Dhanya Balakrishna is an Indian actress who has appeared in Tamil films along with Telugu and Malayalam films. After making her debut in A. R. Murugadoss's 7aum Arivu (2011), in a supporting role,[1] she appeared in ventures including Gautham Vasudev Menon's Neethaane En Ponvasantham (2012), Atlee's Raja Rani (2013) and Srikanth Addala's Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2013). Dhanya made her debut as female lead in Telugu with Chinni Chinni Aasa (2013).
Dhanya Balakrishna | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Spouse | |
Personal life
editDhanya Balakrishna was born in Bangalore, Karnataka.[2] She was educated at MES. She married Tamil filmmaker and actor Balaji Mohan in January 2022.[3][4]
Career
editDhanya began her acting career with performances in theatre, before playing a supporting role in A. R. Murugadoss's 7aum Arivu (2011) alongside Suriya and Shruti Haasan.[5] She was next seen in two bilingual projects, portraying supporting roles in Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi (2012) and then Gautham Vasudev Menon's Neethaane En Ponvasantham (2012).[5][6]
Dhanya, portrayed supporting role in the 2013 Telugu film Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu as a girl who proposes to the character played by Mahesh Babu; while in Raja Rani (2013), she was seen as Nivitha, a friend of Nayantara's character. Her first leading role was in the Telugu film Chinni Chinni Aasa (2013), released in November 2013, while other projects, Amrutham Chandamamalo and Second Hand, were released thereafter. She has been part of nearly 40 movies and 10 web series. She able to speak kannada, tamil and telugu fluently.
Filmography
editFilms
edit| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 7aum Arivu | Malathi | Tamil | Debut film |
| 2012 | Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi | Rashmi | Bilingual film; Telugu Debut | |
| Love Failure | Telugu | |||
| Neethaane En Ponvasantham | Nithya's friend | Tamil | Bilingual film | |
| Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu | Telugu | |||
| 2013 | Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu | girl who proposes to Chinnodu | ||
| Raja Rani | Nivetha | Tamil | ||
| Chinni Chinni Aasa | Nisha | Telugu | Debut as lead actress | |
| Second Hand | Sahasra / Deepu / Swecha | Also singer for "Jo Tera Hi Ho Mera Hai" | ||
| 2014 | Amrutham Chandamamalo | Sanjeevani | ||
| Run Raja Run | Soundarya/Bangaram | Cameo Appearance | ||
| Chinnadana Nee Kosam | Nandhini's friend | |||
| 2015 | Raju Gari Gadhi | Bala Tripura Sundari | ||
| Bhale Manchi Roju | Maya D'Souza | |||
| 2016 | Nenu Sailaja | Keerti | ||
| Thanu Vachhenanta | ||||
| Savitri | Gayathri | |||
| 2017 | Veedevadu | Dr.Gouthami Ramakrishna | Bilingual film | |
| Yaar Ivan | Tamil | |||
| Jaya Janaki Nayaka | Sweety's friend | Telugu | ||
| 2019 | Love Action Drama | Priya | Malayalam | Malayalam debut |
| Puzhikkadakan | Anna | |||
| Hulchul | Swathi | Telugu | ||
| Sarvajanikarige Suvarnavakasha | Jahnavi | Kannada | Kannada Debut[7] | |
| Software Sudheer | Swathi | Telugu | ||
| 2020 | Anukunnadi Okati Ayinadi Okati | Dhanya | ||
| 2022 | Carbon | Swapna | Tamil | |
| Jagamemaya | Chitra | Telugu | 25th Film; Released on Disney+Hotstar | |
| Nodi Swamy Ivanu Irode Heege | Gajalakshmi | Kannada | ||
| 2023 | Undenama | Preethi | ||
| 2024 | RAM (Rapid Action Mission) | Dr.Jahnavi | Telugu | [8] |
| Lal Salaam | Ammani | Tamil | Guest Appearance [9] | |
| Sharma & Ambani | Sitara | Telugu | Direct release on ETV Win |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Language | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5th South Indian International Movie Awards | Host | Sun TV | YouTube | Co-hosted with Sathish |
| 2017 | 6th South Indian International Movie Awards | ||||
| 2017 | PillA | Sahasra | Telugu | Viu | Web Debut |
| As I'm Suffering From Kadhal | Meera | Tamil | Hotstar | ||
| 2019 | What's Up Velakkari | Jessi | ZEE5 | India's first bilingual web series | |
| What's Up Panimanishi | Telugu | ||||
| Rakta Chandanaa | DSP Janaki Atholi IPS | Kannada | Watcho | ||
| 2021 | Alludu Garu | Ammu | Telugu | Aha | Official Remake of What the folks series |
| 2022 | Loser | Maya Sivaramakrishna | ZEE5 | Season 2 | |
| Recce | Gouri | ||||
| Mad Company | Roshini | Tamil | Aha |
Controversies
editOffensive post targeting Tamil community
editIn 2012, when the IPL team Chennai Super Kings qualified for the playoffs, Dhanya took to Facebook and wrote a disparaging message, alleging that people from Chennai were dependent on the people of Bangalore for basic necessities.[10] She claimed that Chennai residents (Tamils) relied on Bangalore for water and electricity, further asserting that they contributed to making Karnataka's capital unclean when visiting.
These remarks sparked significant backlash at the time. Dhanya Balakrishna initially announced her departure from Tamil cinema. However, despite this declaration, she continued to feature in Tamil films such as Raja Rani, Carbon, and Yaar Ivan, as well as in Tamil web series like As I'm Suffering From Kadhal.[11]
In 2024, as the release of Lal Salaam, directed by Aishwarya Rajinikanth, approached, Dhanya's past comments resurfaced as she was cast as a lead in the film. People questioned the director's decision to cast someone who held negative views about the Tamil community in a Tamil film.[12]
Responding to the controversy, Dhanya issued a statement denying authorship of the post. The actress asserted that the post was fabricated by a troll, vehemently denying ever making such derogatory comments. She pledged her professional integrity, affirming that she had never expressed such sentiments in the past.[13]
References
edit- ^ "After acting in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, Dhanya Balakrishnan bags first Kannada film". The Indian Express. 15 October 2018. Archived from the original on 3 November 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Now I am a south Indian heroine, says Dhanya Balakrishna". The New Indian Express. 14 October 2018. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
The best part is that my dialogue delivery will be a lot more real because Kannada is my mother tongue, and unlike other languages, I don't have to translate it in my head, which is just a lot of effort
- ^ "Balaji Mohan confirms second marriage with Dhanya Balakrishn". The Times of India. 27 December 2022. Archived from the original on 28 December 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ "Balaji Mohan and Dhanya Balakrishnan get married secretly". The Times of India. 18 December 2022. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
- ^ a b "The new girl on the block: Dhanya Balakrishnan". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ Yerasala, Ikyatha (30 October 2019). "Dhanya's ride to success!". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ "Becoming lead heroine is the toughest thing I have done: Dhanya Balakrishnan". The Times of India. 15 December 2019. Archived from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ "Ram' (RAM/Rapid Action Mission) Censor Report". Sakshi Post. Archived from the original on 24 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ "Rajinikanth's next directed by his daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth, Lal Salaam, to have grand audio launch on this date". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ "Dhanya Balakrishna's controversial 2012 post goes viral again, actress issues statement". WION. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ "Lal Salaam actor Dhanya Balakrishna faces backlash for her old comments about Tamil people". The Indian Express. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ "Dhanya Balakrishna clarifies comments against Tamil people in old Facebook post". India Today. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 4 March 2024.