‘Golden Girl’ of South Cinema, made a record as soon as she debuted, did magic in politics too

New Delhi: In the year 2013, a face emerged in the crowd of the election field in Mandya, Karnataka, who appeared political because of the brightness of the screen. She is Ramya, who is also known as Divya Spandana. At the age of just 30, she contested the Lok Sabha by-election on a Congress ticket and by winning, she became one of the youngest MPs of the Lok Sabha.

Divya Spandana’s career is interesting. On one hand, the popular, glamorous image of ‘Ramya’, which has appeal among the people, and on the other hand, the serious political identity of ‘Divya Spandana’, which helps her maintain credibility as a digital strategist. Divya Spandana was born on 29 November 1982 in Bangalore. His mother, Ranjita, was herself a senior member of the Congress Party, which gave her an understanding of state politics. After completing his schooling in Ooty and Chennai, he entered the world of acting in 2003 with the Kannada-language blockbuster film ‘Abhi’. The film remained in theaters in Karnataka for 150 days.

Made a special identity in South Cinema
Ramya emerged as the ‘Sandalwood Queen’. His popularity was not limited to Kannada only, he also debuted with the Telugu film ‘Abhimanyu’ in the same year. She became the ‘Golden Girl of Kannada Cinema’ by giving hits like ‘Excuse Me’ (2003). She won two Filmfare Awards for Amritdhare (2005) and Tananaam Tananaam (2006), and her stellar performance in the 2011 romantic drama Sanju Weds Geeta earned her the Karnataka State Film Award.

Worked hard for Congress
Ramya said goodbye to films in 2012 and became completely engrossed in politics. She joined the youth wing of Congress. After the 2014 election results, the Congress Party recognized its shortcomings in the digital campaign. In May 2017, Divya Spandana was appointed head of the Congress social media cell. Ramya’s strategy was not limited to just political attacks. He also used the digital platform for social activism. Ramya left her role as social media head after the Congress’s crushing defeat in the 2019 general elections, giving rise to internal differences within the party and speculation over accountability.

Step back towards cinema
After withdrawing from politics in 2019 and living in anonymity for some time, Ramya announced her return to the film industry in August 2022. However, this time she was not in front of the screen, but behind the screen. He took on the role of producer through his newly launched production house, ‘Apple Box Studios’. Apple Box Studios produced the Kannada film ‘Swathi Muthina Male Haniyeh’ in 2023, which became an instant success and won several awards.