Navya 9th May 2011 : Written interview of Soumya Seth(Navya)

Monday, May 09, 2011 | 7:17:39 PM IST (+05:30 GMT)

Soumya Seth, the protagonist of Siddharth Tewary’s Navya on Star Plus in a candid chat with Telly Buzz

She is the one of the most subtle girls that the industry has seen today. She is her parents’ pet and is an ideal daughter.

Siddhart Tewary’s Navya on Star Plus introduced us to a girl who is a symbol for an ideal daughter, a friend and a great companion. Navya is immensely popular today among youth.

But did you know that Soumya Seth who essays the character is also very much similar to Navya and carries with her a lot of positivity?

Telly Buzz had an open chat with Soumya Seth where she discussed her new journey in the industry with Navya.

How did you bag the role?
It is a mere coincidence that I am playing the role of Navya. I was sitting idle at home after my birthday bash on 17 October when I got a call from the production house. And all my friends also asked to me to try it and I finally gave the auditions the very next day. It was just mere luck.

How do you feel playing the title role of a show in Star Plus? Were you nervous?
It feels really good playing the title role. It is something very special which comes along with great sense of responsibility on my shoulders. I was not really nervous but at the same time I knew that I have a long way to go.

What do you think are the similarities and dissimilarities between Soumya and Navya?
Actually when I gave the auditions, the production just said that I am Navya and there is no question of similarities or dissimilarities. They found the exact Navya in me.

You are a bunch of friends in the show; how are you guys off screen?
We have more fun off screen than on screen where we do not have scripts in our hand and do mad and crazy stuffs. It’s a lot of fun together on the sets.

How is it working with Swastik Pictures?
It is nice to be working with Swastik, tough though but good.

The story is of a normal girl from Mumbai, was it easy to depict the character?
It was not at all easy, but at the same time I don’t have to change myself being Navya because I too take some time to open up to people. It takes a lot of courage for me to really talk and get close to people. On the sets also, I am really close few people and friends.

Navya is very popular among the youth, any fan acquaintance?
Lots and lots of people come to me every day talking about the show and I get more than five hundred messages in my Facebook account asking me to take care of Anant. Just a few days back, a girls’ hockey team had come to meet us on the sets and they said they used to drop matches to watch our show. Actually initially I felt a little funny and awkward, but today frankly speaking, I am used to it.

How did acting happen to you?
Never in my dreams have I thought to become an actor and I am not a person who has given a lot of auditions. Before I gave auditions for Navya on 18th October, I had given an audition on 16th October as they had been calling me for auditions for a long time. But then Navya was more close to me and I consider myself lucky to get the show.

Can you share something about yourself?
I was born in Banaras and brought up in Mumbai. Just like Navya, I too have a brother and a sister, but younger one. And my brother irritates me just like how my onscreen brother does. On screen I am bandariya and off screen I am tagged ‘rote-roli’.

Any memorable experience from the show?
The most memorable experience is the first shot that I had given for the show, where I just had to enjoy the view of the college which was decorated for Valentine’s Day. I just had to walk and take pleasure of the situation. I really wondered whether acting was this easy, which I realized is not later. But that first shot was really nice and I enjoyed doing it.

What was the reason that you took up Navya?
I believe that I am a very special person and get special and best things in life, where I have the best family and best friends both in reel and real. And when the show came up to me, I knew that nothing could better than this. A show on Star Plus wherein I am playing the title role produced by Siddharth Tewary and Vivek Bahl;nothing could be better than this. There is no reason to say no to the show. Sometimes it makes me wonder why they have selected me for the show and I had even asked them whether they have chosen the right person and they would just say ‘we have no doubt about it’.

Your onscreen chemistry with Shaheer Sheik has been popularly accepted; how is your rapport with him off screen?
We are good friends and we are a bunch of friends on the sets where Appy, Ritz, Ranbir, Anand and I have a lot of fun. Farhina (Appy) and Shaheer and Gireesh sir (my father) have done shows on Disney and they used to share a lot about their work they had done there that now I wish to work with the channel some day. But now they talk only about Navya (laughs).

The new promo of Navya shows that there is a possibility of a love triangle to happen. How can we see the story proceeding?
Frankly speaking, even I have no clue of what would be the future track and we too used to ask what would happen next.

Do you face the same problems coming from your parents as that of Navya‘s?
They are not so conservative, but concerned about me just like how other parents are. Actually before Navya happened to me, they used to ask me what plans I have in future for which I had no answers. When the show happened, they were really surprised and happy too that finally I am doing something. They are actually very happy today that their child who used to sleep 12 hours a day is today waking up early and going for shoots that goes for 12 hours. My dad says he is really proud of me.

What is your opinion on the thoughts of young generation?
I know there are youngsters today who are not really close to their parents. I would like to say that balance your life properly and respect and obey your parents. They are the biggest inspiration in your life and we have alot to learn from them.

Reporter and Author: Saranya Valsarajan