# Dhanya Balakrishna

Dhanya Balakrishna is an Indian actress who appears in Telugu and Tamil films. After making her debut in A. R. Murugadoss's 7aum Arivu (2011), in a supporting role, 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).

## Personal life

Dhanya Balakrishna was born in Bangalore, Karnataka. She was educated at MES. She married Tamil filmmaker and actor Balaji Mohan in January 2022 after falling in love while filming As I'm Suffering From Kadhal (2017).

## 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. 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).
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 is 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 | Tamil | Bilingual film; Telugu debut |
| 2012 | Love Failure | Rashmi | Telugu | Bilingual film; Telugu debut |
| 2012 | Neethaane En Ponvasantham | Nithya's friend | Tamil | Bilingual film |
| 2012 | Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu | Nithya's friend | Telugu | Bilingual film |
| 2013 | Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu | girl who proposes to Chinnodu | Telugu | |
| 2013 | Raja Rani | Nivetha | Tamil | |
| 2013 | Chinni Chinni Aasa | Nisha | Telugu | Debut as lead actress |
| 2013 | Second Hand | Sahasra / Deepu / Swecha | Telugu | Also singer for "Jo Tera Hi Ho Mera Hai" |
| 2014 | Amrutham Chandamamalo | Sanjeevani | Telugu | |
| 2014 | Run Raja Run | Soundarya/Bangaram | Telugu | Cameo Appearance |
| 2014 | Chinnadana Nee Kosam | Nandhini's friend | Telugu | |
| 2015 | Raju Gari Gadhi | Bala Tripura Sundari | Telugu | |
| 2015 | Bhale Manchi Roju | Maya D'Souza | Telugu | |
| 2016 | Nenu Sailaja | Keerti | Telugu | |
| 2016 | Thanu Vachhenanta | Keerti | Telugu | |
| 2016 | Savitri | Gayathri | Telugu | |
| 2017 | Veedevadu | Dr.Gouthami Ramakrishna | Telugu | Bilingual film |
| 2017 | Yaar Ivan | Dr.Gouthami Ramakrishna | Tamil | Bilingual film |
| 2017 | Jaya Janaki Nayaka | Sweety's friend | Telugu | |
| 2019 | Love Action Drama | Priya | Malayalam | Malayalam debut |
| 2019 | Puzhikkadakan | Anna | Malayalam | |
| 2019 | Hulchul | Swathi | Telugu | |
| 2019 | Sarvajanikarige Suvarnavakasha | Jahnavi | Kannada | Kannada debut |
| 2019 | Software Sudheer | Swathi | Telugu | |
| 2020 | Anukunnadi Okati Ayinadi Okati | Dhanya | Telugu | |
| 2022 | Carbon | Swapna | Tamil | |
| 2022 | Jagamemaya | Chitra | Telugu | 25th film |
| 2022 | Nodi Swamy Ivanu Irode Heege | Gajalakshmi | Kannada | |
| 2023 | Undenama | Preethi | Kannada | |
| 2024 | RAM (Rapid Action Mission) | Dr. Jahnavi | Telugu | |
| 2024 | Lal Salaam | Ammani | Tamil | Guest appearance |
| 2024 | Sharma & Ambani | Sitara | Telugu | Direct release on ETV Win |
| 2025 | Hathya | Sudha Rao | Telugu | |
| 2025 | Baapu | Varalakshmi | Telugu | |

### Television

List of Dhanya Balakrishna television credits :
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Language | Notes |
| 2016 | 5th South Indian International Movie Awards | Host | YouTube | Tamil | Co-hosted with Sathish |
| 2017 | 6th South Indian International Movie Awards | Host | YouTube | Tamil | Co-hosted with Sathish |
| 2017 | PillA | Sahasra | Viu | Telugu | |
| 2017 | As I'm Suffering From Kadhal | Meera | Hotstar | Tamil | |
| 2019 | What's Up Velakkari | Jessi | ZEE5 | Tamil | |
| 2019 | What's Up Panimanishi | Jessi | ZEE5 | Telugu | |
| 2019 | Rakta Chandanaa | Janaki Atholi | Watcho | Kannada | |
| 2021 | Alludu Garu | Ammu | Aha | Telugu | |
| 2022 | Loser | Maya Sivaramakrishna | ZEE5 | Telugu | Season 2 |
| 2022 | Recce | Gouri | ZEE5 | Telugu | |
| 2022 | Mad Company | Roshini | Aha | Tamil | |

## 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. 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.
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.
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.