Ad'dicted to the big screen!

Almost every movie buff has witnessed this advertisement issued in public interest — the ‘No Smoking’ campaign before a movie kickstarts in any theatre. Remember the ad that shows a girl sitting next to her father, who is seen coughing with a cigarette in hand, watching television? In the background are the words, “khushi kisko nahi chahiye…”. The child artiste who was seven years old when she shot for the campaign, is now among the most popular models and television actresses with at least 150 commercials to her credit, a couple of Hindi films and half a dozen Hindi teleserials too. Actress Simran Natekar, 16, who is currently in tenth standard, makes her debut in Kannada with Kajal. Benguluru Chronicle speaks to this small wonder, who lets us in on why she chose a south Indian film, and more.

“Yes, that’s me, I am sketching a picture when the father enters home, and then the advertisement continues. I was seven when I did that ad without really understanding what I was doing. I did exactly what I was told. In fact, the advertisement went on air after several years, and now it is everywhere,” says Simran Natekar.

The young actress went on to feature in several commercials including one with Bollywood actress Kajal for a soup mix. She also did a couple of Hindi films; Qaidi Band from the Yash Raj banner, where she played the daughter of a minister, and then in Dawat-E-Ishq in which she is seen as Aditya Roy Kapoor’s sister. She has also done a few Gujarati movies and a few Hindi tele-serials like Balika Vadhu and Laado.

With a pretty good run in the entertainment industry, what made Simran travel down south? The actress reveals: “After I watched Bahubali, I decided to act in a South Indian movie. This is when I was offered the role in Kannada movie Kajal. I was interested in being a part of it. I do not know the language, and I am keen on learning Kannada. I am looking forward to working as well as learning the language, culture and tradition of this wonderful state,” she adds.

In Kajal, Simran plays the role of an NRI girl who lands in a village from the US, and falls in love with a poor village lad. It has a very earthy shade to the interesting tale, she explains.

Though she started as early as seven years of age, she barely recollects her initial days as a child artiste, as it was managed by her parents. She recalls that she decided to become an actress when she was around 12 years old, and started taking things seriously by giving auditions. “After school, I would go to Andheri along with my parents for auditions and with their support, I could study as well as pursue my passion — acting,” Simran shares.

Juggling studies and shooting, she loves relaxing to her favourite songs and watching movies. The shooting for Kajal is scheduled in the coming weeks, and Simran has her days full, for her Kannada debut.