A Rendevous with the Queen, Simi Garewal...

The very first episode of Say Shaava Shaava on NDTV Imagine had viewers gasping at the sight of Simi Garewal's cleavage. The woman known for her classy dressing style had traded her smart white power suits for flowing lehengas. While few wonder even today as to what Simi is doing in a song and dance show, we met up with the lady-in-white.

Why did you take up Shaava Shaava? "I have received several offers to be on TV including Koffee with Karan. Having refused many offers that came my way, I could not say a‘No’ to Sameer, the Head Honcho of NDTV Imagine as he is my close friend. Besides, I love music. I have my own iPod and I just can't do without listening to my favorite tracks", says the sexy actress. But does she think the channel and the producers have justified her presence on the show? Doesn't she feel wasted? "Wasted? Not at all!! Yes, I did Rendezvous which was a chat show and in a different league altogether; but does that mean I cannot do any other genre? Just because Sachin Tendulkar plays great cricket, we can't expect him to play the game on a reality show!"

Her co-judge is Karan Johar, whose guests on Koffee have often spoofed Simi's Rendezvous. Was it awkward for Simi to share space with KJo? Simi rolls her eyes. "Nooooo. Karan never made fun of my show. (Stops me and calls out for Karan. 'Karan, did you ever spoof my show?” Karan looks a tad uncomfortable and asks me, “Give me the names of the guests? We never made fun of Simi. I have always said she's the pioneer of talk shows. And in any case, Simi and I share similar sensibilities and have a sense of humour.')

Simi simply smiles to that and says, "Well, how can I ever feel bad about anything to do with my buddy, Karan? You know, for the past two years, the media has been provoking me to say something or the other about him and his show, may be they want me to react, but I refuse to give in. I love Karan too much." The two hug each other and go mwah mwah as KJo dashes off the sets.

Simi has been looking younger by the day and her sedate wardrobe too has gone for a major overhaul. "It's just that for this show, I needed to wear Indian clothes, so you see me in lehengas. As for looking younger, people ask me this all the time. My answer is I have been exercising for the past 20 years. I have this major work out once a week and have a trainer who helps me with it. For my skin, I use a brand called Les Naturelle, the products are made naturally and I am allergic to chemicals," says the beautiful Simi.

The show which was studded with 8 glittering stars was a disappointment as, barring a couple of them, the others were positively unbearable. "Yes, that was in the first episode. When Karan and I heard them, we were shocked. We were like, 'Are we going to judge these people?' But today I can proudly say that all have raised the bar so high, most of them sing like professionals."

Reacting to Manish Goel's outburst on the show about how he was being made fun of and how he wanted to bow out of the show, Simi says, "I feel he took it very badly. There was no need to. An artist can't be a cry-baby. And come on, it's just a singing show. Life knocks you down so many times, that doesn't mean you give up so easily!"

Her film Karz is being remade with Urmila Matondkar playing her role of Kamini. Is she happy with the choice? "Karz is a solid story and you just can't go wrong with it. When someone asked me who would I have liked to see in my role, I had said, 'Sushmita Sen'. Because I feel she has the poise to carry off that role. I'm sure though that Urmila too will bring something of her own to the role."

Finally, will she do more TV shows? "That will entirely depend on the genre of the show, the content”, says Simi..

Author: Suhaani Rai