Sometime back, while watching the movie Mary Kom, a dialogue — ‘Women become stronger after marriage’ — caught the attention of Navya Nair. She could relate to that sentence as she too felt that marriage and motherhood changed her so much. The oozing confidence is evident when she talks about life in Mumbai and her fusion dance project ‘Shivoham’, choosing each word carefully.
“Before motherhood, I had a feeling that unmarried women are the strongest. However, that changed after my son was born. I became a stronger, responsible person, who is open to new things around,” says Navya.
“Before marriage, I was a very shy person with mood swings. But, now I can balance that and have become a better and stronger person,” she adds.
Undoubtedly, Navya says that it was the strength drawn from experiences that encouraged her to launch ‘Shivoham’, a fusion dance project, with 15 team members.
Navya explains, “When I was busy with movies, I had little time for dance. In fact, I didn’t dream to do such a project. Now, this is my dream and I find time to pursue it.”
“I practise two hours daily and I feel happy when I dance. I have the confidence to coordinate the team and I’m ready to face difficulties. For instance, the night before the first performance of ‘Shivoham’, our singer got a throat problem, but I didn’t panic,” she says, adding the show was successful.
Shivoham is her effort to popularise Bharatanatyam and hence, she has designed the project, giving emphasis on music.
“Classical dance is still alien to a few. Through Shivoham, I am trying to attract that segment too. Music plays an integral part in this creation. Certain emotions of Shiva are conveyed to the audience through instrumental sounds. At the same time, the whole dance is done without disturbing the beauty and purity of Bharatanatyam. All I can say is that I have portrayed Bharatanatyam in a different way,” explains Navya.
She will be performing in Thiruvananthapuram on November 11 at the grand finale of Surya festival. “We improvise Shivoham each time, but the core content remains the same though,” says Navya, who lives in Mumbai now.
Did Mumbai life change her? “Yes,” she says. “As a celebrity, I enjoy the freedom this city offers. Besides, it changed my fashion-sense and made me a modern woman to some extent. Though Kochi is fast-growing, I had no chance to live there. I was at my place — Muthukulam. I would go back to my hometown after shooting. I never had a chance to have a closer look at the developments in fashion there. My fashion perspective improved after coming here,” she adds.
She also likes the lifestyle of Mumbaikars. “They are very relaxed people who enjoy life. More than savings, they prefer investing money in things that make them and their family happy. They go out on holidays and create memories. I love that aspect. When we grew old, there should be something that would bring tears to our eyes, right,” she asks.
As of now, Navya is quite engaged with her family life and dance. Quizzed about her son, she replies, “He looks like his father and behaves like his mother. He is so loving and romantic,” she adds. Unlike other heroines, Navya appeared in films after marriage.
In 2012, she had acted in Scene Onnu Nammude Veedu, but it didn’t perform well in box office. However, her Drishya, the Kannada remake of Malayalam movie Drishyam, was a success.
Can we see her back on screen soon? “Yes. I am listening to scripts in Malayalam and Kannada. If a good, tempting role comes, I will definitely do it.”
