Pearly Whites

As the elevator doors leading to her sixth floor south Mumbai penthouse swing open, it8217;s time for a walk in the clouds. From the couch ...

As the elevator doors leading to her sixth floor south Mumbai penthouse swing open, it8217;s time for a walk in the clouds. From the couch at her doorstep to the pristine marble floor, dropping in on Simi Garewal requires some serious white balance.

At the entrance, the benign lady of the house stares out of a self-indulgent life-size portrait. Inside, the colour fixation persists8212;from the sofas and walls, right down to Diva, her one-year-old pooch. A single object lends the only element of nostalgia in the apartment8212;a framed photograph of Rajiv Gandhi.

But, far from the bloodless image she dons for her chat show, Garewal is lounging in a pair of jeans, sans make-up, her trademark locks contained in a bun.
Simi Garewal8217;s taking a break.
Following a three-episode finale, her Rendezvous With Simi Garewal will disappear from TV radars for eight months. 8216;8216;I8217;ve been in the editing room non-stop since December, I need to chillax,8217;8217; says the sleep-deprived host.

For six years, sniffling celebrities have punctuated an hour every Sunday night. But Garewal has often been pulled up for her tepid line of questioning. 8216;8216;

Has grilling ever revealed the real person?8217;8217; she retorts. 8216;8216;It8217;s purely an ego trip for the host.8217;8217; And for the first time, diplomacy takes a break. Like, when she talks of the one celebrity who8217;s missed her couch treatment, despite repeated overtures. 8216;8216;I just couldn8217;t get Sachin Tendulkar. Then I heard that he charges money,8217;8217; she shrugs.

And, according to her, the inevitable has now happened in the world of talk shows8212;an invasion of wannabes. 8216;8216;Shobhaa8217;s De show Power Trip on Sahara One is a copy of mine. She8217;s been my guest, and the format I follow is what she8217;s trying to do now,8217;8217; claims Garewal.

Simi Says

8226; She wore black for the premiere of Sanjay Leela Bhansali8217;s Black
8226; Out of 150 guests, six have wept on her show
8226; The one serial she8217;s always up to speed with is Kyunki Saas Bhi8230;
8226; She8217;s considering approaching the History Channel, to direct biographies for them
8226; In the 1980s, she was the sixth person in India to acquire an Internet connection
8226; She has a Mensa-certified IQ. Though she says she doesn8217;t remember her quotient

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As for the rest of the competition, Garewal8217;s generous, if slightly condescending. While she admits to a weekly cup of Koffee With Karan, she says that Rendezvous8230; is a tough act to follow, 8216;8216;It8217;s hard for people like Karan, because there8217;s already been a widely viewed show before theirs.8217;8217;

The self-assurance comes from a career of fire-fighting. For as long as her show8217;s been on air, Garewal8217;s survived crippling reviews. Yet not only does she dismiss the negative, she even alleges that it8217;s part of a smear campaign orchestrated by the competition.

But that8217;s as unhinged as Garewal gets. Even now, after an entire night of caffeine-sustained editing, there8217;s little that can irritate her, except for one topic8212;herself. 8216;8216;I8217;m absolutely unable to reveal my most intimate thoughts, and I admire people who can do it,8217;8217; she confesses. Invites to be a guest on other talk shows pour in, the latest from Johar: She declines every time.

The most important person in her life is sister Amrita, or Googie. The protective older sibling is Garewal8217;s closest aide and confidante. Amrita screens every phone call, takes care of appointments, and works as her most trusted gatekeeper. On her sabbatical, the sisters will travel together on a round-the-world trip. To Garewal, her show8217;s more than just a programme, it8217;s her legacy.

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The historical relevance became clear when she visited the Rajiv Gandhi memorial in Delhi a few years ago and realised 8216;8216;80 per cent8217;8217; of his quotes there were attributed to her documentary, India8217;s Rajiv. 8216;8216;My work reveals the human story. It8217;ll show the future generation how these people lived and laughed.8217;8217;

The one person most of us will probably never really know is Garewal herself. Heck, we8217;ll never even find out how old the lady really is 50 is the closest guess.