Kalenahalli Adaviswamy Dhananjaya, also known as Daali, is an Indian actor and producer who predominantly works in

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

films. Dhananjaya made his acting debut in '' Director's Special'' (2013) for which he won the best debut actor award at the SIIMA Awards.He has won three

Filmfare Awards South The Filmfare Awards South are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and Kannada cinema. They are presented by ''Filmfare'' magazine of The Times Group. When it was intr ...

and four

South Indian International Movie Awards The South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA Awards) rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreciate and hono ...

for his performances in various films He was critically acclaimed for playing the role of

Allama Prabhu Allamaprabhu was a 12th-century Lingayat-saint and '' Vachana'' poet (called ''Vachanakara'') of the Kannada language, propagating the unitary consciousness of Self and Shiva. Allamaprabhu is one of the celebrated poets and the patron saint ...

in ''

Allama ''Allamah'' () is an Islamic honorary title for a profound scholar, a polymath, a man of vast reading and erudition, or a great learned one. The title is carried by scholars of Islamic fiqh (jurisprudence) and philosophy. It is used as an hon ...

'' (2017). He turned producer through the film ' Badava Rascal''. Dhananjaya got the major breakthrough in the 2018 film ''

Tagaru ''Tagaru'' () is a 2018 Indian Kannada-language action crime film co-written and directed by Duniya Soori and produced by K. P. Srikanth under Venus Entertainers. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar, alongside Dhananjaya, Bhavana, Manvitha Kamath, ...

'' directed by

Duniya Soori Duniya Suri, credited onscreen as Suri, is an Indian movie director. He became known as Duniya Suri in the wake of the success of his debut movie '' Duniya'', for which he won the 2006–2007 Karnataka State Film Awards in the Best Screenpl ...

for his performance as a menacing villain. He is now popularly addressed as "Daali", the character name in the film.

Early life and family

Dhananjaya was born on 23 August 1985 in Kalenahalli, Arsikere taluka,

Hassan District Hassan is one of the districts of Karnataka, 31 districts of Karnataka, India. The district headquarter is Hassan, Karnataka, Hassan. It was part of ''Manjarabad Faujdari'' between 1832-81 (Mysore Commission, Commissioner's Rule of Mysore). In ...

. He excelled in studies and secured top marks for the whole of Hassan District once when he was in 7th standard and then again in 10th standard. He says he grew up watching

Dr. Rajkumar Singanalluru Puttaswamaiah Muthuraj (24 April 1929 – 12 April 2006), better known by his stage name Dr. Rajkumar, was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Kannada cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest and versatile actors in the his ...

movies and hence he started acting in dramas, mono-acting competitions and street plays while he was still in school. Dhananjaya then moved to

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

for higher studies and having completed his PUC in Marimallappa College, he secured an engineering seat in one of the reputed engineering colleges in Mysore, SJCE. He even got a job in a software company,

Infosys Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational corporation, multinational technology company that offers business consulting, information technology, and outsourcing services. Founded in 1981 in Pune, the company is headquartered in Bengaluru. On ...

. However, he started taking acting more seriously and joined an amateur theatre group called GPIER which was headed and mentored by a senior Rangayana artist named Mime Ramesh. He was also recognized and mentored by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

theatre artist Christian Stückl in Germany. During one of his performances in a drama, he was recognised by popular Kannada director

Guruprasad Guruprasad (2 November 1972 – October 2024) was an Indian film director and actor in the Kannada film industry. His debut as a director was the 2006 film which became a cult hit and his second film as a director is . Both films did receive ...

and was offered a lead role in a feature film. Thus began his career in

Sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...

. He married Dr.Dhanyatha in a grand ceremony held on February 16, 2025, at the Exhibition Grounds in Mysore

Film career

Early years (2013–2017)

Dhananjaya appeared in a Kannada short film on YouTube calle
Jayanagar 4th Block
which has over 2.5 million views as of 2022. Dhananjaya was offered a lead role in

's feature film '' Director's Special''. The film took three years in the making and was finally released in 2013 to mixed and negative responses at the box office. Dhananjaya was lauded for his performance and won the best debut actor award at the 3rd SIIMA Awards for the same. Many prominent filmmakers approached him for the roles in their films. He was then cast in A. P. Arjun's next film ''

Rhaatee ''Rhaatee'' () is a 2015 Indian Kannada language, Kannada romantic film, romantic action thriller film directed by A. P. Arjun and produced by V. Harikrishna, who also composed the music, under Harmonium Reeds. It stars Dhananjay (actor), Dhana ...

