When Simi Garewal Explained Why Rendezvous Was Never Renewed: 'I Cannot Express Myself In Hindi'

Simi Garewal is celebrating her 75th birthday today. The actress has created a lasting legacy with her iconic English talk show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal. The show that premiered on Star World in 2001 ran for five successful seasons and featured 140 episodes. Celebrities like the legendary Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, Rekha, and Hrithik Roshan and Sussanne Khan graced the show. However, as the years passed, the show never returned for a renewal.

In an old interview with Filmfare, Simi Garewal shared insights into why her talk show never saw a revival and the changing landscape of English television in India. Simi explained, “English channels have minuscule budgets because they are niche. Slowly but steadily, English is now becoming a dinosaur on Indian television. Also, Hindi channels have a far wider reach. The only challenge is that I cannot express myself in Hindi as well as I do in English, but I am working on that.”

Despite her efforts to transition into the Hindi-speaking television market, Simi Garewal ultimately never made a return to the small screen. Simi did briefly host a show titled Simi Selects India’s Most Desirable on the same channel, Star World. The program brought eligible celebrity bachelors into the limelight and offered a unique twist to her previous talk show persona. Regrettably, this venture couldn’t gain the same traction as Rendezvous. Simi reflected on the experience, saying, “I did not receive the desired response for it. Audiences were used to seeing me in my previous Rendezvous avatar. So they just could not accept a change in my image, which was more relaxed, light, and fun in desirable. There was so much opposition to the show that it was very disheartening.”

Recently, Simi Garewal delighted fans by sharing a captivating throwback clip of her interview with Farah Khan and her husband Shirish Kunder from her talk show, Rendezvous. In the caption, Simi wrote, “RENDEZVOUS GEMS! For someone who is always entertaining and goofing about. It is rare isn’t it to see such PDA from Farah Khan Kunder?! Well, this is her soft and romantic side! A gem!”

Simi Garewal’s accented Hindi proved to be a hindrance in her pursuit of becoming a successful actress which led her to take on secondary roles in films. Her notable works include Do Badan (1966), Saathi (1968), Mera Naam Joker (1970), Siddhartha (1972), Karz (1980), and the Punjabi film Udeekaan.