LIKE many rising talents in the local Malaysian Tamil entertainment industry, up-and-coming actor Navin Ho comes from a modest background, and by circumstance, stumbled into the world of acting.
Prior to his current stint as an actor, Navin was a footballer.
“From young, I have been interested in football. I’ve played in small football leagues and clubs, even reaching the Malaysia M4 League,” said Navin, who began acting on programmes in Astro.
It was not a straightforward path that brought Navin into the world of acting.
As a natural entertainer, he began with mimicry.
“As a kid, I did it with friends, by changing my voice and so on. My friends and family encouraged me to try acting but back then, I did not have contacts to join the industry,” he said.
Navin would go on to spend two to three years working as part of a production crew on several Astro programmes, which eventually got him one foot in the door, so to speak.
“At that point, I felt I should try my luck, so I joined a talent competition. Later, I had a chance to join a live concert show,” Navin added.
“That gave me an opportunity to work with Astro on a Tamil sitcom, Gun Kannayiram. More chances appeared successively after that for me to act in telemovies, dramas and so on”.
Having worked as a crew member on several films and television shows, Navin was also naturally exposed to the world of directing.
One thing led to another and at the end of June, Navin announced his upcoming short film, Aanavam, which he directed and acted in.
“I’ve seen how other directors work and at the time, I had a lot of ideas for the scenes. One day, the idea for Aanavam came to me.”
Although Navin has revealed the cast, crew, poster and title for the short film, he is keeping other details close to his heart for the time being.
“The short film is completed and I am anxious to share more but for the moment, I do not feel the time is right. As it gets closer to its release, more details will be revealed.
“It may even be out before Deepavali this year,” Navin said, adding that due to Covid-19, there were small details that needed to be ironed out first.
However, the actor cum director pointed out that the film is based on a Tamil saying that roughly translates to: “If you have reached a certain level, do not become arrogant”.
The project, especially for a newly-minted director, was an eye-opener for Navin.
During the entire production of Aanavam, Navin came to realise that being a director was not easy, and that it required a lot of patience, especially as the principal photography and post-production took place both in Malaysia and India.
“I still have a lot to learn. I have the passion to direct but I also have fears doing it because there is also a lot of pressure. There was even added pressure because I was also acting in the film,” Navin admitted.
