Navya Nair, born as Dhanya Veena, is a South Indian actress who primarily works in Malyalam, Tamil and Kannada films. She is best known for her roles in the Malyalam comedy Mazhathullikkilukkam (2002), Nandanam (2002), and the Kannada drama Dhrishya (2014). In 2005, Navya won the Kerela State Film Award for Best Actress for her performances in the movies Kanne Madanguka and Saira.

Early Life
Navya is the daughter of Raju and Veena. Born on 14th October 1985, she was raised in Cheppad, a small village near Harrippad in Alleppey District. She began her schooling in Bethany Balikamadom High School, Nangiarkulangara and continued her education at M.S.M Secondary School where her mother was employed as a teacher. Her uncle K.Madhu, is a popular Malyalam director known for directing suspense and investigation thrillers. The actress has obtained both a B.A (Bachelor of Arts) in Literature and an M.B.A (Masters of Business Administration) while pursuing her dream of becoming a professional actress.

Personal Life
Navya married businessman Santhosh Menon on 21st January 2010. The couple has settled in Mumbai with son Sai Krishna who was born on 22nd November 2010.

Movie Career
Navya began her acting career while she was still at school with a role in the Malayalam drama Ishtam (2001). Starring alongside veteran Dileep as Anjana, Navya’s performance received a lukewarm response. She was then cast in the Malayalam comedy Mazhathullikkilukam (2002), which fared better at the box office. However, it was with her third film Nandanam (2002) that she received widespread acclaim for her performance. Essaying the character of Balamani, a young orphaned girl, Navya won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, Kerela State Award for Best Actress, and Asianet Award for the best actress. In the same year, she went on to star in several films including Kalyanaraman opposite Dileep.

In the next couple of years, Navya appeared in several Malayalam films such as Gramaphone (2003), Ammakilikkoodu (2004), Sethuram Iyer CBI (2004), and Jalolsavam, which also released in 2004. In the sme year she made her Tamil film debut with the romantic comedy Azhagiya Theeye, which received positive reviews.

The following year she appeared in Albert Antoni's maiden directorial venture Kanne Madanguka, essaying the role of Karunya. Impressing the critics with her performance, the actress won the Kerela State Film Award for her role in the movie. Banking on the success of Kanne Madanguka, she next starred in Saira (2005), the directorial debut of Dr. Biju. It was the opening film in the Tous Les Cinemas Du Monde at the 2007 Cannes International Film Festival and has since participated in 21 other international festivals held in Brazil, U.S.A, Israel, Russia, and Italy.

In 2006, he appeared in movies such as Pasa Kiligal, Pathaaka, and Kalabham. After finding success in Malayalam and Tamil cinema the actress then ventured in the Kannada film industry. In 2008, she made her debut in Kannada cinema with Gaja (2008), which went on to run for 175 days at the Box office and Navya was highly praised for her performance as well. The actress was next cast in the Tamil thriller Aadum Koothu (2009). The film was critically praised and won the National Film Award for best Tamil film: this exponentially boosted Navya's image in Tollywood. Post her marriage in 2010, Navya went on hiatus of two years and returned on the silver screen with the drama thriller Dhrishya (2014), a Kannada re-make of the Malayalam hit film, Drishyam (2013).

T.V Career
Navya has hosted and been a judge on the panel of Munch Dance Dance (2012) and Bharthakkanmarude Sradhaku (2014), on Asianet. This was followed by a 2016 appearance in Surya’s T.V comedy reality show, Laughing Villa.