# Divya Khosla Kumar

Divya Khosla Kumar (née Khosla) is an Indian model, actress, producer, and director who mainly works in Hindi cinema. She has directed two films; the romantic comedy Yaariyan (2014) and the romantic drama Sanam Re (2016) and has produced Hindi films and music videos.
Khosla started her career as a model and appeared in various music videos notably "Zid Na Karo Ye Dil Ka Mamla Hai" by Roop Johri and Kunal Ganjawala and Falguni Pathak's "Aiyyo Rama". She made her acting debut with the Telugu film Love Today and her Hindi cinema debut with the film Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo (both 2004) before taking a hiatus from acting to focus on direction. On completion of a course in cinematography and editing, she directed several music videos before her directorial debut Yaariyan (2014) followed by Sanam Re (2016).
Khosla returned to acting in 2017 through the short film Bulbul, and since 2021 has starred in the action thriller Satyameva Jayate 2, the romantic drama Yaariyan 2 (2023), and the action thriller Savi (2024).
She is married to Bhushan Kumar, the chairman and managing director of T-Series.

## Career
### Debut, hiatus and work as director (2003-2016)

Khosla started her career as a model and later appeared in a number of music videos. In 2003, she starred in the music video "Kabhi Yaadon Mein Aaun", sung by Abhijeet Bhattacharya. She also appeared with Salman Khan in the music video "Zid Na Karo Ye Dil Ka Mamla Hai", sung by Roop Johri and Kunal Ganjawala. Her acting debut was in the 2004 Telugu film Love Today, where she starred opposite Uday Kiran. She also appeared in a music video "Aiyyo Rama" sung by Falguni Pathak. In the same year, she made her Hindi cinema debut with the film Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo, in which she portrayed Shweta, the wife of Major Rajeev Singh played by Akshay Kumar. Patcy N of Rediff noted, "Divya Khosla doesn't have much to do and acts well in a few sequences."
She then took a long break from acting and focused on directing. After completing a course in cinematography and editing, Khosla directed music videos for Agam Kumar Nigam, Jermaine Jackson, Tulsi Kumar, and a few ad films. After directing 20 music videos, Khosla did her first directorial venture Yaariyan in 2014 starring Himansh Kohl and Rakul Preet Singh. The film received negative reviews from critics but was a box office success. Divya also choreographed five songs in the film, including Baarish, Maa, Love Me Thoda Aur, Allah Wariya, and Zor Lagake.
Her second directorial project was the romantic drama Sanam Re in 2016 . The film starred Pulkit Samrat, Yami Gautam, and Urvashi Rautela. The film began production in December 2014 at Barog station in Shimla and was shot in Mumbai, Chandigarh, Shimla, Kalpa, Ladakh, Tanakpur, and various locations in Canada.

### Return to acting (2017-present)

Khosla returned to acting in 2017 with the short film Bulbul also acting as the producer. In 2021, she starred opposite John Abraham in Satyameva Jayate 2. This film was the sequel to John's 2018 film of the same name. The film received negative reviews; however, the Times of India noted, "Divya Khosla is pleasant and has a fairly prominent part to play in this otherwise male-dominated movie."
In 2019, Khosla appeared in the video song "Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi" by Neha Kakkar, a remix of a song with the same name from the 1999 film Pyaar Koi Khel Nahin. The music video has had over 100 million views on YouTube. In 2020, Divya featured in the video song "Teri Aankhon Mein" with Pearl V. Puri, sung by Darshan Raval and Neha Kakkar.
In 2023, Khosla starred as Laadli Chibber Singh Katyal in Radhika Rao's romantic dramaYaariyan 2. A remake of the Malayalam film Bangalore Days (2014) and a sequel to her directorial debut Yaariyan, her character Laadli was seen as a recovering thalassemia patient living with her mother in Shimla, where her mother wants her to marry into a good family, but Laadli aspires to win a beauty pageant and build a career. During the trailer launch of the film, Khosla revealed that the role is based on her, and recalled the memories of her when the director cast her after seeing her audition in Delhi when she was just 14. The film received mixed reviews. A critic from Bollywood Hungama praised Khosla's performance. Vinamra Mathur from Firstpost wrote "Yaariyan 2 can be best described as a silly sequel to Yaariyan. This isn't just a sequel but a remake of a Malayalam film, which was released in the same year as the first Yaariyan, 2014 to be precise. There's a lot happening in the first paragraph itself."
Her next film action thriller Savi (2024), directed by Abhinay Deo, focuses on the story of a woman who fights to save her family and others by standing up against the government and administration, it also starred Anil Kapoor and Harshvardhan Rane. The film was released to positive reviews from critics, and was a commercial success at the box office. Titas Chowdhury of News18 wrote that "the film marks a revelation of sorts as it sees Divya hitting all the emotional notes right, a feat we haven't had the opportunity to witness in the past. She skillfully embodies a complex character, showcasing palpable depth in her portrayal of Savi's vulnerability and strength, creating a unique blend of fragility and fearlessness." Abhishek Srivastava of Times of India stated "Divya Khossla takes on the challenging role of Savi, and her hard work is evident in her performance. She remains the focal point throughout the film." In May 2024, the digital rights to the film were sold to Netflix. Divya's role as Savi gained attention when the film reached Netflix's global top non-English language film chart in 14 countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE, among others.
She is set to appear in the Telugu film Hero Heeroine, directed by Suresh Krissna.

