Simi Garewal, the brain behind Rendezvous With Simi Garewal, turned 78 on October 17

Simi Garewal may have started out as an actor in the Hindi film industry but her biggest contribution to the entertainment sector inarguably is her iconic chat show Rendezvous With Simi Garewal. The show's episodes continue to be a goldmine of insight into the inner and outer worlds of celebrities across the spectrum.

Simi Garewal, who made the show memorable with her elegant and comforting interviewing style, turned 78 (October 17) today.

Who is Simi Garewal

In the plainest terms, Simi Garewal is a former actor, writer, director, and producer who created the benchmark for interviewing the most elusive personalities on her chat show Rendezvous With Simi Garewal.

Born in Punjab's Ludhiana on October 17, 1947, Simi Garewal's real name is Simrita Garewal. She comes from a distinguished Punjabi Sikh family with strong military and aristocratic connections on both sides of her family.

Her links to Hindi cinema or Bollywood stems from her relationship with writer and singer Pamela Chopra, wife of legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra. Simi Garewal's mother Darshi was Pamela Chopra's father's sister.

From Mera Naam Joker, Siddhartha, Karz, to Aranyer Din Ratri, Simi Garewal was part of some of the most iconic Indian films as an actor.

But what made the Lady In White a household name and a force to reckon with on Indian TV in the late 1990s was her chat show Rendezvous With Simi Garewal that ran on Star World India, a channel targeted at the English-speaking audiences in the country, for 140 episodes across five seasons between 1997 to 2005.

According to her Instagram bio, Simi Garewal is "fascinated by the complexity of humans". Makes sense.

What Made Rendezvous With Simi Garewal A Cut Above The Rest

If you want to know the essence of what Rendezvous With Simi Garewal is all about, its title song holds the key.

"Just let your thoughts
And dreams unfold
Let's talk of love
Of tales, untold...
Speak! So I can see your soul...
Speak! So I can see your soul"

One may argue that Simi Garewal's personal and social association may perhaps have helped her get some of the most introverted public figures to appear on her show. Even then, Rendezvous With Simi Garewal was a masterclass in how to get your guest to bare their soul without making it uncomfortable, icky or controversial for them.

It was that comfort and the rapport one shared with Simi Garewal that made those personalities open up to the host in a never-before-seen way possible, often not just skimming through the surface of the scandalous waters, but also delving into them.

The set, the lighting, and even the pitch and volume of Simi Garewal's voice would be at an optimum level, adding to the calm and quiet of the environment. It was more a conversation than an interview.

After all, Rendezvous With Simi Garewal was the first of its kind, the one that walked so that Karan Johar's Koffee With Karan might fly (conjecture, controversy and cattiness notwithstanding).

Who's Who From Different Walks Of Life

Rendezvous With Simi Garewal hosted renowned names from every possible sphere of life - actors, composers, cricketers, the erstwhile royals, entrepreneurs, and politicians, both Indian and international.

Amitabh Bachchan, Rata Tata, Rekha, Rajmata Gayatri Devi, J Jayalalithaa, Zeenat Aman, Aishwarya Rai, Wasim Akram, Vikram Bhatt, Benazir Bhutto, Waheeda Rehman, Kumar Mangalam Birla, and more went on the show.

As big as these names were, they were also a bit of a recluse. But with Simi Garewal as the interviewer, these bigshots spoke like they had never before and also on certain thorny and difficult topics.

Rendezvous: Ren-dez-vus vs Raun-day-voo

Simi Garewal must also be lauded for introducing the foreign and the unpronounceable word rendezvous to the viewers of Indian television.

When the title card of the show would appear with a flourish on Star World, a voice would assist us to understand how this alien term was actually pronounced.

And yet, most of us ignorants continued to wrongly pronounce the term as ren-dez-vus for a really long time. Eventually, we found out that rendezvous was pronounced as raun-day-voo, with a light emphasis on day, similar to how 'they' is uttered.

Simi Garewal: The Personality

Before Rendezvous With Simi Garewal, she did another show It's A Woman's World and after it she did, Simi Selects India's Most Desirable. But neither had the impact as large as Rendezvous With Simi Garewal.

Simi Garewal got so many public figures on her show, but no one has been able to get her on theirs. Even Karan Johar hasn't managed that feat. The filmmaker, however, himself appeared on Rendezvous With Simi Garewal with Kajol, his friend and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai star.

Simi Garewal has adapted to changing times.

A regular presence on social media, Simi Garewal is most active on X and Instagram where she keeps posting about her thoughts and sharing clips from Rendezvous With Simi Garewal. She has over 300,000 friends and followers across X, Instagram, and Facebook.

Simi Garewal also interacts with her fans through her website which has pretty much all the information that one would want about her. But what about the soul of the one who made some of the high profile personalities speak their heart out?

The Lady in White is as much an enigma as some of her guests.