Early work (2012-2013) After working in a jewellery commercial for director
V. K. Prakash, she made her acting début in Prakash's anthology film
Poppins (2012), and worked on the project alongside commitments for other Malayalam films. She played further roles as a traditional bride in the horror film
Yakshi – Faithfully Yours (2012) and in
Shalil Kallur's drama film. She subsequently began working on bigger budget films in the Malayalam film industry and signed on to portray
Jayasurya's wife in the action anthology
D Company (2013), as a part of the segment
Gangs of Vadakkumnathan, which won positive reviews. Nair made her debut in the Kannada film industry through
Story Kathe (2013) which earned her recognition as the Best Debut Actress in Kannada films at the
3rd South Indian International Movie Awards. Portraying a television journalist who tries to win patent rights for a medical student, her role was appreciated by critics and the film performed well at the box office. In 2013 Nair appeared as a judge in the first modelling based Malayalam reality show
Super Models on Amrita Television. She also appeared in a music video, "Ariyathe Ninayathe" by
Vineeth Sreenivasan and was included in
Bangalore Times' "Most Desirable Women of 2013" list.
Breakthrough (2014-present) Nair moved on to work on two big-budget Tamil films during the course of 2014 and shot for
Gautham Vasudev Menon's
Yennai Arindhaal (2015) and
Kamal Haasan's
Uttama Villain (2015). Nair was cast alongside
Ajith Kumar,
Trisha and
Anushka Shetty in
Yennai Arindhaal after a successful screen test. The actress stated it was "a dream-come-true" and to be cast in the project was "huge encouragement", and made reference to Menon's dignified portrayals of female characters. Portraying Elizabeth, the vengeful wife of
Arun Vijay's character, the film and her performance received praise from Silverscreen.com, who stated she displays "awesome ruthlessness" and "nails the part". Nair also auditioned for
Uttama Villain, directed by
Ramesh Aravind, and portrayed the girlfriend of
Kamal Haasan's son. Featuring alongside an ensemble cast, her role was extended as the shoot progressed and Nair expressed her delight at working with Kamal Haasan, stating it was like "going to an acting school". The film opened to positive reviews and marked the actress's most high-profile project at that time. She then appeared in the Kannada film,
Vascodigama (2015), as a college lecturer alongside
Kishore. Nair also made her debut as a singer through the film, in a song which featured Kannada and English lyrics. Indiaglitz.com noting that she "suits the role precisely" and another reviewer stating she was "utilised well" in the film. She was also in the most desirable women of 2015, 2016, and 2017 lists from Kochi. She gave motivational talks at TEDx Bangalore and was invited to speak at a
Rotary Club and various other venues. She later appeared in Malayalam movie
James and Alice (2016). Her next release was the Tamil film
Koditta Idangalai Nirappuga directed by
R. Parthiepan with
Shanthanu Bhagyaraj as male lead in which her performance stood out and was widely appreciated. The road thriller
Overtake was her next Malayalam film in which she performed stunts without a double. The movie opened to good reviews at the Kerala box office and the concept was fresh to Malayalam cinema . She paired up with
Mohanlal for the movie
Neerali, directed by AJoy Varma which opened to positive reviews. She later appeared in Amazon Prime's first exclusive series in Tamil named
Vella Raja. Nair received the Indian Affairs "Most Promising Actress 2017" award at the
8th Annual India Leadership Conclave in Mumbai on 4 August 2017. Parvati Nair collaborated with a US-based fashion brand Yog The Label selling her pictures featured products manufactured in USA and Europe worldwide. In 2025, Parvati Nair’s long-delayed in the Tamil psychological thriller,
Un Paarvayil stream on
Sun NXT. ==In the media==