Latest news with #Syam
New Indian Express
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
‘I believe in creative freedom, everyone should fight for it'
The two years at Kalady transformed me as a filmmaker and as a person. Syam (Pushkaran) often says that the person who went to Kalady and the one who returned are two different individuals. Other friends of mine have also said the same. While I can't pinpoint exactly how I've changed, others have remarked on the difference. Perhaps it's my outlook and understanding of things that have changed. After my time at Kalady, I started finding the happiness and satisfaction in my work that I had been missing as an assistant director. When I returned, I began landing roles in films like 'Salt N' Pepper' and resumed work as an assistant director. This time around, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Was it at Kalady that you realised you had an actor in you? I had no plan to act in movies. I didn't even believe I could act. But at Kalady, it was compulsory. We have to cooperate with plays by others. That's how I started acting in some plays. Gopan Chidambaram (writer-scenarist) was a teacher there. After my first play, 'Gopan maash' started praising my acting. From that moment, I started gaining confidence in my acting. That was when they (the makers of 'Salt N' Pepper') called me to act in the movie, saying I had the 'look' of a director. Had I not acted in the plays at Kalady, I would have declined the role. Did your family support your dreams of becoming a filmmaker? To be honest, their support wasn't exactly unconditional. They were happy I had secured a job in Bengaluru after studies. When I started pursuing filmmaking, I told them I was taking a one-year break, citing stress. However, one year turned into two, and slowly, family pressure began to mount. They'd try to dissuade me from taking to the film industry, but eventually, they came round to accept it as my calling and supported me wholeheartedly. Growing up, I was a huge film enthusiast and my father would often criticise movies for not being realistic. Whenever the family sat down to watch a film, my father would start criticising. He'd say things like, 'This will only happen in a movie.' Looking back, maybe he was trying to discourage me from pursuing filmmaking. His realistic feedback was often traumatic. Whenever I watch a bad scene in any film, I worry he's going to judge it... (smiles). So, your father's critique of unrealistic elements in films shaped the realistic tone of your own work… Possibly. There's a lingering thought in my mind that I should make realistic films, driven by a deep-seated fear of his criticism. His comments left a lasting impression. Even now, maybe I'm trying to avoid his disapproval. What does your father think of your work now? His perception has completely changed, he's now a huge film enthusiast! He watches all my movies in cinemas and even gives feedback. Your roles in most films too are close to real-life characters, except perhaps 'Secretary Avaran' (in Rifle Club). How do you choose your roles? I think I receive roles that fit my persona. I've also gravitated towards realistic characters. My physique might also be a factor, as I don't fit the typical 'hero' mould. I'm more comfortable playing characters that feel authentic and rooted in real life. When it comes to more unconventional or larger-than-life roles, I rely heavily on my trust in the director. If I believe in their vision, I'll take on a role like 'Secretary Avaran' or the character in 'Trance'. Trust is key for me... if I'm unsure about a role, I'll hesitate.
Time of India
27-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
NetApp appoints disruptive innovator Syam Nair as CPO, underscoring its commitment to bold product vision
NetApp , the intelligent data infrastructure company, today announced the appointment of Syam Nair as its new Chief Product Officer (CPO), effective Monday, 7 July 2025. Nair succeeds Harv Bhela, who concluded his tenure in June following a successful chapter of product leadership. Nair is a former Salesforce and Microsoft executive renowned as a maverick innovator in the industry, bringing over 25 years of experience in scaling cloud platforms and driving hyper-growth. In his new role, Nair will lead NetApp's product and engineering teams to accelerate innovation in hybrid cloud and AI offerings, and advance NetApp's strategic vision for data-driven business growth. 'I am thrilled to welcome Syam to NetApp's leadership team. He joins us at a time when our customers are looking to NetApp to help them deliver data-enabled growth and productivity: not only must they innovate to stay ahead, but they must also simplify to improve productivity and agility. This is a balance Syam has mastered throughout his career,' said George Kurian, Chief Executive Officer at NetApp. 'Syam's proven track record – from building planet-scale Azure data services at Microsoft to spearheading hyper-scale platforms like Salesforce Data Cloud – is exactly what we need as we sharpen our focus on high-growth markets. Importantly, he's not only a brilliant technologist but also a people-first leader who builds teams grounded in integrity and a growth mindset. Under Syam's product leadership, I'm confident NetApp will deliver even more innovation and value for customers, strengthen our position as a cloud, data and AI leader, and remain at the forefront of what's next.' Syam Nair joins NetApp from Zscaler, where he served as Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Research & Development. Nair brings more than two decades of engineering and product development leadership, with expertise in incubating new technologies from the ground up and leading large teams through transformations at scale. During his tenure at Microsoft, Nair was part of the leadership team that built and expanded globally distributed Azure data services. At Salesforce, his leadership pioneered industry-defining innovations including Salesforce Data Cloud, the next-generation Agentic platform that significantly advanced the company's AI-powered customer engagement capabilities. 'I'm excited to join NetApp at such a pivotal time in the industry. Enterprises are embracing cloud and AI to transform their operations, and NetApp is uniquely positioned to help them succeed with its rich portfolio and talent,' said Syam Nair, Chief Product Officer at NetApp. 'I've spent my career tackling complex technological challenges and leading teams through transformations for hyper-growth. I'm thrilled to bring that experience to NetApp. We will set a bold vision for the future of hybrid cloud data services and execute with a growth mindset and relentless focus on customer success. NetApp has an inspiring mission and a values-driven culture and I'm honoured to be part of the team and eager to drive the next wave of innovation for our customers and partners.'
