Navya Nair (born Dhanya Veena; 14 October 1985) is an Indian actress who has appeared predominantly in Malayalam cinema along with a few Kannada and Tamil language films.
Early and personal life Navya Nair was born as Dhanya Veena on the 14th of October 1985 at Cheppad in the Alappuzha district of Kerala to Raju Nair, a telecom employee, and Veena, a school teacher. Her brother is Rahul R. Nair, who lives in Dubai. Filmmaker K. Madhu is her maternal uncle.
Navya studied at St. Mary's Girls' High School in Kayamkulam. She learned classical dance at a young age and has won the Kalathilakam title as a student of Bethany Balikamadam Girls' High School, Nangiarkulangara, in the District School Youth Festival. She then studied at M.S.M. Higher Secondary School in Kayamkulam, where her mother was a teacher. She holds a B.A. degree in English and an MBA in Finance.
Film director Sibi Malayil preferred Navya as her screen name because he believed Dhanya was inappropriate for an actress.
Navya married Santhosh Menon, a Mumbai-settled Malayali, on 21 January 2010, and the couple have a son, Sai Krishna, born the same year.
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 described 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 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, 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 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, Calendar, 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 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.
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
Malayalam films Year Title Role Notes 2001 Ishtam Anjana Pillai 2002 Mazhathullikkilukkam Sophie Kunjikoonan Chembakam Nandanam Balamani Kalyanaraman Gowri Chathurangam Sherin Mathew 2003Vellithira Thatha Gramophone Pooja Ammakilikkoodu Akhila Pattanathil Sundaran Radhamani Sundaresan 2004 Sethurama Iyer CBI Rachana Jalolsavam Geetha Chathikkatha Chanthu Vasumathi, Ambika Dual roleParayamHerselfCameo appearance 2005 Immini Nalloraal Sneha Deepangal SakshiKrishnaveniPandippada Meena Karuppusamy Sarkar Dada Sandhya Kanne Madanguka Kaarunya Bhagyanathan Saira Saira Hussain 2006KalabhamSivakamiPathaaka Ashitha Muhammed 2007Ali Bhai Chenthamara Kichamani MBA Shivani Menon 2008SMS Indumathi 2009Banaras Devu Calendar Kochurani Ivar Vivahitharayal Herself Cameo appearanceKerala Cafe Sheela Johnykutty 2010 Drona 2010 Mithra AntarjanamYugapurushan Savitri Antarjanam, SaradhaDual roleSadgamaya Yamuna 2012 Scene Onnu Nammude VeeduManju 2022 Oruthee Radhamani 2023 Janaki Jaane Janaki 2025 Paathirathri Probation SI Jancy Kurian
Other language films Year Title Role Language Notes2004Azhagiya Theeye Nandhini Tamil 2005Chidambarathil Oru Appasamy Thenmozhi Elangovan 2006 Pasa Kiligal Maragatham Amirtham Amirtha Ramaswamy 2007 Maya Kannadi Maheswari 2008 Gaja Shwetha Kannada Sila Nerangalil Thamarai Chidambaram, Anjali Tamil Dual roleAadum KoothuManimegalaiRaman Thediya Seethai Senthamarai Guest appearance2009Namyajamanru Charulatha Kannada Bhagyada Balegara Cheluvi 2010Rasikkum Seemane Gayathri Tamil 2011 Boss Raani Kannada 2014 Drishya Seetha 2021 Drishya 2
Television All TV shows are in Malayalam language YearProgramRoleChannelRef2011-2012Dance DanceJudgeAsianet2013Bharthakanmarude ShradhakkuHost Judge2016-2017Laughing VillaHostSurya TV2018Onnum Onnum MoonuGuest (Episode 19)Mazhavil Manorama2019Comedy Nights with SurajGuest (Episode 33)Zee KeralamComedy Stars Season 2JudgeAsianet2021-2022Star MagicFlowers TV2021Mr & MrsGuest (Finale)Zee Keralam2022– 2023KidilamJudgeMazhavil Manorama2023Red CarpetGuest (Episode 500)Amrita TVStar Singer season 9Judge AsianetCelebrity judge for devotional round 2024SreshtabharathamDancerAmrita TVSpecial performance 2024-2025Super ShowJudgeZee Keralam
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