Dhananjaya Maduranga de Silva, or commonly Dhananjaya de Silva is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer, who plays for Sri Lanka in all formats of the game, and for Tamil Union in domestic cricket. In November 2017, he was named the Test batsman of the year for the 2016–17 season at Sri Lanka Cricket’s annual awards.
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Real name/Full name | Kalenahalli Adaviswamy Dhananjaya [1] |
| Name(s) Earned | • Daali • Nataraakshasa • Natabhayanakara |
| Profession(s) | Actor, Writer, Producer, Lyricist |
| Famous Role | ‘Daali’ in Tagaru |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters– 183 cm in meters– 1.83 m in feet & inches– 6’ 0” |
| Weight (approx.) | in kilograms– 85 kg in pounds– 187 lbs |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Career | |
| Debut | Film: Director’s Special in Sandalwood Bhairava Geetha in Tollywood |
| Awards, Honours, Achievements | • 3rd SIIMA Award for Best Debutant Male for the film Director’s Special. • 65th Filmfare Awards South for Best Actor (Critics) for the film Allama. • Basavaratna Best Actor Award for the film Allama. • Zee Kannada Hemmeya Kannadiga Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Tagaru. • 65th Filmfare Awards South for Best Supporting Actor for the film Tagaru. • 8th SIIMA Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role for the film Tagaru. • 10th SIIMA Award for Best Actor for the film Popcorn Monkey Tiger. |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 23 August 1986 (Saturday) |
| Age (As of 2024) | 37 Years of 2024 |
| Birthplace | Kalenahalli Arsikere, a village in Hassan district, Karnataka |
| Zodiac sign | Virgo |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Kalenahalli Arsikere, Hassan district, Karnataka |
| School | St. Mary’s High School in Arasekere Taluk |
| College/University | • Marimallapa College • Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering |
| Educational Qualification | • A PUC (Pre-university course) • Bachelor in Engineering [2] |
| Controversies | Dhananjaya was in controversy when he replied to the tweet of author Chakravarthy Sulibele. The author tweeted about the deaths in Italy due to covid-19 pandemic and tweeted “Jesus loves all” . Soon the sarcasm in his tweet was understood by people. Then, Dhananjaya replied to his tweet saying, humanity comes first. This kind thought of Dhananjaya was appreciated by many people, but there were some, who did not agree to his tweet and commented to ‘just act,’ and mocked his morality by comparing his real-life persona to his on-screen characters.[3] |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
| Family | |
| Parents | Father– Adaviswamy, a government primary school teacher Mother– Savitramma |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car Collection | Range Rover |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Dhananjaya
- Dhananjaya is an Indian actor, writer, producer, and lyricist, who earned fame after playing the role of antagonist ‘Daali’ in the film Tagaru.
- Dhananjaya was a brilliant student and scored 95.32% marks in the SSLC Board examination. His photo was also printed in the newspaper.
- After completing school, he got a job as a software engineer in Infosys. Following his passion for acting, he dropped the job and joined theatre GPIER.
- He had also worked in German theatres under Christian Stuckl, a German theatre artist.
- After doing theatre shows, he entered Kannada cinema, Sandalwood, when he was first recognised by a Kannada director Guruprasad, who offered him a lead role in one of his films.
- Dhananjaya is a hardworking actor. He practised very hard for his film Boxer and learnt classical dance and to play Mridanga for his role in the film Allam Prabhu.
- Although his performance and acting were appreciated by many people, he was not able to make a mark by his acting. A turning point came in his career when he was offered the role of an antagonist (Daali) in the film Tagaru. After the release of the film, he is most famous as Daali among his fans.
- After playing the character Daali, he did several negative roles in the films like Yajamana, Yuvarathna, and many more, giving back to back hits.
- Dhananjaya shared in an interview that he got the role of Daali while having a casual talk with Duniya Suri, at the gym. [4] Sharing that incident he said,
- Dhananjaya said in an interview that he loves to be called Daali by his fans and always takes it as a compliment. He added,
- After the film Tagaru, his fan following increased, especially female fans. One of his female fans got his name ‘Daali’ tattooed on her collarbone. [5] Overwhelmed by the sweet gesture of his fan, he said in an interview,
- After playing a number of negative roles back to back, he was usually questioned by his fans, if he will stick to negative roles only. He then said in an interview,
- He again collaborated with the director Duniya Suri for the film Popcorn Monkey Tiger. He played the character of Tiger Seena in the film and considered it to be the most challenging character he had ever played. He said in an interview,
- His first film to be released on the OTT platform was Ratan Prapancha in 2021. In his opinion, OTT platforms are helping Kannada cinema to grow. He shared in an interview,
- Dhananjaya shared in an interview that he can not stick to a particular thing and enjoys multitasking. He said,
- He once shared in an interview that he wanted to be a performer instead of a star and said,
- He also participated in a Kannada show No. 1 Yaari. When he was asked, with which heroine he wanted to do a liplock scene, within seconds he replied Deepika Padukone. [6]
- In the film Ratan Prapancha, he played the role of a common man. He once said in an interview that he loved the character and shared the story that how he got the role. He said,
- ‘Padaki,’ director of the film Ratan Prapancha, shared in an interview, his working experience with Dhananjaya and said,
- Dhananjaya’s character Jolly Reddy in the film Pushpa received all appreciation from his fans. [8] Describing his character, Jolly Reddy, he said in an interview
- He signed most of his films during the covid -19 pandemic. He said in an interview that he loves to work and cannot sit idly. [9] He added,
- Dhananjaya has his own production house by the name Daali pictures. He had produced films Badava Rascal and Head Bush under his production house. [10]
- He had also written songs for the films Orchestra and Badava Rascal.
- He had written columns in the Kannada newspaper on human values and social issues.