(May 10, 2026) For years, actress Simran Ashwini has lived between two contrasting worlds across continents. In Atlanta, where her family moved when she was younger, life unfolded through school, competitive swimming, suburban calm and a multicultural American upbringing. Mumbai, by contrast, introduced her to the unpredictability and creative intensity of India’s film industry through her producer mother, Ashwini Sidwani. Constantly moving between the United States and India shaped Simran into someone deeply adaptable, culturally fluid and observant, qualities that now inform both her life and her work as an emerging actor navigating international experiences alongside the acting world.
With her debut in the recently released OTT series Matka King, Simran is stepping into that world with an understanding of both the streaming space and a life far removed from the Indian entertainment industry.
Simran Ashwini on the sets of Matka King
Growing up between America and India
Born in Ahmedabad, Simran spent much of her early childhood in Mumbai before her family relocated to the United States for her father’s work. While her mother continued juggling projects in India, the family slowly built a life in Atlanta.
“My dad was already there for work, and then we slowly shifted,” she recalls in a chat with The Global Indian. “But because Mom’s work was in India, we kept travelling back and forth.”
That movement between countries became normal very early in her life. Instead of growing up with one fixed definition of home, Simran learned to adapt constantly — to changing environments and different cultures. The experience, she shares, quietly shaped her personality, making her more observant and open-minded.
Raised on a steady diet of Hindi films and ‘90s cinema, acting had always been part of her imagination growing up. She fondly remembers poring over film magazines with her sister and arguing over who got to pretend to be Kareena Kapoor or Rani Mukherjee. Irrfan Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and the films of that era formed some of her earliest cinematic memories.
But despite being surrounded by cinema through her mother’s work, Simran never rushed into acting professionally. Before stepping in front of the camera, she chose to understand filmmaking from behind the scenes. She worked as an assistant director and continuity AD on the 2023 Marathi film Ghar Banduk Biryani, produced by acclaimed filmmaker Nagraj Popatrao Manjule.
Stepping into ‘Matka King’
Her acting debut eventually came with Matka King, the period drama released on Amazon Prime Video in April 2026 and set in 1960s Mumbai. Created by Nagraj Popatrao Manjule and Abhay Koranne, the series traces the rise of an enterprising cotton trader who creates the gambling game ‘Matka’, transforming a space once reserved for the wealthy and elite. Produced by her mother Ashwini and featuring an ensemble cast, the series marked Simran’s first experience in front of the camera.
“The first scene I shot had everybody sitting together and I just froze for a second,” she remembers. “I looked around and suddenly forgot everything I knew about acting.”
What stayed with her most from the experience, however, was the sense of comfort the set gave her. “The word that kept coming to my mind was ‘safe’,” she observes. “People often say the industry doesn’t feel safe, but that set felt safe for me.”
Simran with director Nagraj Manjule and her co-star on the set of Matka King
She credits Manjule for helping her settle into the process. “He told everyone on set that I was new and that they should guide me. He really walked me through things patiently.”
Despite her film background, Simran is realistic about the industry and cautious about labels often attached to children whose parents are in the film industry. “I don’t call myself a ‘nepo kid’ because I’m nearly 30 and I didn’t get work easily,” she admits candidly. “If things were that easy, I would have already been doing lead roles at 21.”
Instead, she speaks repeatedly about sustainability through craft rather than visibility. “Stardom is at a different level,” she points out. “Right now, I’m trying to become an actor.”
The series, featuring acclaimed actors Vijay Varma, Sai Tamhankar, Gulshan Grover and Kritika Kamra — all known for their strong and diverse body of work across cinema and streaming platforms, has also been renewed for a second season currently in development.
Atlanta routines beyond the camera
Long before films entered the picture professionally, sports played a huge role in shaping Simran’s life. A national-level swimmer who represented Gujarat, swimming gave her discipline, focus and emotional balance from a very young age.
At one point, she even found herself choosing between academics and swimming — and picked the latter. “I chose sports,” she states matter-of-factly.
Even today, when she is in Atlanta, she continues to work as a swim instructor while also teaching at a Montessori school. A Sociology graduate from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, she says she enjoys having structure and routine. “I don’t like sitting idle,” she confesses. “I always need to be doing something.”
Learning across cultures and classrooms
Simran believes her schooling also played an important role in shaping the way she looks at life. An alumnus of Tridha, a Waldorf school in Mumbai known for its emphasis on experiential learning and creativity, Simran recalls that the environment at school was intentionally unconventional.
Students built their own furniture, shared meals, washed dishes together and learned to adapt. Even notebooks came without ruled lines. “The idea was that life doesn’t always come with lines,” she reflects. “You can be creative and free.”
That openness also extended into her home life as Simran describes her upbringing as unusually progressive, with conversations around relationships, identity and personal choices never treated as taboo. “There have never been barriers as my parents have always been very open-minded. We can discuss anything and everything with them without fear.”
Between Atlanta’s calm and Mumbai’s entertainment industry
Today, Simran continues to travel frequently between both countries though she spends more time in Mumbai pursuing acting opportunities.
What she enjoys about Atlanta is the slower pace attached to it. “We have a backyard, fruit trees, dogs, cats… it’s peaceful,” she notes, describing a life far removed from Mumbai’s cramped apartments and relentless energy.
Still, Mumbai now represents possibility in a completely different way. With more projects already lined up, including shoots that will take her to Istanbul next, Simran finds herself navigating two identities that continue to shape her equally: one rooted in the familiarity and stillness of Atlanta, the other slowly unfolding through the film and streaming industry in Mumbai.
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