Charming Chameleon: Navi Rawat

At first glance, no one would guess this sizzling beauty is remotely Indian. Rather one would presume she is Spanish, Mexican, Arabic, Iranian, or even Italian. However, without a doubt this multi-ethnic ac­tress is Indian, or at least partly. Rawat’s exotic good looks make her something of a chameleon actress, helping her play charac­ters from widely differing backgrounds. Recently, DARPAN’s editor had the opportunity to interview the Charming Chameleon: Navi Rawat.

Navi Rawat, aka Navalata was born on June 5, 1977 in Malibu California. Her father is an Uttaranchali Rajput from India and her mother is German. Rawat grew up in Maibu, up until the age of 5 years old and then traveled while being home schooled since the 3^rd grade.  Rawat cred­its her parents, now divorced, for instilling a heartfelt appre­ciation for her multiethnic roots. “I could not imagine not hav­ing my background. My family brought me up with a strong connection to my heritage and could not imagine not hav­ing grown up that way,” states Rawat. She also is quickly to re­lay that both sides of her heritage equally influenced her. “We definitely celebrate some Indian holidays and obviously there would be some European influence in my life. When I was younger I could speak a little bit of Hindi.

“I feel very fortunate that I have been exposed to a lot of different cultures. If I was not from a multi-ethnic background, I would not have these great experiences and I would not grow as a person and an actress.”

“I have two sisters and I am the old­est. After my parent’s divorce, my moth­er remarried and I have a sister who is 3 ½ years younger and the other is 13 years my junior. Both my relationships with them have very different dynamics. With the sister who is closer in age to me, I find we fought a lot growing up and my youngest sister and I have almost a moth­er/daughter type of relationship. Overall, both are unique in there own way and I truly cherish them both.”

When Rawat was younger, she felt self-conscious about her ethnicity. “I definite­ly struggled with that when I was young­er, trying to fit in. I went to a school where all the kids were Caucasian and made fun of me for my skin colour. They teased me all the time and it was a hor­rible experience, but one that I will never forget.” Rawat may be cognizant of this experience, but in the end, she will have the last laugh. Rawat notes, “I am no longer worried about being typecasted because I take roles based on the material and have done movies where there was no real race classification or I go to auditions with girls who are all blonde.” In contrast to the awkwardness of her youth, Rawat embraces her ethnicity. “I feel very for­tunate that I have been exposed to a lot of different cultures. If I was not from a multi-ethnic background, I would not have these great experiences and I would not grow as a person and an actress.”

Drama may be Rawat’s strong suit and admittedly is passionate about the genre. “I like acting roles that are com­plicated and there are a lot of issues with the character,” states Rawat. Navi’s love of drama may stem from her years of studying at New York University, where she completed her undergraduate de­gree. “I have a double major because NYU is a private school and quite ex­pensive, so I decided to get as much out of it as possible.” She studied at NYU’s Tisch School of Arts and completed her second major in English and American literature. Rawat received a comprehen­sive education and at one point propelled her to possibly become a writer. “Before becoming an actress, I wanted to devote my time writing or photography and al­though I am acting, my education in liter­ature was not a waste. I am an avid reader and I am passionate about photography. Just studying on craft is not really real­istic. To grow, professionally and person­ally, a person needs to develop their other passions as well.

After graduating, Rawat was having fi­nancial difficulty and moved to Los An­geles to pursue acting. She quickly found a manger and did some small roles. She auditioned relentlessly and ended up do­ing 15 national commercials and some re­occurring roles. Her breakthrough role on the hit Fox television series 24 was not specifically written for an ethnic actress, but opened the door to numerous other roles and the rest as they say was hist­ory. In 2003, Rawat got her first big break when she landed the role of Theresa Diaz, a Hispanic girl on the hit series The O.C.

Currently, she plays Amita Ramanu­jan, an Indian mathematician at Cal­Sci and a FBI consultant, on the hit CBS series Numb3rs. “CBS wanted someone who was ethnic for that part. They were initially interested in Indian actress­es to play someone whose family was traditionally Indian, but grew up in the States.” In between the successful show, Rawat tries to be a part of as many in­dependent movies as possible. “Being on a show my schedule is quite rigorous and I am committed to a 5 to 7 year contract; however, in between filming the show, I try to take on as many independent films as possible. One such independent movies was Ocean of Pearls, where she played a very strong, young and traditional Sikh woman. “I loved this role because I knew nothing about the Sikh religion and this woman had such integrity, honour, and such an inner strength that I had never come across a character like her. I found her a pleasure to depict, the storyline was incredible, there was a fantastic cast, and the director, Sarab Neelam made the ex­perience a pleasure.”