'' opposite

Shruthi Hariharan Sruthi Hariharan (born 2 February 1989) is an Indian actress who primarily appears in Kannada and Tamil language, Tamil films. Sruthi is a recipient of a National Film Awards, National Film Award, three Filmfare Awards South and one Karnataka ...

under musician V. Harikrishna's debut production. His next was Preetham Gubbi's film

Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, produced under Jayanna Films banner, which brought him wide accolades. He was known for his fit boxer's body, which he had achieved by rigorous training. He was then offered a role by National award-winning director

T. S. Nagabharana Talakadu Srinivasaiah Nagabharana (born 23 January 1953), commonly known as T. S. Nagabharana, is an Indian film director, in the Kannada film industry and a pioneer of parallel cinema. He is one of the few film directors to have straddled th ...

for the film ''Allama'' which is based on the life of 12th century saint poet

. Dhananjaya underwent harsh training to master the musical instrument

Mridanga The ''khol'' is a terracotta two-sided drum used in northern and eastern India for accompaniment with devotional music ('' bhakti''). It is also known as a ''mridanga'' (<

''Daali"'' opposite

Shiva Rajkumar Dr.Shiva Rajkumar (born Nagaraju Shiva Puttaswamy; 12 July 1962) is an Indian actor, film producer and television presenter who predominantly works in Kannada cinema. In a career spanning over three decades, he has worked in over 125 films in Ka ...

directed by Duniya Suri. Director Suri has shared that he was a bit hesitant to offer negative role to Dhananjaya as he was always playing good deed doing lead (or ''hero'') roles in his previous movies and was pleasantly surprised when he accepted the offer. The film opened with very good reviews and was declared a huge hit in terms of box office collection. Dhananjaya's acting as a menacing villain won him accolades across the film fraternity, critics and the audience. The role earned him nicknames such as "''Nataraakshasa''", "''Nata bhayanakara''", "''Daali''" etc. He is currently one of the most sought-after actors who is seen as a capable lead to play both antagonist and protagonist roles. After this movie, he has played many roles with leading actors in the Kannada film industry such as

Darshan Darshan, a Sanskrit word meaning "sight" or "viewing", may refer to: Ceremony and religion * Darshan (Indian religions), the auspicious sight of a divine image or holy person; also a school of Hindu philosophy * Darshan (Judaism), a Scriptural ...

in ''Yajamana'',

Puneeth Rajkumar Dr. Puneeth Rajkumar (17 March 1975 – 29 October 2021), affectionately known as Appu (by his fans, after his first lead role in the movie Appu (2002 film), ''Appu''), was an Indian actor, playback singer, film producer, television presenter a ...

in '' Yuvarathna'' and

Duniya Vijay } B. R. Vijay Kumar, professionally known as Duniya Vijay and Duniya Viji, is an Indian actor and film director known for his work in Kannada films. As an actor, he began his career playing small roles until he got his big break in '' Duniya'' ...

in '' Salaga'' as well as paving the way to receive offers for films in other languages. He then starred in the film '' Rathnan Prapancha'' directed by Rohit Padaki and produced by KRG Studios which was their maiden production venture. The film had a direct OTT Release on

Amazon prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

and received positive reviews and deemed a blockbuster.

Production and other work

Riding on the success of his acting career in Sandalwood, Dhananjaya has set up his own production house Daali Pictures named after his popular character ''Daali''. '' Badava Rascal'' - A Kannada film, marked Dhananjaya's entry into the journey as a producer under his home banner. The film directed by Debutant Shankar Guru opened to positive to mixed reviews but became a sleeper hit at the box office. His next production venture was named '' Head Bush'' directed by Debutant Shoonya and story by Agni Shridhar under his home banner Daali Pictures. The film based on the life-story of Bangalore's infamous underworld don - Jayaraj. The film opened to mixed reviews and fared averagely at the box office and attracted controversy over the

Veeragase Veeragase/Guggla is a dance form prevalent in the state of Karnataka, India. It is a vigorous dance based on Hindu mythology and involves very intense energy-sapping dance movements performed by Jangama. Veeragase is one of the dances demonstrat ...

scene in the movie. His third production was Tagarupalya, a rural comedy drama movie directed by Debutant Umesh Krupa, starring Nagabushana, Debutante Amrutha Prem, Rangayana Raghu and others. The movie opened to positive to mixed reviews and performed decently at the box office. Dhananjaya has also penned for songs in movies that he has starred in as well as other indie films. The Kannada film '' Orchestra Mysuru-'' a first production venture by musician

Raghu Dixit Raghupati Dwarakanath Dixit (born 11 November 1974) is an Indian singer-composer, producer, and film score composer who is the frontman for the Raghu Dixit Project, a multilingual folk music band. Dixit prominently works in Kannada cinema as s ...

being one of his first as a lyricist in Kannada film industry. He has also written multiple songs for his production movies '' Badava Rascal, Head Bush, Tagru Palya'' among which many of them were a huge hit. He also penned few lines for the movie '' Daredevil Mustafa'' which went to feature in the Karnataka State Budget for the year 2024. Dhananjaya often writes columns in Kannada newspapers choosing topics such as social issues and human values.

Filmography

As lyricist

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Dhananjay Rediff interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhananjay Living people 1986 births Indian male film actors Indian male stage actors Male actors from Karnataka Male actors in Kannada cinema People from Hassan district 21st-century Indian male actors Male actors in Kannada theatre South Indian International Movie Awards winners Male actors in Telugu cinema