The current darling of Indian television Divyanka Tripathi aka Ishita Bhalla is one of the most popular actresses of the small screen.
Let’s us tell you everything you want to know about TV’s darling Divyanka Tripathi.
Divyanka entered Indian TV with Zee’s show ‘Banoo Main Teri Dulhann’. With her innocent features and expressions, she became a household name instantly.
Divyanka has won a gold medal in rifle shooting. And, she wanted to be an army officer.
Talking about those days, Divyanka said in an interview, “There was nothing girlish about me. I wore clothes hand-stitched by my mother... I had only one ear pierced and preferred loose shirts and trousers. I think I was imitating my father!”
Well, before she would have gone ahead and thought of entering army, modelling and anchoring happened to her. She got to anchor some shows, and the showbiz bug bit her.
In 2003, Divyanka won the Miss Beautiful Skin award at the Miss Teen Contest. Two years after that she also won the Miss Bhopal contest.
After that she entered a talent hunt contest, 'India's Best Cinestars Ki Khoj', in 2004. Even though she did not win, it opened the world of small screen for her.
After a few stints of anchoring TV and radio shows in Bhopal, she got her first break in a telefilm on Sahara One. And, after that she got her first show, ‘Banoo Main Teri Dulhaan’.
Divyanka won many awards for her debut show. In 2007, she won the Best Actress award in Drama Category at the Indian Television Academy Awards. She also won the Fresh New Face award at the Indian Telly Awards
It was on the sets of ‘Banoo Main Teri Dulhaan’, Divyanka and her co-star Ssharad Malhotra’s love story began. The two were in a hush-hush relationship for almost seven years before coming out in the open in 2014.
While everyone was expecting the two to tie the knot in 2015, the year started with the news of them parting ways. In an interview she said, “I would not blame him for everything. Actually, I do (she laughs). But still, there are certain things which I believe even I was at fault.”
After ‘Banoo Main Teri Dulhaan’, Divyanka tried her hand at a different genre - comedy. She did ‘Mrs. & Mr. Sharma Allahabadwale’, ‘Chintu Chinki Aur Ek Badi Si Love Story’ and ‘Kahani Comedy Circus Ki’.
In 2013, Divyanka bagged Ekta Kapoor’s ‘Yeh Hai Mohabbatein’ (YHM), which helped her gain popularity. She plays Ishita Bhalla aka Ishi Maa.
Here’s why Divyanka made her comeback to drama shows with YHM: “The story has to touch my heart. Selecting a daily soap is like picking a groom for me. The moment you read a story, it should click and make you feel, this is the one. So I was waiting for the right story to come and that’s when I got ‘Yeh Hai Mohabbatein’. I didn’t want to play a mellow and meek role this time, like the one I did in ‘Banoo Main Teri Dulhann’. I wanted to explore something new and hoped to show a new side of me to my audience.”
“It’s an inspiring and powerful story. YHM showcases the traumas a woman goes through just ‘coz she can’t conceive. Normally, a woman would go into depression in such a scenario, but not Ishita. This show depicts her strength. There is nothing derogatory or controversial about this show. I believe it will take Indian society one step ahead.”
“Ekta Kapoor is known to be a tough taskmaster. There are certain things that one can never miss while working with Ekta. She doesn't just work on the basic outline. She gives the entire narrative a signature style by thinking of different twists and turns in the story. Moreover, Ekta is very good at heart and takes into consideration our inputs and respects artists.
“Karan is a very talented actor. You never have to explain anything to him; he is always prepared in advance. When he comes on the sets, Karan is already in his character. Working with him is a cakewalk.”
Did you know that Divyanka is very protective of her on-screen daughter Ruhi aka Ruhanika Dhawan? She took it on herself to make the YHM sets a smoke-free zone for Ruhanika. What’s more? She even threw Ruhanika a surprise party on her birthday last year.
“A lot of people are expecting me to take up a role in Bollywood but I won't run after films. I might take up another great show on Television as there are some exciting roles being written for female leads now.”
In 2015, she received a Shan-E-Bhopal Award from writer-director-lyricist Gulzar.
“Gulzar saab handed over the award to me at a function that was held at Bhopal's Bharat Bhavan. We girls, feel a lot more confident when we get support from our own people. This award was like a huge stamp of love and acceptance,” said Divyanka in an interview.
2015 ended with hush-hush rumours of Divyanka dating her YHM co-star Vivek Dhaiya (aka ACP Abhishek). And, on January 15, 2016, we got to know that the two got engaged in a private ceremony.
It was not love at first sight for Divyanka and Vivek. What’s more? It was actually an arranged match. Even though the two worked together on a show they hardly ever spoke to each other. And, it was their common friend and fellow actor, Pankaj Bhatia, who formally introduced the two with the idea of creating a match
Divyanka and Vivek are all set to tie the knot in July this year. “Everybody wanted us to have a winter wedding but Vivek and I wanted a monsoon wedding because we were eager to tie the knot quickly. It was great that our parents supported our decision and are ready to deal with the July heat and rain for us,” revealed the bride-to-be in an interview. According to sources, the wedding will take place in Divyanka’s hometown- Bhopal.
