# Diganth

Diganth Manchale (born 28 December 1983), known professionally as Diganth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Kannada films. Diganth made his lead acting debut in Miss California (2006) and is best known for his performance in Gaalipata (2008). He is a recipient of two South Indian International Movie Awards along with nominations for four Filmfare Awards South.
Diganth received the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Kannada nomination for his portrayal in Manasaare (2009), Pancharangi (2010) and Katheyondu Shuruvagide (2018). He further established himself as a leading actor in Kannada cinema with successful films such as Lifeu Ishtene (2011), Parijatha (2012), Minchagi Nee Baralu (2015), Chowka (2017), Happy New Year (2017), Gaalipata 2 (2022), Thimayya & Thimayya (2022), Bachelor Party (2024) and Marigold (2024).

## Early life

Diganth Manchale was born in Sagara, Karnataka into a family of Havyaka Brahmins. He completed schooling in Seva Bharathi and pre-university in Tunga Mahavidyalaya, Thirthahalli. His father, Krishnamurthy, is a professor, and his mother is Mallika. Diganth has an elder brother, Akash Manchale. He completed his Graduate in B. Com from Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, a part of Jain University in Bengaluru, and was a model before joining the Kannada film industry in 2006.

## Career
### Early work, success and fluctuations (2006-2022)

Diganth made his lead debut in the film Miss California, but he gained fame for his supporting roles in Mungaru Male and Gaalipata.
His career after 2010 includes successful projects such as Manasaare, Pancharangi, Lifeu Ishtene and Parijatha. All of these films brought him much popularity and stardom. He went on to play the lead in director Indrajith Lankesh's Dev Son of Mudde Gowda in 2012 which received mixed reactions.
He made his Bollywood debut in Wedding Pullav that was released on 16 October 2015.
In 2017, Diganth was part of Chowka, which was a blockbuster. In that same year, he acted in Happy New Year for which he was nominated for SIMA best supporting role.
Under Pushkar films he acted in Katheyondu Shuruvagide, a romantic movie for which he was nominated for the SIIMA award for best actor. He also played a supporting role in Puneeth Rajkumar starrer Yuvarathnaa.
In 2021, he acted in the suspense thriller movie Huttu Habbada Shubhashayagalu. He played a village boy role in Kshamisi Nimma Khaatheyalli Hanavilla. He was also the part of Gaalipata 2 where his aghori character was praised.

### Established actor (2023–present)

In the mystery thriller Yadha Yadha Hi (2023), Diganth played a corrupt police officer Ashok Teja investigating a murder case. The reviewer for Cinema Express felt that his character "embodies both positive and negative shades" and that his "convincing portrayal and ample screen time allow him to make the most of this opportunity, eliciting both appreciation and laughter." They added, "In particular, his performance during scenes where he portrays a cancer patient deserves special recognition." He made a cameo in Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare. In July 2023, it was reported that was signed for Rohith Padaki's gangster drama Uttarakaanda. In the comedy film, Bachelor Party, his first release of 2024, Diganth played a software engineer, whose personal life is miserable. He goes on a bachelor's party of a friend to Thailand and gets embroiled in a gang war. Film Companion wrote that "Diganth brings his signature, doe-eyed innocence to the character who is never happy in life... and even in anger, no one can take him seriously" and added that "... he does his best with the material." In another comedy, Marigold, he plays a habitual thief that hatches a plan along with his gang to steal gold biscuits from the police, who have acquired them using their ill-gotten money, in the backdrop of the 2016 demonetisation of banknotes. While Shashiprasad S. M. of Times Now News felt that the film helps Diganth "strike gold", A. Sharadhaa of Cinema Express felt that "Diganth... impeccably portrays Krishna's character, effortlessly switching between delivering punchy dialogues while maintaining the comic timing and exhibiting heroism."

## Personal life

Diganth is sometimes called "Doodhpedha" by his fans, referencing his popular role by that name.
Diganth met actress Aindrita Ray on the sets of Manasaare in 2008, and they eventually started dating. After 10 years of courtship, Diganth and Ray got married on 12 December 2018, in a traditional Bengali wedding ceremony, at Nandi Hills, Karnataka.

