Nayantara

Real Name :Diana Mariam Kurian
Birth Place :Bangalore, Karnataka
Born :18 November 1984
Occupation :Actress, Model
Debut :Manassinakkare – 2003
Height :1.67 m
Parents :Kurian Kodiyattu and Omana Kurian
Facebook page :facebook.com/Nayantara

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Nayantara was born in Bangalore, Karnataka to Malayali Syrian Christian parents Kurian Kodiyattu and Omana Kurian. Her brother, Leno, who is nine years elder to her, lives in Dubai. As her father was an Indian Air Force official, she studied in various parts of India, mainly in North India. She did her schooling in Chennai, Jamnagar, Gujarat and Delhi. Following his retirement, they settled in Kerala, where she continued her college studies, at the Kendriya Vidyalaya schools in Kerala. In Tiruvalla, she studied at Balikamadom Girls Higher Secondary School and then attended Marthoma College for her bachelor’s degree in English Literature. She has said that she would have become a chartered accountant if not an actress.

While studying at college, Nayantara was working as a part-time model. She was spotted by director Sathyan Anthikkad, who had seen some of her modelling assignments and approached her to play a pivotal role opposite Jayaram in his film Manassinakkare (2003). Although she turned down the offer initially, as she was not interested in films, she gave in eventually and agreed to do “just that one movie”. Manassinakkare went on to become a high financial success and she continued to receive acting offers. Her both releases in 2004, Natturajavu by Shaji Kailas and Fazil’s psychological thriller Vismayathumbathu saw her co-starring alongside Mohanlal; while she played the protagonist’s adopted sister in the former, she portrayed a ghost in the latter. Her performance in Vismayathumbathu, in particular, was lauded, with critics claiming that she had “stolen the thunder with her author-backed role”, and was “the revelation of the film”. She also acted opposite Mammootty in Thaskara Veeran and Rappakal.

While shooting for her Tamil film Vallavan, she was romantically linked with the film’s director and co-actor Silambarasan Rajendar. She initially denied the reports. In November 2006, however, she confirmed that she and Silambarasan had broken up, going on to add that she will not work with him again. During the making, in 2008, and after the release of her film Villu, reports suggested that she was in a relationship with its director Prabhu Deva, with some sources even claiming that both had married secretly in June 2009. She had tattooed his name on her wrist, and began appearing with him in public, while keeping silence and refusing to comment about the issue, neither denying nor confirming the relationship. In September 2010 then, Prabhu Deva openly confessed his love for Nayantara and further stated that he would marry her soon. The issue soon gained media attention and turned into a controversy, since Prabhu Deva was already married and not divorced yet. His wife Ramalath, unwilling to agree for a divorce, filed a petition at the family court, sought directions against her husband and Nayantara from marrying, attending functions together and receiving awards as husband and wife and requested a reunion with him. Furthermore, Ramalath threatened to go on hunger strike, if Prabhu Deva married Nayantara, while several women’s organizations also conducted protests against Nayantara for “bringing disrepute to Tamil culture”, burning an effigy of her. In 2012, Nayantara confirmed that she had ended her relationship with Prabhu Deva.

On 7 August 2011, she converted to Hinduism at the Arya Samaj Temple in Chennai. She went through Shuddhi Karma, a procedure involving a Vedic purification and a Homam where Nayan chanted the hymns from Veda and Gayatri Mantra under the guidance of the priest. After the purification ceremony, a Certificate of Conversion to Hinduism was issued to her and her stage name, Nayantara, became her official name.