Business Wire
24-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
NetApp Appoints Disruptive Innovator Syam Nair as Chief Product Officer, Underscoring its Commitment to Bold Product Vision
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the intelligent data infrastructure company, today announced the appointment of Syam Nair as its new Chief Product Officer (CPO), effective Monday, July 7, 2025. Nair succeeds Harv Bhela, who concluded his tenure in June following a successful chapter of product leadership. Nair is a former Salesforce and Microsoft executive renowned as a maverick innovator in the industry, bringing over 25 years of experience in scaling cloud platforms and driving hyper-growth. In his new role, Nair will lead NetApp's product and engineering teams to accelerate innovation in hybrid cloud and AI offerings and advance NetApp's strategic vision for data-driven business growth. 'I am thrilled to welcome Syam to NetApp's leadership team. He joins us at a time when our customers are looking to NetApp to help them deliver data-enabled growth and productivity: not only must they innovate to stay ahead, but they must also simplify to improve productivity and agility. This is a balance Syam has mastered throughout his career,' said George Kurian, Chief Executive Officer at NetApp. 'Syam's proven track record – from building planet-scale Azure data services at Microsoft to spearheading hyper-scale platforms like Salesforce Data Cloud – is exactly what we need as we sharpen our focus on high-growth markets. Importantly, he's not only a brilliant technologist but also a people-first leader who builds teams grounded in integrity and a growth mindset. Under Syam's product leadership, I'm confident NetApp will deliver even more innovation and value for customers, and strengthen our position as a cloud, data and AI leader, and remain at the forefront of what's next.' Syam Nair joins NetApp from Zscaler, where he served as Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Research & Development. Nair brings more than two decades of engineering and product development leadership, with expertise in incubating new technologies from the ground up and leading large teams through transformations at scale. During his tenure at Microsoft, Nair was part of the leadership team that built and expanded globally distributed Azure data services. At Salesforce, his leadership pioneered industry-defining innovations including Salesforce Data Cloud, the next generation Agentic platform that significantly advanced the company's AI-powered customer engagement capabilities. 'I'm excited to join NetApp at such a pivotal time in the industry. Enterprises are embracing cloud and AI to transform their operations, and NetApp is uniquely positioned to help them succeed with its rich portfolio and talent,' said Syam Nair, Chief Product Officer at NetApp. 'I've spent my career tackling complex technological challenges and leading teams through transformations for hyper-growth. I'm thrilled to bring that experience to NetApp. We will set a bold vision for the future of hybrid cloud data services and execute with a growth mindset and relentless focus on customer success. NetApp has an inspiring mission and a values-driven culture and I'm honored to be part of the team and eager to drive the next wave of innovation for our customers and partners.' About NetApp NetApp is the intelligent data infrastructure company, combining unified data storage, integrated data, operational and workload services to turn a world of disruption into opportunity for every customer. NetApp creates silo-free infrastructure, harnessing observability and AI to enable the industry's best data management. As the only enterprise-grade storage service natively embedded in the world's biggest clouds, our data storage delivers seamless flexibility. In addition, our data services create a data advantage through superior cyber resilience, governance, and application agility. Our operational and workload services provide continuous optimization of performance and efficiency for infrastructure and workloads through observability and AI. No matter the data type, workload, or environment, with NetApp you can transform your data infrastructure to realize your business possibilities. Learn more at or follow us on X, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. NETAPP, the NETAPP logo, and the marks listed at are trademarks of NetApp, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Associated Press
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
London Zoo welcomes the birth of numerous baby mammals
Video A flurry of new births at London Zoo in the past months has been keeping zookeepers, and the new parents, on their toes. Footage from the zoo showed a pair of Asian short-clawed otters, Midge and Syam, looking after their two new pups.
