Sister act!

Rajitha

The buzz within the Tamil industry is that Simran, at this point sharing the top berth in the roster of Tamil film heroines alongside Jyotika, is working towards completing signed and pending engagements, with a view to matrimony.

No worries, though -- the star's sibling, Monal, will attempt to fill the vacuum created by her successful elder sister.

Monal, who does bear more than a passing resemblance to her more famous sister, is currently busy with the first schedule of her debut film, Paarvai Ondru Pothumae, in and around Madras.

Cast opposite her is Kunal, the Pune boy who debuted opposite Sonali Bendre in the Internet love story, Kaadhalar Dinam, under Kadhir's direction.

Paarvai... will be directed by Muralikrishna, an ad filmmaker who promises, for this film, a trendy young look and feel. Other debutants in this film include Bharani, who will compose the music, and Sreesankar, the well-known Malayalam cinematographer who will debut in Tamil.

With this, the trend in Tamil to throw up sister acts continues. From the days of the Padmini-Ragini combine, to the Ambika-Radha and Radhika-Nirosha sisters, heroines have tended to keep it in the family. Of more recent vintage is Jyotika Sadanah, sister of Nagma, who entered the Tamil industry after a brief reign at the top by her elder sister.

Interestingly, Nagma's other sister, Roshni, also had a brief foray in Tamil films, appearing in one film opposite Karthik.

Simran for her part is on a high over the last couple of years. The actress who made her screen debut in ABCL's Tere Mere Sapne (remember her Aankh mare number?) subsequently moved over to Kodambakkam, attracted notice through her pairing with Prabhu Deva in VIP, and went on to do films opposite all the leading men of the current generation -- Vijay, Ajith, Surya, Prashanth, et al.

Over the last couple of years, she has to her credit superhits like Thullatha Manamum Thullum, Jodi and Vaalee. She has also appeared in one Malayalam film, with Mammootty heading the star cast.

Even as she cut down on her film commitments in recent times, Simran landed a prestigious project when she was cast as female lead by K Balachander, doyen of Tamil directors, for what will be his landmark 100th film. KB's latest, which comes after a considerable gap (his last was Kalki) is also scheduled to go on the floors soon.