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Navni Parihar

Enjoying the experience
She did Mujrim Haazir for a lark. It was not the love for acting but the opportunity of being in the limelight that drew Navni Parihar to the small screen. It was supposed to be her first and last serial but once she tasted success the glare of arclights was too bright to resist and Navni found herself doing television fulltime

Navni Parihar has two sides to her personality. One is of a devoted and loving wife and a caring mother of two kids. And the other is of a sensuous, glamorous and a competent actress with good screen presence. At home she looks like a typical housewife, courteous, polite and down-to-earth. But on the sets, in those colourful costumes and with all that grease paint on her face, her personality transforms, not only physically but even the attitude changes. She becomes a thorough professional. How does the transformation take place? “Well, that’s my trade secret,” she laughs.

After a long pause she gives an explaination. “When I am at home I am a total housewife and mother and I just forget everything about acting. In fact, I even switch off my cell-phone. But on the sets, I forget about home and concentrate totally on my work.” And of course the mobile is definitely on.

For Navni, it all started with Mujrim Haazir a decade ago. Acting was never on her mind and she got into it accidentally. After her graduation she got married and came to Mumbai in 1988 with her husband. At a friend’s house she happened to meet producer-director Rakesh Chowdhary who was then planning to make Mujrim Haazir, based on a Bimal Mitra Bengali classic. Navni evinced interest in the project because the role she was offered sounded good. Initially, she didn’t take her work seriously because what gave her a high then was the fact that she was being seen on the small screen. After a few episodes she realised that she was working with seasoned actors like the late Utpal Dutt, Rajiv Verma, Reeta Bhaduri and Virendra Singh and she feared that if she didn’t put her heart into her work, people would make fun of her.

However, at that stage she was sure of one thing. That Mujrim Haazir will be her first and last serial because she was not too keen on pursuing a career in acting. Her heart was on raising a family and setting up her home. But as they say, once an actress, always an actress. The lure of the arc lights and the name and fame that the profession gives was bit too much to resist. Moreover, the positive feedback she got for her performance in her debut serial also made her change her mind. And of course there was no dearth of offers. So, acting continued with serials like Prahari, Nari Ke Roop, Upasna, Commander, Chahat Aur Nafrat, Dastan and the daily soap Waqt Ki Raftar, to name just a few.

Currently, she has two shows on air — Daayre and Beta. Of the two, her favourite is Daayre (whirlpool) in which she plays Shakuntala, a scorned woman who despite having a loving husband, lives in the past and creates chaos and confusion in everybody’s life, particularly her former lover.

Elaborates Navni, “Shakuntala was passionately in love with a man. But he ditches her when she is pregnant and marries another woman. And Shakuntala has no choice but to undergo abortion because of which she can’t conceive again. Since she can’t become a mother, she seeks revenge on the man who not only ditched her but also destroyed her motherhood. Through subtle manipulations she plots his financial downfall and then starts blackmailing him emotionally. Since he is her first love she still has some feelings for him but her hatred is fierce. It’s a wonderful role with a lot of grey shades and it requires me to portray different emotions and moods.”

In sharp contrast is her role in Beta where she plays a sugary-sweet, loving wife and a caring mother of two grown up children. Navni says Geeta of Beta is such a kind-hearted woman that she even accepts her husband’s past and his son from first marriage. “It’s a nice, positive role,” she smiles. “And I am having great time doing both the serials because the roles are just opposites.”

Along with serials, Navni has acted in a few NFDC films — Tulsidas, Prayas, Shikwa and Aaranya — as a leading lady and enjoyed the experience of working in off-beat films because the characters she has played were author-backed and the films women-oriented. “Doing these films was a very satisfying experience,” she gushes. But her only regret is that the NFDC films do not attract large audiences and therefore the performance goes almost unnoticed. Currently she is doing one more NFDC film, Abhisaar which has her in the role of a tawaif in love with a lower-caste sweeper.

In ten years she has done about 15 serials. Her first favourite is Mujrim Haazir which has a special place in her life and career since she started her career with it. Her second favourite is Dastan where she played a glamorous and courageous wife of a business tycoon who takes charge of his business empire after he is killed. “It gave me a different look and made me more popular,” she says.

And Daayre comes third. In fact, with Daayre Navni is expecting to prove her versatility. Navni is committed to both acting and home. “It’s a bit difficult to manage career as well home and dividing time equally for both. But I am managing both and there is no complaint from either front,” she says with a broad smile. She must be getting a lot of support from her husband, isn’t it? She doesn’t answer the question but just smiles. Which says a lot.

AL Chougule