Dhanya Balakrishna

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Dhanya Balakrishna
OccupationActress
Years active2011–present
Spouse
(m. 2022)

Dhanya Balakrishna is an Indian actress who has appeared mostly in Telugu films along with Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films. After making her debut in

Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2013). Dhanya made her debut as female lead in Telugu
with Chinni Chinni Aasa (2013).

Personal life

Dhanya Balakrishna was born in Bangalore, Karnataka.[2] She was educated at MES. She married Indian director Balaji Mohan in January 2022.[3][4]

Career

Dhanya 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

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

Films

List of Dhanya Balakrishna film credits
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 [9]
Sharma & Ambani Sitara Telugu ETV Win film.

Television

List of Dhanya Balakrishna television credits
Year Series Role Language Availability Notes
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 House Tamil Aha

Controversies

Offensive post targeting Tamil community

In 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 am 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

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ "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
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Yerasala, Ikyatha (30 October 2019). "Dhanya's ride to success!". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. Sakshi Post. Archived
    from the original on 24 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "Dhanya Balakrishna's controversial 2012 post goes viral again, actress issues statement". WION. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Lal Salaam actor Dhanya Balakrishna faces backlash for her old comments about Tamil people". The Indian Express. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Dhanya Balakrishna clarifies comments against Tamil people in old Facebook post". India Today. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 4 March 2024.