Nayanthara Recalls First Paycheck, Felt Out Of Place In Kerala

Toxic star Nayanthara, one of India's highest-paid actresses, has recently spoken about her humble beginnings. During a conversation with Pearle Maaney, the actress opened up on her first paycheck.

She recalled on the show that her first-ever job was as a model for a fashion event organized by Vanitha magazine. While she couldn’t recall the exact figure she received as compensation, she confirmed that it was in the Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 range.

Nayanthara's Initial Acting Hesitation

Nayanthara was in college when she was doing modelling part-time. That’s when director Sathyan Anthikad spotted her in her modelling work and approached her to play the key role of Gowri in the 2003 hit Malayalam family drama Manassinakkare. She admitted she wasn't even very interested.

“I finally agreed to do just that one movie. The film became a big hit, and ran for more than 100 days,” she said. She went on to appear in films such as Vismayathumbathu and Natturajavu before making her Tamil film debut with Ayya in 2005.

Nayanthara On Kerala Move

She also conceded that relocating to her native state of Kerala was, in fact, a “mistake”. She wanted to continue studying in Kendriya Vidyalaya in Delhi and Gujarat. “The teachers, the warmth, and the students there were terribly missed. Since I was very underconfident then (in Kerala), it was one of my lowest phases then. I was figuring out what to do, and I felt I wasn’t good at anything. I was good, but not great at studies,” she confessed.

“So, I felt very left out. I felt very sad. They were a group, and we were left out. Not completely out, but I got that left-out feeling,” added the actor.

Geethu Mohandas’ Kannada action thriller Toxic: A Fairytale for Grownups, starring Yash, Nayanthara, Kiara Advani and Huma Qureshi, releases this Wednesday on the occasion of Onam.