Dhivyadharshini Neelakandan, [1]E Times known mononymously as Dhivyadharshini, is an Indian actress and television host who mainly works in the Tamil film industry. She is best known for her performances in Sun TV’s TV serials “Selvi” (2005) and “Arasi” (2007). She is also popular for hosting the TV shows “Koffee with DD” (2013) and “Anbudan DD” (2017).
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Dhivyadharshini “DD” Neelakandan [2]Facebook was born on Sunday, 17 February 1985 (age 36 years; as of 2021) in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. Her zodiac sign is Aquarius. Her hometown is Chennai. She attended Chennai’s Our Lady’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School and later received part-time education at Anna Adarsh College.
Dhivyadharshini’s picture from her school days
Dhivyadharshini is also the alumna of Chennai’s Ethiraj College for Women. [3]Wikipedia
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 5″
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
Dhivyadharshini Neelakandan is the daughter of K. Neelakandan and N. Srilatha. Her elder sister, Priyadharshini Kishore Neelakandan, is an actress and TV host. She also has a younger brother, Sudharshan Neelakandan, who is an airline pilot.
Dhivyadharshini’s father
Dhivyadharshini with her mother
Dhivyadharshini and her brother
Dhivyadharshini with her siblings
Husband
Dhivyadharshini Neelakandan tied the knot with her longtime friend and assistant director Srikanth Ravichandran on 29 June 2014. Their marriage couldn’t last long and the duo announced their split in 2017.
Dhivyadharshini with Srikanth Ravichandran
Career
Films
Dhivyadharshini Neelakandan started her acting career as a child actress in 1990 with the Malayalam film “Shubhayathra.” In 2003, she made her Tamil film debut with the film “Julie Ganapathi.” Thereafter, she appeared in the Tamil films “Nala Damayanthi” (2003), “Whistle” (2003), “Power Paandi” (2017), and “Sarvam Thaala Mayam” (2019).
Television
Dhivyadharshini Neelakandan made her television debut in 1995 with Sun TV’s show “Siruvar Nigazhchi.” The show was a quiz show for kids and Neelakandan hosted around 20-25 episodes of it. In 1999, she appeared in the TV show “Ungal Theerpu” as a host. Subsequently, she hosted TV shows like “Jodi Number One” (2006), “Boys Vs Girls” (2009), “Koffee with DD” (2013), “Achcham Thavir” (2016), “Anbudan DD” (2017), and “Speed Get Set Go!” (2019).
Neelakandan has also appeared in TV serials like “Thadayam” (2003), “Ahalya” (2004), “Selvi” (2005), “Kolangal” (2006), and “Arasi” (2007).
Dhivyadharshini in Selvi
In 2019, she appeared as a judge on the dancing TV reality show “Dancing Super Stars” (2019).
Dhivyadharshini on the sets of Dancing Super Stars
Other Work
Dhivyadharshini has featured in the TV commercials of brands like Myntra and Cadbury Dairy Milk.
Dhivyadharshini in Myntra advertisement
She has also worked as a voiceover artist for the actresses-
- Vega Tamotia for the Tamil film “Saroja” (2008)
- Piaa Bajpai for the Tamil films “Goa” (2010), and “Bale Pandiya” (2010)
- Aparna Bajpai for the Tamil film “Easan” (2010)
- Preethi for the Tamil film “Appa” (2016)
Controversies
The Kiss Controversy
Dhivyadharshini, during one of the episodes of the TV show “Neengalum Vellalaam Oru Kodi Program” asked Kamal Haasan to kiss her and received a kiss from him. This act of her was critised on the social media. [4]Tamil Glitz
Suchi Leaks Sex Scandal
Dhivyadharshini became a victim of the popular Suchi Leaks Sex Scandal. It was believed to be the reason of her divorce with her husband. However, DD remained silent and did not respond to any of the allegations. The scandal leaks also revealed that she was a victim of the casting couch and was addicted to drugs. [5]Dailyhunt
Awards
- “Fashion Icon Of Television” by South Indian Fashion Awards (2019)
Dhivyadharshini posing with her Sifa Award
- “Dazzling Dynamite of TV” by Galatta Media (2019)
- “Darling of Television” by Gasu Designer Studio (2019)
Favourite Things
- Food: Southeast Asian Cuisine
- Fashion Designer: Sidney Sladen
- Song: You Are So Beautiful (To Me) by Westlife
- Attire: Saree
- Colour: Yellow
- Cricketer: MS Dhoni
Facts/Trivia
- Dhivyadharshini loves travelling and doing adventure sports in her leisure time.
- Dhivyadharshini is an avid animal lover and owns a pet dog.
Dhivyadharshini with her pet dog
- She is very particular about her physical fitness and hits the gym daily.
Dhivyadharshini inside a gym
- Dhivyadharshini is an ardent follower of Lord Ganesha.
Dhivyadharshini praying to Lord Ganesha
- She owns a BMW 7 series.
Dhivyadharshini posing with her car
- In 2017, Dhivyadharshini ranked first in the list of ‘Chennai Times Most Desirable Woman On Television.’
- As of 2021, she has more than 2 million followers on her Instagram account. [7]Instagram- Dhivyadharshini
- Once, Dhivyadharshini disclosed during an interview that she didn’t know to cross the road all by herself.
- In an interview, Neelakandan revealed that she just knows how to ride a bicycle and had never made an attempt to ride a scooter or drive a car.
- Dhivyadharshini abstains from drinking and smoking. In an interview, while talking about it, she said,
When I was 13-14, I promised my father that I would never drink or smoke. Even though I can sit with people who drink, I never get tempted to drink.” [8]E Times
- During an interview, Dhivyadharshini shared that she doesn’t possess a credit card. She said,
As a policy, I don’t have a credit card. This, too, has a story… When I had asked my dad about the purpose of using credit cards when I was young, he had said that this is money that doesn’t belong to us.”
- Despite of hosting a number of TV shows and events, Dhivyadharshini still has stage fear. In an interview, she confessed that she sometimes felt like vomiting before going to the stage.