## In the media

Diganth was placed third in Rediff.com 's "Top 5 Kannada Actors" list of 2011, for his film Lifeu Ishtene. Diganth was placed 19th in 2018, 9th in 2019 and 6th in 2020 in the Bangalore Times' 30 Most Desirable Men list. In 2024, Diganth and Aindrita along with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, donated a mechanical elephant to a temple in Mysuru.

## Filmography
### Films

* All films are in Kannada, unless otherwise noted.
Key :
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Mandya | Harsha | |
| 2006 | Miss California | Diganth | |
| 2006 | Kadala Mage | Arun | Tulu film |
| 2006 | Mungaru Male | Gautham | |
| 2007 | SMS 6260 | Roshan | |
| 2007 | Meera Madhava Raghava | Madhava | |
| 2008 | Gaalipata | Diganth | |
| 2008 | Vaana | Gautham | Telugu film |
| 2008 | Mast Maja Maadi | Kamesh | |
| 2009 | House Full | Diggu | |
| 2009 | Manasaare | Manohar | |
| 2009 | Male Bille | Akash | |
| 2010 | Swayamwara | Vijay | |
| 2010 | Pancharangi | Bharath | |
| 2010 | Bisile | Vicky | |
| 2011 | Jolly Boy | Ganesh | |
| 2011 | Mr.Duplicate | Vikram | |
| 2011 | Lifeu Ishtene | Vishal | |
| 2011 | Putra | Krishna | |
| 2011 | Taare | Nesara | |
| 2011 | Kaanchaana | Venky | |
| 2012 | Parijatha | Bhaskar | |
| 2012 | Dev Son of Mudde Gowda | Dev | |
| 2013 | Barfi | Santosh | |
| 2015 | Wedding Pullav | Aditya | Hindi film |
| 2015 | Minchagi Nee Baralu | Jai | |
| 2015 | Sharpshooter | Jedara Kannappa "JK" | Also Playback Singer |
| 2016 | Parapancha | Seenu | |
| 2016 | Nagarahavu | Nagacharan | |
| 2017 | Chowka | Krishna Rao | |
| 2017 | Happy New Year | Harsha | |
| 2018 | Katheyondu Shuruvagide | Tarun Manchale | |
| 2019 | Fortuner | Phartha | |
| 2019 | Panchatantra | Himself | Guest appearance |
| 2021 | Yuvarathnaa | Samarth Bharadwaj | |
| 2021 | Huttu Habbada Shubhashayagalu | Arjun | |
| 2022 | Kshamisi Nimma Khaatheyalli Hanavilla | Shankara | |
| 2022 | Gaalipata 2 | Digi | |
| 2022 | Thimayya & Thimayya | Thimayya | |
| 2023 | Yadha Yadha Hi | Ashok Teja / Adarsh Bhatt | |
| 2023 | Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare | Bunty Gowda | Cameo appearance |
| 2024 | Bachelor Party | Santhosh | |
| 2024 | Marigold | Krishna Nayak | |
| 2024 | The Judgement | Anil Kumar | |
| 2024 | Powder | Surya | |
| 2024 | Laughing Buddha | Vishwa | |
| TBA | Edagaiye Apaghatakke Karana† | TBA | Post-production |
| TBA | Kuladalli Keelyavudo† | TBA | Post-production |
| TBA | Uttarakaanda† | Mallige | Filming |

### Web series

| Year | Film | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 2021 | Ramyug | Rama | Hindi series | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
| 2009 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Supporting Actor – Kannada | Gaalipata | Nominated |
| 2010 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor – Kannada | Manasaare | Nominated |
| 2011 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor – Kannada | Pancharangi | Nominated |
| 2019 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor – Kannada | Katheyondu Shuruvagide | Nominated |
| 2012 | Suvarna Film Awards | Favorite Hero | Lifeu Ishtene | Nominated |
| 2013 | South Indian International Movie Awards | Romantic Star of South Indian Cinema | — | Won |
| 2018 | South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Kannada | Happy New Year | Nominated |
| 2023 | South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Kannada | Gaalipata 2 | Won |