## Personal life

Khosla was born on 20 November 1981 in Delhi. She married Bhushan Kumar on 13 February 2005 at the Maa Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra. The couple has a son born in October 2011.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |

### As an actress

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | Love Today | Parvatha Vardhini | Telugu film |
| 2004 | Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo | Shweta Bhansali Singh | |
| 2016 | Sanam Re | Herself | Special appearance in the songs "Akkad Bakkad" and "Humne Pee Rakkhi Hain" |
| 2017 | Bulbul | Bulbul | Short film |
| 2021 | Satyameva Jayate 2 | MLA Vidya Maurya Azad | |
| 2023 | Yaariyan 2 | Laadli Chibber | |
| 2024 | Savi | Savi Sachdeva | |
| TBA | Hero Heeroine † | TBA | Telugu film; filming |

### As director

| Year | Film | Notes | Ref |
| 2014 | Yaariyan | Directorial debut | |
| 2016 | Sanam Re | | |

### As producer

| Year | Film | Notes |
| 2015 | Roy | |
| 2017 | Bulbul | |
| 2019 | Khandaani Shafakhana | |
| 2019 | Batla House | |
| 2019 | Marjaavaan | |
| 2020 | Street Dancer 3D | |
| 2020 | Ludo | Netflix release |
| 2020 | Indoo Ki Jawani | |
| 2020 | Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan | |
| 2021 | Sardar Ka Grandson | Netflix release |
| 2023 | Yaariyan 2 | |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Role | Singer(s) | Album | Notes |
| 2000 | "Aiyyo Rama" | Herself | Falguni Pathak | Meri Chunar Udd Udd Jaye | |
| 2003 | "Kabhi Yaadon Mein Aaun" | Herself | Abhijeet Bhattacharya | Tere Bina | |
| 2003 | "Zid Na Karo Ye Dil Ka Mamla Hai" | Herself | Roop Johri, Kunal Ganjawala | Tera Mera Dil | |
| 2017 | "Kabhi Yaadon Mein" | Herself | Palak Muchhal, Arijit Singh | Kabhi Yaadon Mein | Remake of 2003's "Kabhi Yaadon Mein Aaun" by Abhijeet |
| 2019 | "Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi" | Sitaara | Neha Kakkar | Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi | Remake of "Yaad Piya Ki" from the film Pyaar Koi Khel Nahin |
| 2020 | "Teri Aankhon Mein" | Herself | Darshan Raval, Neha Kakkar | Teri Aankhon Mein | |
| 2020 | "Besharam Bewaffa" | Herself | B Praak | Jaani Ve | |
| 2022 | "Designer" | Herself | Guru Randhawa, Yo Yo Honey Singh | Designer | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
| 2005 | Bollywood Movie Award | Best Female Debut | Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyo | Nominated |
| 2021 | Filmfare Awards | Best Film (as producer) | Ludo | Nominated |
| 2022 | Iconic Gold Awards | Iconic Best Actress of the Year - Popular Choice | Satyameva Jayate 2 | Won |