Belle belle!

Manpriya Singh

It’s hard to miss Simi Chahal otherwise, as she walks into the hotel lobby sporting statement sneakers, a neon jacket and hoop earrings. Though it’s kind of tough to recognise her too since we’ve mostly seen her play the Punjabi village belle, clad in floral salwar kameez and sometimes with even a scarf covering her head. In her upcoming movie Chal Mere Putt, scheduled for a July 26 release, this ‘mutiyaar’ shifts base to the UK, primarily where the film is based. “Everybody plays the ‘putt’ in this film. I play Savvy, a sorted mature girl,” she talks of the film, a light-hearted comedy that also highlights the plight of illegal immigrants living in the city of Birmingham.

An incredible journey

It was only three years ago that Pollywood happened, although her long list of films will easily have you believe otherwise. So much so that the lady herself would like to pause briefly and count the films on fingertips. “It’s my ninth film and I will complete three years this year,” and with that she points to a journey that’s been as unlikely as incredible.

“I was studying in Canada when Bambukat was offered and I was like why not?” A film where she plays the unassuming dusky girl, not treated fairly (pun intended) when compared to her fairer sister. The rest is history, the one where she just did not expect or anticipate being an actor. The script matters the most though, especially since things are changing in Punjabi cinema and girls are not mere props. For reference, she cites, “Kismat was amazing and Guddiyan Patole is the biggest example of that. That movie was totally riding on Sonam’s shoulders.”

Fashion & all that

Though not at all a brand-conscious person, she is comfort-conscious. “It sounds clichéd but comfort figures prominently in my scheme of things. Rest I pick up whatever I like. I could really sway from one end to the other too. Like one day it could be a western outfit and the next, it could be a simple suit.” As long as it figures in her range of comfort zone.

I want to work with…

Having ticked off Amrinder Gill, Ammy Virk and Gippy Grewal in her short career, she next wants to work with Diljit Dosanjh. Well, for reasons both obvious and not so obvious. “I think our energies would match. I absolutely loved him in Punjab 1984 and I like almost every song of his.” Diljit, just in case you are listening?

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