Navya Nair
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Navya Nair (born Dhanya Veena; 14 October 1985) is an Indian actress who has appeared predominantly in
Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...
along with a few
Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
and
Tamil language Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...
films.


Early and personal life

Navya Nair was born Dhanya Veena on 14 October 1985 in Muthukulam, a village near Haripad in Alappuzha,
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
. Her parents are Mr. Raju, a telecom employee, and Veena, a school teacher. She performed well in school before focusing on a film career. She learned dance at a young age, trained in classical dance and has won the Kalathilakam title as a student of Bethany Balikamadam Girls High School, Nangiarkulangara, Haripad in the Alappuzha District School Youth Festival. She holds a BA in English. She married Santhosh Menon, a Mumbai settled Malayali, on 21 January 2010 and the couple have a son, Sai Krishna born the same year. Malayalam film Director K. Madhu is her Maternal Uncle. Director Sibi Malayil preferred Navya as her screen name because he believed Dhanya was inappropriate for an actress.


Career


Debut and success (2001–2005)

Navya Nair started her film career with ''Ishtam'' in 2001, opposite Dileep directed by Sibi Malayil. The film was a commercial success for its sheer humour and fresh subject. Critics describe her as the surprise of the film. She then acted in '' Mazhathullikkilukkam'' (2002) with Dileep, a commercially successful film. She then appeared in ''Kunjikoonan'' (2002), which also became a box office hit. Her next release was the 2002 Malayalam film '' Nandanam'' directed by Ranjith and starring Prithviraj Sukumaran. Her portrayal of Balamani, an orphan who works as a maid and is an ardent devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan, received critical acclaim. She bagged several awards for her role, notably receiving her first Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress. She soon became a household name. Over the years, she has been remembered for her role as Balamani. Her other releases of the year were ''Kalyanaraman'''','' alongside Dileep and
Kunchacko Boban Kunchacko Boban (born 2 November 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in the Malayalam film industry. He is referred to as Chackochan, and during the early 2000s, he was called "chocolate boy" because of his romantic image. He ...
which became a commercial success and ''Chathurangam'' starring Mohanlal which was a failure at the box office. In 2003, '' Vellithira,'' '' Ammakilikkoodu'' with Prithviraj Sukumaran and '' Gramophone'' starring Dileep and Meera Jasmine were box office failures. The soundtracks to ''Vellithira'' and ''Gramaphone'' were popular. However, this year's '' Pattanathil Sundaran'' with Dileep was a hit. She played the role of the wife of a ration shop owner who accepted a job as a clerk in the Secretariat against her husband's desires. In 2004, she played a minor role in '' Sethurama Iyer CBI''. She then had two releases '' Jalolsavam'' by Sibi Malayil and '' Chathikkatha Chanthu'' by Rafi Mecartin, starring
Jayasurya Jayasurya (born 31 August 1978) is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, and impressionist who works in Malayalam films. He has appeared in more than 100 films and has won several awards, including a National Film Awards, National Fi ...
, with the latter becoming a box office success. She played Vasumathi who seeks out the man who sent her some letters accidentally, but she believes he did so on purpose. Her encounters with Salim Kumar in the movie are still popular. She made her Tamil debut with '' Azhagiya Theeye,'' generally received positive reviews. However, the film was a commercial failure. In 2005, she appeared in '' Immini Nalloraal, Deepangal Sakshi'' and '' Sarkar Dada''. All of which were critical and commercial failures. Her other release of the year, '' Pandippada'' directed by Rafi Mecartin became commercially successful at the box office. She then appeared in the Tamil film '' Chidambarathil Oru Appasamy''. S. R. Ashok Kumar of ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' described her as "the beleaguered wife who steals the show." Her portrayal of Saira Hussain in Dr. Biju's directorial debut ''Saira'' and her role as Karunya in Alberrt Antoni's '' Kanne Madanguka'' earned her the second Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress.


Expansion into Tamil and Kannada cinema (2006–2014)

She had three Tamil releases in 2006 '' Pasa Kiligal'', '' Amirtham,'' and the National Award-winning '' Aadum Koothu''. Her Malayalam films at this time, ''Kalabham,'' '' Pathaaka'', '' Ali Bhai'' and '' Kichamani MBA'' received negative reception. Her next film '' Maya Kannadi'' which Cheran directed and starred in, received mixed reviews overall but praise for her role. She appeared in '' Sila Nerangalil'' directed by Jayaraj which opened to a positive reception and was a box office success. She made her Kannada debut opposite Darshan in '' Gaja'', which was a box-office hit. Films like ''SMS'', '' Calenda'' r, and '' Banaras'' were poorly received, but her performances were praised nonetheless. Her Kannada film, '' Namyajamanru'' (2009) alongside Vishnuvardhan opened to positive reviews from critics. A critic from ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' described her as "Navya Nair at her best." She starred in ''Bhagyada Balegara'' opposite Shiva Rajkumar, receiving praise for her performance. She appeared in the anthology film '' Kerala Cafe'' (2009). In 2010, her films were ''Drona'' and '' Yugapurushan'' with Mammootty, the Tamil film '' Rasikkum Seemane'' and '' Sadgamaya'' with Suresh Gopi. She then appeared in ''Boss'' with Darshan, but the film could not repeat the success of their previous collaboration. '' Scene Onnu Nammude Veedu'' was her last Malayalam film before going on hiatus. In 2014, she starred in '' Drishya'' along with V. Ravichandran.


Return to cinema post-marriage (2021–present)

After marriage, Nair took a break from appearing in cinema and started appearing in television programs. She is currently one of the judges on the reality show Kidilam with Mukesh and
Rimi Tomy Rimi Tomy is an Indian playback singer, carnatic musician, television host and actress. She started her career by anchoring music programs in television and sang her first song "Chingamasam Vannu Chernnal" in the 2002 film '' Meesa Madhavan'' ...
. In her comeback film, '' Drishya 2'' (2021), she reprised her role as Seetha, which received critical acclaim like its predecessor and was a decent hit at the box office. Her comeback film in Malayalam became '' Oruthee'' (2022), directed by V. K. Prakash, and she was cast with Vinayakan and Saiju Kurup plays Radhamani, a middle-class woman and a ticket conductor on a boat whose husband is abroad and who has a daughter, thriving from the helplessness in society. The film, which dealt with true events, received critical acclaim for her performance.


Filmography


Television

*''All TV shows are in Malayalam language ''


Awards and nominations

*2002 : '' Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress'' for '' Nandanam'' *2002 : '' Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam'' for '' Nandanam'' *2005 : '' Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress'' for '' Kanne Madanguka'' & '' Saira'' *2022 : Nominated '' Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam'' for '' Oruthee'' *2023 : Nominated ''Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam'' for '' Janaki Jaane''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, Navya Living people Indian film actresses Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Kerala State Film Award winners Actresses from Kerala Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actors from Alappuzha district Filmfare Awards South winners Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award 21st-century Indian actresses 1985 births Kerala Film Critics Awards winners