"No two actresses can be..." Simran on ‘Dabba Role’ remark and if it was about Jyothika

Veteran actress Simran, one of the top actresses in South India during the early 2000s', had recently got embroiled in a controversy. It arose from her “dabba role” statement, in which she narrated how she was shamed by an actress for playing “aunty” roles on screen. Simran had replied stating she would like to get such roles instead of opting for “dabba roles”, a comment that was assumed to be a subtle dig at her peer Jyotika who recently featured in Netflix’s Dabba Cartel.

In a recent interview with Hindustan Times, Simran addressed the controversy. Recalling the incident, she said, “Actresses, I think there are no friends in the industry. This incident just proved it. It stings so much when friends sting you. This person talked to me the next day — it wasn’t necessarily awkward, but the relationship isn’t going to be the same.”

Simran said her previous message had been driven by genuine upset, not malice. She said she likes playing mature characters: “It's not a bad thing to do aunty roles.” She also concluded that accepting such roles has been her mantra since the very beginning.

Although Simran never mentioned Jyotika’s name in plain words, the timing of her response and use of the term “dabba” made people connect some dots between her statement and Jyotika’s latest venture.