Q &A’S WITH Navi Rawat

DM: What is your favorite Bollywood movie?

NR: Lagaan, because my friend is in it and also any Asihwayria Rai movie.

DM: When is the last time you visited India? What did you do there?

PN: December of last year and I visited my family in Dehli. I saw the sights and sounds of India and tried to take as many pictures as possible.

DM: What is the current book you are reading?

PN: Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Myers.

DM: What is your favorite movie?

PN: Etneral Sunshine and Mystic River.

DM: Who is your favorite designer right now?

PN: D&G, Matthew Willamson, and Christian Louboutin.

DM: What is your favorite Indian food?

PN: Aloo parathas, masala dosas, naan, and pickled mangoes.

DM: Do you cook any Indian food?

PN: No, I am definitely not a cook, but I do love to eat.

DM: Who is your favorite musician?

PN: Bob Dylan.

DM: Who is your favorite photographer?

PN: I like many, but Mia Tastino definitely comes to mind.

DM: What is your advice to aspiring young South Asians?

PN: “Fulfill whatever dream you desire to have. You have the ability to do anything that you set your mind to and don’t let anyone tell you he ability to do anything that you set your mind to and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise”

As a rising starlet, Rawat is very down to earth. She notes several times in our interview that she is not really a celeb­rity or uberfamous and is not a partici­pant of the whole paparazzi type scene that plays out in Hollywood. “I think the paparazzi have actual celebrities to track down and seek out their pictures. No one really knows me and I am perfectly con­tent with that,” laughs Rawat.  This may be Rawat being modest in her discussion about herself, but her strong perform­ances in a myriad of different television and movie roles have the entertainment industry taking notice.  In fact, celebrity A-listers have noted her as a “Hot Face to Watch”.

When asked how “The Slumdog Mil­lionaire” movie has changed her ability to attain roles, Rawat notes, “The mov­ie was beautiful, not only in story, but also cinematography and I held a Oscar party at my house with some friends and we were cheering ecstatically for the suc­cess of the movie. In terms, of me getting more roles, I have had a slight increase in the amount of roles that are coming about.”

When asked about what her parents think of her success she affirms, “They are obviously proud of any success that I may have, but as parents they worry about financial stability and if I can sup­port myself. This was really the case when I first started out; however, now I find there are less tense about the whole situation. They do point out to enjoy each moment and ensure that I plan for a day when I possibly could not be acting.

Her parents, who met as tourists in the United States, imparted a desire to trav­el.  Rawat talks at length about her love of seeing the world and enjoying new sights, sounds, and people.  In fact, Ra­wat has lived in numerous locales such as, California, Connecticut, Miami, Lon­don, and New York.  “I have been travel­ling a lot, I enjoy it. Whenever I am not filming, I travel.” Rawat is a true book­worm and admits to currently reading the “Twilight” books, among many others.  “I actually love many Indian writers like Jhumpa Lahiri and I like Michael On­daatje.  I like the way they look at a for­eigner in a foreign land, trying to exist and fit into North America. “Perhaps, Ra­wat’s love of these types of books alludes to her own life’s theme and possibly a re­flection of her own experiences.

With such a busy schedule, Rawat still spends time with a charity that she holds close to her heart, called “One Heart”. The charity trains midwives and tries to eductate the world on how much mid­wives are able to help with the delivery of babies and their role in the pregnancy of a woman. “My goal is to garner more atten­tion to the charity and try to get some bigger celebrities on board with volun­teering their time and status to promote the good work that “One Heart” does.

So what is next for this striking ac­tress? Well it is certain that there is no role thus far that Rawat cannot tackle. “We will begin shooting for Numb3ers very soon and I am happy to get back to work on the show. In terms of other pro­jects, I am working on the details of a movie in New York City, where I will be the lead actress. I am not able to say which movie and character, but it is an independent film. When I am not work­ing on the show or on a movie, I will con­tinue to travel as much as I can. I am a big believer in balance and will ensure that I always have a work/life balance. Other than that, I plan to continue work on my charity, read, take pictures, sleep, relax, and enjoy life as much as possible.”

Roles