Nayanthara recently opened up about her past relationships, which made her feel that sacrificing dreams and compromising was the only way to find love.
Nayanthara is known as the ‘Lady Superstar’ by her fans in the South for playing powerful roles. The actress earned the title after her powerful comeback two years after deciding to quit films for love in 2011. Now, happily married to filmmaker Vignesh Shivan, who “redefined the idea of love” for the actress, Nayanthara shared what made her agree to quit films on the advice of her then-partner Prabhu Deva at the time.
In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Nayanthara spoke at length about her decision to quit films in 2011. She said, “I was going through a phase where I felt that if I wanted love in my life, I had to compromise. I was very vulnerable and young.” She further added, “Add to that, we have seen a lot of different relationships in our industry. I am not saying it’s bad or anything, but this is the way we have seen the industry work for a very long time, like a second marriage. So at that time, I thought it was okay.
The girl in me really thought that if you want love in your life, you have to compromise somewhere. You have to give your all. If your partner doesn’t like you doing something, you should just sacrifice. That was my understanding of love at that time.” Nayanthara credited that particular relationship for bringing out the best in her after going through the worst phase.
She said, “That relationship made me who I am today. If that special relationship was not there, I don’t think I would have found the strength to be who I am today. I would not have understood what I am capable of. After that, I became a completely different person.” Nayanthara said that though she had decided to quit films forever, giving one last shot for her supposed last film Sri Rama Rajyam was a huge shock for her.
“I understood that this is not just a profession, it is not about money or fame anymore, but it is something that has become a part of me and I am born for it. That was the moment I felt I cannot stay away from films.”
In the same interview, Nayanthara also revealed how her idea of love completely changed after she met her husband Vignesh Shivan.
She said, “The whole concept of love changed for me after I met my husband. I used to be the girl who thought, ‘You have to sacrifice and compromise to make your relationship work, and believed that there is no unconditional love’, but now I understand that there is unconditional love. You just have to find the right person.”
Nayanthara shared after the release of her Netflix documentary, she has received several messages from women who asked a similar question: “Where did you find this guy? I always told, ‘Don’t cast an evil eye.'” Nayanthara met Vignesh Shivan on the sets of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, which was later written and directed by Dhanush. Love blossomed between the couple while shooting for the film. After dating for over eight years.
The couple tied the knot in June 2022. The couple recently released a documentary that talked about their love life, Nayanthara’s career, and her past relationships.
