Having already established herself in Tamil and Telugu, Dhanya Balakrishna has bagged her first Kannada film. She will mark her debut in the industry with Anup Ramaswamy Kashyap’s yet-to-be-titled film, in which she will star opposite Rishi.

Dhanya will also be debuting in Malayalam cinema with a film starring Nivin Pauly and Nayanthara. “Now that I have bagged a Kannada film, I have covered all the southern states,” says Dhanya, who comes from a theatre background.

She first made her acting debut in 2011 with AR Murugadoss' 7aum Arivu. It has taken six years to get her first Kannada film. “I have associated with state award-winning film director Giriraj for a Kannada web series, which is currently in the post-production stage,” she says. 

The true-blue Bengalurean who resides in Malleswaram says the best part of working in a Kannada film is that her dialogue delivery will be spot on considering that she thinks and speaks in the language. “Unlike the other language films I’ve done, I don’t have to translate the dialogues in my head, which was an effort. As a Kannadiga, I think it will be easy for me to stay in line with the character,” Dhanya explains.

With a handful of projects in her kitty, Dhanya will also be seen in a Telugu project, which is being made by the production house that bankrolled Pelli Choopulu.