a far wider reach. The only challenge is that I can’t express myself in Hindi as well as I do in English. I’m working on that,” Simi had said in the interview.
However, despite planning to foray into Hindi with what she described as a “part-talk show” and being in talks with a “leading Hindi channel,” Simi eventually didn’t appear on television again.
Simi on India’s Most Desirable
The only show she did after Rendezvous was on the same channel, Star World, called Simi Selects India’s Most Desirable, where she hosted eligible celebrity bachelors from India. However, even that show couldn’t sustain itself beyond one long season of 22 episodes.
“I didn’t receive the desired response for it. Audiences were used to seeing me in my Rendezvous avatar. So they couldn’t accept a change in my image, which was more relaxed, light and fun in Desirable. There was so much opposition to the show that it was disheartening,” Simi had said in the same interview.
Rendezvous with Simi Garewal premiered on Star World in 2001 and lasted for five seasons and 140 episodes. Some of the most memorable guests on her talk show included Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan, Rekha, Hrithik Roshan and Sussanne Khan among others.
Disclaimer: Except the headline and synopsis, this story has been taken from the HT News Service.