Exclusive Interview: Sehaj Sethi, Aishu Devan, and Saheli Khan on Pavi and Nisha’s Journey of Courage in ‘Avatar: Seven Havens’

Avatar: Seven Havens begins a new chapter in the beloved franchise, following twin Avatars Pavi and Nisha in a world that sees the Avatar as a threat rather than a hero. Raised in different circumstances, the sisters bring their own perspectives to the responsibility they share, challenging each other to look beyond what they’ve always known. Through their journey, the series expands the Avatar universe while grounding its adventure in a moving story of sisterhood, identity, and finding courage in each other.

For Sehaj Sethi, Aishu Devan, and Saheli Khan, the heart of that story comes through in the details. Sehaj brings cultural specificity and a personal perspective on preparing the next generation for an uncertain world, while Aishu and Saheli give Nisha and Pavi’s bond its warmth, humor, and vulnerability. Their work gives these young heroes room to be afraid, make mistakes, and discover strengths that become clearer through their connection to each other.

Pop Culturalist spoke with Sehaj, Aishu, and Saheli about the themes guiding Avatar: Seven Havens, how Pavi and Nisha help each other find their courage, and what it means to bring cultural authenticity and complex representation to this new chapter of the franchise.

PC: Sejah, you’ve said that your guiding light creatively is taking a big idea and expressing it through smaller concepts or moments. What larger themes did you want to explore this season, and what smaller details in these characters should we keep an eye out for as those themes unfold?
Sejah: It’s a great question. I apologize, this is a larger theme for the series rather than Book 1, but when I went into this show, the thing that really struck me was that we’re dealing with a world that’s incredibly screwed up. We’re putting it on the shoulders of such young protagonists. To me, that felt incredibly true to what is happening today.

I became a mom while we were making this show, and I can’t help but think that the world that I’m giving my children is much more screwed up than the world that I was raised in. So what am I giving them? What am I putting them into? A big theme for me as a mom is that I can’t fix the world for you. I failed at that. But I’m hoping I can make you brave enough, strong enough, kind enough that you can find a way to fix it, that you can find a path forward.

That was always my guiding light with Pavi and Nisha. I’m quite literally the person putting obstacles in their way. [laughs] But that has to happen. I have to give you a world and journey that’s difficult, but I hope that I can make you brave enough, strong enough, and kind enough that you’ll be able to find a way through.

As far as details go, I think that they can literally look at the little details of how these characters interact. I’m very against every single piece of dialogue moving a plot forward. That really bothers me. So I wanted to make sure that there were little moments that you got where the characters are just being with each other. Even if it is to move a story forward, it still should feel like, “Oh, that’s a really organic moment.”

So for me, I came into this really with this microcosm needing to inform the macrocosm. Their relationships, their interpersonal workings, that’s what moves their story forward, and that’s what created the world for me. That’s what moves the story.

PC: Beautifully said. It’s those little nuances that you put into this story that make these characters so relatable and make it so fun to go back and rewatch. I feel like audiences are going to find courage through these two characters. Saheli and Aishu, what’s so compelling about having twin Avatars is that we get to see how each handles that weight and responsibility. There’s something so beautiful about how they help each other see what they might not yet see in themselves. In what ways does your character’s sister unlock something in her that she might not have discovered on her own?
Aishu: Nisha unlocks the realization that not everybody loves the Avatar. Not everybody sees the Avatar as a hero or a savior for the world. Being raised by the White Lotus, she’s put the Avatar up on this pedestal, where the rest of the world wasn’t really seeing the Avatar as that. With the help of Pavi, she was able to understand that she’s going to have to cater to their needs, and she’s going to have to make the Avatar feel safe again, because I don’t think the Avatar feels safe for people right now.

Saheli: For Pavi, I would say Nisha helps her with her confidence. In the second episode, when they’re venturing off into the storm, she’s very hesitant. She was scared. She didn’t want anyone to know she was the Avatar. She’s like, “You don’t know Alora like I do. I grew up on these streets. They all hate us. We should stay put.” But Nisha goes off, and Pavi realizes, “Maybe if I do this with my sister, it would all be less scary because I’m with her and I love her so much.” I would definitely say Nisha helps her be more comfortable and less hesitant about the whole Avatar situation.

PC: Love that. This show is such a celebration of sisterhood, and that connection between them is so instant. Final question for all three of you: I didn’t expect to cry as much as I did watching these first few episodes. There’s something so beautiful about seeing this level of representation and cultural specificity woven naturally into the storytelling, especially in a franchise that reaches such a wide audience. What does it mean to each of you to bring that to life without having to call attention to it?
Sejah: That’s something that I demanded at the very get-go. I absolutely adore Mike [Dante DiMartino] and Bryan [Konietzko]. They have been so welcoming in bringing new voices into this. The one thing that they can’t do, because they are White men, is bring that cultural specificity, because it hasn’t been lived by them necessarily. They’ve done a wonderful job with the previous series, don’t get me wrong, but I think the one thing we can bring to this series that’s a little different is I can bring in those little cultural touchstones that I know from South Asian culture, and also being a person from an Asian immigrant family.

I can bring things like, you don’t wear shoes in the house. If we ever see anyone’s feet in the house, they’re barefoot or they have socks on. It’s little things like that. But I also think you can push the barrier. I think a lot of times, especially Asian characters in shows like this, they’re the “nice one,” the “honorable one,” and they have no flaws. Because when you don’t have those lived experiences, you feel uncomfortable giving a minority character flaws.

I don’t have that problem. I have no issue making characters complex, giving them flaws, and making them human. That is really what I was so excited to do, to give you a huge host of characters from different identities. They’re human. They’re not archetypes. That was a very big deal to me.

Aishu: Diversity is really important. It’s one of the most diverse casts that I’ve seen in a while. That’s both through ethnicity and also talent. This is such a talented cast. I love that we can showcase all of that without making it about that. Being able to showcase diversity without making it about diversity, I think that’s something that the Avatar universe has been really able to capture on this show.

Saheli: One of the things that I love most about this franchise is how they’ve been able to incorporate so much culture and diversity without having to feel like it’s forced or so in your face. It’s blended so beautifully with everything, like the environments and surroundings in the show. That’s really special.

Make sure to follow Sehaj (Instagram), Aishu (Instagram), and Saheli (Instagram). Stream Season 1 of Avatar: Seven Havens on Paramount+.