Biography

Simran (born Rishibala Naval; 4 April 1976), also known as Simran Bagga, is an Indian actress, producer, and dancer who has worked in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada cinema. She began her acting career with the Hindi film *Sanam Harjai* (1995) and appeared in the ABCL production *Tere Mere Sapne* (1996), including the song "Aankh Maarey". In 1997, Simran appeared in the Tamil films *Once More*, *V.I.P.*, and *Nerrukku Ner*, earning the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South. Her breakthrough in Tamil cinema came with roles in *Vaalee* (1999) and *Thullatha Manamum Thullum* (1999), the latter earning her the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress. Her Telugu films include *Samarasimha Reddy* (1999), *Kalisundam Raa* (2000), and *Narasimha Naidu* (2001). She also appeared with Kamal Haasan in the comedies *Pammal K. Sambandam* (2002) and *Panchathantiram* (2002), and played an adoptive mother in Mani Ratnam's *Kannathil Muthamittal* (2002), earning the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil. After a break from acting, Simran played a mother and wife in Gautham Vasudev Menon's *Vaaranam Aayiram* (2008), earning the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She later appeared in character roles in *Petta* (2019), the anthology *Paava Kadhaigal* (2020), *Mahaan* (2022), *Rocketry: The Nambi Effect* (2022), and the Hindi family drama *Gulmohar* (2023). In 2024, Simran appeared in the Tamil horror-comedy *Aranmanai 4*, the thriller *Andhagan*, and the Amazon Prime Video spy action series *Citadel: Honey Bunny*. Her subsequent credits include the Tamil horror-thriller *Sabdham* (2025), Adhik Ravichandran's action film *Good Bad Ugly* (2025), the drama *Tourist Family* (2025), and the Hindi film *Gabru* (2026).