Jiya Shankar is a Mumbai-born actor known for Bigg Boss OTT 2, the 2022 Marathi hit Ved and the Sab TV comedy Kaatelal & Sons. In August 2026 she announced her engagement to US-based businessman Kaaran Dhanak, and at the end of October she asked the public to stop speculating about the relationship.
That statement neither confirmed nor denied the breakup rumors that had built up over the previous days. Dhanak had not commented publicly in any of the reports cited here, so the status of the engagement still rests on her own short note.
- Profession: actor; co-host of the dating show Engaged Season 2 with Elvish Yadav
- From: Mumbai, where she was born and brought up, she told mid-day
- Known for: Bigg Boss OTT 2 (2023), Ved (2022), Pishachini, Kaatelal & Sons, Meri Hanikarak Biwi
- Fiance: Kaaran Dhanak, engagement announced on 5 August 2026
- Age: 31, based on the 17 April 1995 birth date listed by IMDb; she has not confirmed it in the coverage cited here
Mumbai, Kaatelal & Sons and the move to film
Jiya told mid-day in January 2023 that she was born and brought up in Mumbai and had once lived in Dombivli. Even from there, she said, the family began each year with a trip to the Siddhivinayak temple, a habit she has kept since she was little.
IMDb lists her birth date as 17 April 1995 in Mumbai, which makes her 31 in 2026; the age calculator works from that date. BollywoodShaadis gave the same age in August 2026, citing unconfirmed reports, and she has not stated it herself in the reports cited here.
Her television work before the reality shows ran through several Hindi serials. Hindustan Times listed Meri Hanikarak Biwi, Kaatelal & Sons, Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, Pyaar Marriage Shhhh and Love By Chance among her credits when she left Bigg Boss OTT 2.
Kaatelal & Sons was the serial that made her a household name, Bollywood Hungama wrote in January 2023. After it she hosted a show and played different characters on it, which surprised her. “I have stage fever and I never thought that I’ll be able to host a show,” she said.
Ved and Pishachini
Ved, Riteish Deshmukh’s Marathi film with Genelia Deshmukh, was her first theatrical release. Casting director Rohan Mapuskar called to ask whether she would do a Marathi film, she told Bollywood Hungama, and she agreed if the part was good before learning that Riteish was attached. The outlet reported that she got the role without an audition. Her hope for the film was simple, she said at the time: that it would reach a larger audience and open new work for her once people saw how she looked and performed on a big screen.
Pishachini on Colors came in the same stretch. She played Pavithra “Piku” Bose Singh Rajput, Hindustan Times noted, opposite Harsh Rajput and Nyrraa Banerjee. She told Tribune India it was her first supernatural show and that it was shot in Himachal Pradesh with heavy visual effects.
In the same interview she said she avoids repeating any character she has already played, and that the role she still wants is a warrior in a historical show or film.
Bigg Boss OTT 2 and the Abhishek Malhan rumors
Bigg Boss OTT 2 premiered on 17 June 2023, and Jiya stayed until the last week. She was evicted in a mid-week elimination after getting the fewest votes, days before the 14 August finale, Hindustan Times reported.
Manisha Rani, Elvish Yadav, Pooja Bhatt, Abhishek Malhan and Bebika Dhurve went through to the finale. Abhishek was the housemate who turned the calendar page that revealed her exit, and fans who had paired the two as “Abhiya” shared clips of their long goodbye hug.
That pairing followed her for more than two years. When rumors of an engagement to Abhishek spread at the end of 2025, both denied them. “Please stop linking my name with anyone,” Abhishek wrote, adding that his chapter with her had ended with the show, the Times of India reported in January 2026. A second rumor followed in February 2026, when Elvish Yadav posted a photo of a hand wearing a diamond ring and tagged her. It turned out to be a promotion for Engaged Season 2, the dating show the two co-host, Pinkvilla and the Times of India reported.
Jiya told the Times of India that she had grown tired of it. “Every other day, my name was being linked with someone new,” she said, explaining why she had made clear she was not single. She added that she planned to reveal her partner only once she got engaged.
Kaaran Dhanak and the August 2026 engagement
Kaaran Dhanak first appeared on her Instagram without a face. In early January 2026 she shared a video of herself walking hand in hand with a man whose face was hidden, and her team later issued a statement asking for privacy, mid-day reported. Little is on record about him beyond his work. He has been identified as a US-based businessman in the Times of India and mid-day, and Tribune India described him as someone who has largely stayed away from the public eye.
She kept her word about the timing. On 5 August 2026 she posted photos of the proposal, showing his face and tagging his account for the first time. He went down on one knee with a diamond ring in a garden overlooking the sea, Tribune India reported.
Her caption described a long-distance relationship. “So maybe it is true, you do find love when you least expect it but God really tested my patience here,” she wrote, per the Times of India, and added that every conversation felt like home “even though you were thousands of miles away from me.”
Congratulations came from Reem Shaikh, Genelia Deshmukh, Mahhi Vij and Palak Purswani, among others. “You found your rom com finally,” Reem commented. BollywoodShaadis, citing unconfirmed reports, put his age at 33, two years older than her; he has not stated it himself.
The breakup rumors and her statement
The rumors began in the last days of October. Fans noticed that she no longer appeared to follow Dhanak on Instagram, and that she had reshared posts about heartbreak, Zoom TV reported on 30 October. Neither of them had made any statement at that point.
One reshared line read, “Two things I know for sure: prayers work, and tables eventually turn.” Another said, “Some nights I don’t want healing. I want the universe to admit that what happened was cruel.” She did not say what either post referred to.
Her answer came in an Instagram Story on a plain white background. “Recent assumptions about my personal life have gone far beyond what I’ve actually shared. Please don’t speculate about or spread rumors regarding my relationship. Some things are private,” she wrote, as quoted by the Times of India.
She stopped short of confirming or denying that the engagement had been called off, Bollywood Hungama noted, and Dhanak had issued no statement when the Times of India published on 31 October. On Reddit, the top comment under a post sharing her note took a skeptical line:
““assumptions” and its literally her reposting sad reels”
– r/InstaCelebsGossip, October 2026 (82 upvotes)
Until either of them says more, the engagement announced in August has not been publicly ended by either side.
Jiya Shankar: quick answers
Who is Jiya Shankar’s fiance?
Jiya Shankar’s fiance is Kaaran Dhanak, a US-based businessman. She announced their engagement on 5 August 2026 with proposal photos, after keeping his identity private for months.
Did Jiya Shankar and Kaaran Dhanak break up?
Neither has confirmed a breakup. At the end of October 2026 Jiya asked people not to speculate, saying some things are private, and Dhanak had made no public statement in the reports cited here.
How old is Jiya Shankar?
Jiya Shankar is 31, going by the 17 April 1995 birth date that IMDb lists. BollywoodShaadis gave the same age in August 2026, though she has not confirmed her birth date in the reports cited here.
Did Jiya Shankar win Bigg Boss OTT 2?
No. Jiya Shankar was evicted in a mid-week elimination days before the August 2023 finale. Elvish Yadav won the season, with Abhishek Malhan, Manisha Rani, Pooja Bhatt and Bebika Dhurve also in the final five.
