MUMBAI: So she wowed everyone at the iEmmys. Her outfit was all the rage. But Simone Singh's Emmys experience goes much deeper than all this.
Going to the international event was also a milestone, one where Simone represented her country among the cr?me of the television world - and was suitably awed with the regulated nature of the awards proceedings.
She reminisces, "The Emmys function was systematic and handled on a professional level. I went for a rehearsal the day before, where I went through the motions of my coming on to the stage and presenting an award. One can also rehearse with the camera and the tele-prompter if one wants to. They are, after all, years ahead when it comes organising these events."
Simone points out a big difference between Indian awards and international ones. "We have song and dance items even in award functions, which they don't. They are more experienced when it comes to managing the entire stage spectacle," she stresses.
Simone Singh poses at the International Emmys awards function at Manhattan in New York, USA
For a friendly person like Simone, socialising was also not difficult. She was sitting with corporate media biggies like Alfred Kahn from 4 Kids Entertainment, Sonya Leszcynski from MTV Networks International, Paul Zilk, Laurine Garaude and Arthur Schweitzer from Reed MIDEM and Caroline Petit representing the United Nations.
The luncheon and evening cocktails also turned out to be quite interesting.
"At the table where I was seated, guests left their end of table to come to mine and introduced themselves. I had an interesting conversation with Arthur Schweitzer, the Frenchman seated beside me about France, because I love that place" Simone gushes.
"Then, of course, I had this girly chat session with UK actor Joanna Lumley. I was also quite keen to meet Sarah Jessica Parker because I follow Sex and The City regularly. But she was already on stage before I went backstage and she left soon after that, so I missed her," she explains.
Simone says the Emmys was a great opportunity for her to meet people from different countries and culture
Even in the presence of so many important foreigners from around the world, Simone held her own. She didn't feel any nervousness about going on stage at all. "Why, just two nights ago, I had hosted the Indian Telly Awards 2003. Why would I be scared of the Emmys?" she asks.
Simone says, "I had a great time talking to different people from various cultures. But I didn't feel self-conscious about being an Indian among all these foreigners. The funny thing is everyone there was a foreigner. It was an international awards function and it had guests from countries like Austria, Belgium, Cuba and all over the world."
Simone explains that she was determined to impress the audiences at the iEmmys. "I was representing my country and this was my way of showing them how well-spoken and cultured Indians are," she says emphatically.
If all that's been reported about her at iEmmys is to be believed, she sure did make an impact!