From fighting weight and body image issues to being called ‘fat’: English Vinglish child actress Navika Kotia’s stunning transformation

Child actress Navika Kotia, who is a part of TV show Kyunki… Saas Maa, Bahu Beti Hoti Hai, was once a child actress. Over the years, Navika has undergone a massive transformation. The former child actress, who has now grown up to be a beautiful woman, spoke about her struggles with weight loss and more. Take a look at her transformation:

Navika and her real brother Shivansh Kotia played Sridevi and Adil Hussain’s kids in English Vinglish. Navika was seen in the role of Sapna.

Navika shared that she has very slow metabolism rate and it is ‘non existent’. In her weightloss journey video, she said, “Mujhe roti bhi lag jaati hai. I have struggled with my weight. I have been chubby since childhood. I have lost weight many times and gained as well. No matter how hard I diet, I put on very easily.”

Navika shared, “Though at this age, weight shouldn’t matter and what you eat. But as a child actor, I had to be on-screen and I had to be presentable. I had to keep my weight in check. At 11, I was doing English Vinglish and they had taken me to a dietician. I was introduced to Nachni roti and had lost considerable weight.”

At 12, Navika’s height increased and grew 4-5 inches taller. It helped her lose a few inches. In 2013, she gained back weight. And during 8th and 9th standard and through her board exams, she had put on weight. She had also tried crash diets.

Navika joined crossfit post her 12th board exams and said, “I was working out throughout but I hated cardio and I was very slow. But I enjoyed crossfit training.” During lockdown, she again put on weight and had given up on working out.

Navika started vlogging and added, “When I started creating videos, I had the screen presence. I would love to dress up but faced a lot of body shaming comments. People would call me ‘moti’, ‘weight lose kar lo’ and more. Even known people people would advise me to lose weight with a good intention. I had insecurities since childhood. I would wear clothes covering my body. I was not confident, wouldn’t wear sleeveless and all. I had two options – either to gain confidence or lose weight. I realised losing weight is a healthy option and started working out.”

Navika and Taarak Mehta’s Palak Sindhwani are very close friends. The two shared a video from their homely zumba session. Palak wrote, “One Fine morning, We just decided to open Youtube and look for Zumba videos, Never in my life I’d thought of sharing workout sessions with someone and so did she but so effortlessly we just started doing Zumba together and what crazy fun it was!”

Much before English Vinglish in 2012, Navika was a part of one of the longest running shows Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. Navika was seen in the role of Chikki. She also did shows like Maryada- Lekin Kab Tak, Baa, Bahu Aur Baby, Kasamh Se, Saat Phere and more.