Starting her career as a theatre artist, she got her big break in the Tamil film Kalidas (1931) though she was credited in three films before 1931 in Kovalan (1929), Usha Sundari (1930), and Rajeshwari (1930). A list celebrating these actresses cannot do justice to the brilliance that these women brought to the Tamil silver screen.Ĭonsidered the first actress of Tamil cinema, Rajalakshmi was the first to foray into films in Madras in the 1930s. Leading ladies have established their magnificence in Tamil cinema and many of them worked concurrently in Telugu and Hindi cinema. Madras city was the beehive of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam film industries in the early days and attracted aspiring actors, actresses, and technicians to the hustle-bustle of its studios. Madhavan in Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022) and worked in Gulmohar (2023), both of which earned her critical acclaim.Tamil Cinema has been a torchbearer of Indian cinema which carved its place amidst the burgeoning cinema in Hindi and Telugu. In 2019, she was featured opposite Rajinikanth in Karthik Subbaraj's Petta which became the highest grossing film of her career. In 2008, she made a comeback to Tamil cinema with Vaaranam Aayiram which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Following the success of the 2004 sci fi film New, Simran became more selective about the projects she pursued during a time period that coincided with the birth of her two children. In Telugu, Simran starred in a series of commercially successful films Samarasimha Reddy (1999), Kalisundam Raa (2000) and Narasimha Naidu (2001). The same year she also appeared in two blockbuster comedy films Pammal K. In 1998, Rediff called her 'one of Tamil cinema's top female draws.' In 2002, Simran played the mother of an adopted 9-year-old daughter in Kannathil Muthamittal and received her first Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actress the following year. In 2000, she played the role of an antagonist in Parthen Rasithen and a family girl who falls in premarital agreement in Priyamaanavale both went on to become commercial and critical successes. In 1999, Simran received critical praise in the Tamil films Thulladha Manamum Thullum and Vaali, establishing herself as the most successful actress in Tamil cinema at the time. (1997) and Nerrukku Ner (1997) which was followed by a string of commercial successes early in her career. She won the inaugural Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South for her work in V. Subsequently, she made her debut in South Indian cinema through the Malayalam film Indraprastham (1996) and Kannada film Simhada Mari (1997). She achieved early success with Tere Mere Sapne (1996).

Simran joined the Indian film industry after being noticed as an anchor in the show Superhit Muqabla.

Top tamil actress 2000