Vijay’s heroine and Simran’s sister, Monal Naval died without realising her biggest dream

After her schooling in Delhi, she attended college in Mumbai. During that period, Monal worked as a model, participated in fashion shows, and took part in beauty contests, eventually winning the Miss Bombay title, which paved the way for her entry into cinema. She also attended an acting school named Kishore Namit Kapoor Academy in Mumbai. Besides Simran, she had two more siblings: Jyoti and Sumeet.

Monal Naval’s dream of acting with Shah Rukh Khan

A fan of Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Madhubala, and Madhuri Dixit, Monal Naval’s biggest dream when entering the film industry was to appear alongside Bollywood’s Baadshah one day. “I joined films because of Shah Rukh Khan! When I was in the seventh standard, I told my mom I wanted to work in a film with Shah Rukh. But after entering the industry, I know how much I have to slog to reach that level. I will have to do at least fifty films to get there,” she told Rediff in a 2001 interview.

Monal was renowned actor Simran’s younger sister. (Credit: Instagram/@actorsimranofficial)

Although she made her acting debut in the Shivarajkumar-led Indradhanush (2000) and subsequently made her Tamil debut with Paarvai Ondre Pothume (2001), it was director PA Arun Prasad’s Badri — where she appeared as one of the two heroines opposite actor-turned-politician “Thalapathy” Vijay, playing his girlfriend who eventually breaks up with him — that earned Monal recognition. She subsequently appeared in movies such as Lovely (2001), Samudhiram (2001), Maa Tujhhe Salaam (2002), Charlie Chaplin (2002), and Pesadha Kannum Pesume (2002).

Monal Naval’s sudden death and Simran’s allegations

Monal died by suicide on April 14, 2002, at her residence in Chennai, according to news agency PTI. Although she was rushed to a hospital, she couldn’t be saved.

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Following her death, Simran held a press conference, alleging that Monal was driven to suicide by her former boyfriend, a dancer named Prasanna. Claiming they were in a live-in relationship, Simran alleged that her sister took the extreme step after he ended their relationship.

She further alleged that a famous actor and her manager — who was the first to reach Monal’s residence after learning about the suicide — stole her makeup kit worth Rs 50,000 and a personal diary that contained evidence of Monal’s relationship with Prasanna. However, the allegation could not be proven.

Hence, the exact reason for her suicide remains unknown to date.

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Prasanna, whom Simran accused of driving her sister to suicide, later became a widely renowned choreographer, earning numerous awards. Monal, however, was eventually forgotten by the rest of the world. But Simran still remembers her fondly and occasionally shares social media posts in her memory.

Why Simran didn’t attend Monal’s funeral

In an interview with JFW Binge last year, Simran admitted that she didn’t attend Monal Naval’s funeral because she couldn’t bear to see her sister’s body. “I didn’t even attend her funeral because I couldn’t see her like that. Many people think that I just didn’t come to the funeral. That’s not the reason. How can I see my sister like that? That’s my personal feeling. I couldn’t see her like that. I could not,” she said, emotionally struggling for words.

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Shockingly, actor Kunal, who played the hero opposite Monal in her first and last Tamil films — Paarvai Ondre Pothume and Pesadha Kannum Pesume, respectively — also reportedly died by suicide over half a decade after she died in 2008.

The long-delayed Tamil thriller Aadhikkam (2005), which was released posthumously, became Monal Naval’s final film.