Even if the name Deepa Nayar does not immediately ring a bell, her face will come to the minds of Malayals across the world as soon as they hear the song “Minnaminni Ithiripponne Minnanathelam Ponnalla”. That’s how it is; We are talking about the adorable rascals Tinu, Vinu and Anu’s beloved Annie. chechi by Priyam (2000). Starring “heartbreaker” Kunchacko Boban In the lead role, Priyam was inspired by Mahesh Bhatt’s Aamir Khan-Juhi starrer Chawla. Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993), which, itself, was based on the 1958 Hollywood romantic comedy Houseboat.
Priyam revolves around a young man, Benny (Kunchako Boban), who begins raising his three children, Tinu (Master Arun), Vinu (Master Ashwin Thampi) and Anu (Baby Manjima), after the death of his sister and her husband. Deepa plays Annie, Benny’s childhood friend. Having not seen her for a long time, Benny initially does not recognize Annie, who has been searching for him the longest, and is cold towards her. Thus, he forges a bond with the children and, with their help, Annie little by little begins to make her way into Benny’s heart, determined to make their love story a reality.
Directed by Sanal, Priyam introduced a new heroine to Malayalam cinema, Deepa Nayar. Although the film became a hit and her performance impressed everyone, audiences never saw it again, much to everyone’s dismay. But where is she now? And why hasn’t he appeared in any movies since then? Deepa herself broke the silence and revealed why she shied away from the limelight despite receiving an enviable debut.
What happened to Priyam actress Deepa Nayar?
Revealing why she bid farewell to Tinseltown after her first film, Deepa shared in a video posted on her Instagram account, “Many people asked me why I stopped acting after just one film. They wonder if it was because my experience on set was bad. Not at all. Priyam’s set was amazing. It was incredibly fun, especially with all the kids around. If I had to explain what happened… my entry into the movie was as unexpected as my exit…” Hailing from Thiruvananthapuram, Deepa is also a talented dancer and initially gained attention through shows on Asianet channel. He was a student when he performed in Priyam.
She continued, “I received two or three offers after Priyam. I was a student back then. Those offers were not good enough to justify dropping out of my engineering studies to go into acting. Therefore, my parents and I decided to complete my studies first. But after that, no more offers came. Social media was not as active as it is today, right? People just forgot that such a person existed. That’s what happened. This was also the period when talented actresses like Navya Nair, Meera Jasmine and Bhavana was slowly making an impression in the industry.”
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Deepa added, “After my studies, I wanted to go abroad. So, I moved to the University of Melbourne to do my master’s degree and then dedicated myself to my career. That’s how I completely left the film world.” She now works as a software engineer and is married to Rajeev Nair, who also works in the same field. The couple is based in Melbourne, Australia, where they live with their daughters.