Archana Chandhoke, more simply known as Archana, is an Indian television presenter, actress, and radio jockey who has primarily worked in Tamil film and television industry.

Career

In September 1999 Chandhoke started her career as a newsreader in Jaya TV's English News while studying in college. She later moved on to Sun TV, where she hosted the shows ''Comedy Time'' and ''Ilamai Pudhumai''. In May 2007, she left Sun TV to prioritize family commitments.After a break of one year she joined Star Vijay in 2008 and hosted ''Namma Veetu Kalyanam'' till 2014. In September 2015, Zee Tamil approached her to do the show ''Athirshta Lakshmi''. The following year, she appeared as a judge of the comedy show ''Junior Super Star'' along with K. Bhagyaraj and Khushbu.In 2020 Archana entered ''Bigg Boss'' as a wildcard contestant. She received criticism from audiences for her behavior on the show. Following her stint on the show, she rejoined Star Vijay and is hosting various reality shows and also various special episodes like ''Kadhale Kadhale, Old is Gold Black and White, Parivattam, Namma veetu kalyanam Snehan and Kanikka Special, Singappene, Namma veetu thiruvizha, Samsaram athu Minsaram, Sabash Sariyana Potti, Pattikada Pattanama, Thai illamal Naanillai and Udanpirappe(Paasa Malargal).''In 2022 she rejoined ''Zee Tamil'' to host the most popular show, ''Super Mom season 3''.''In 2022 she rejoined ''Zee Tamil'' to host the most popular show, ''Super Mom season 3''. She is hosting this show along with her daughter ''Zaara Vineet.''Chandhoke has also worked as an actress in Tamil-language films, often portraying comedy roles. She first appeared in ''En Vazhi Thani Vazhi'' (2015), an action film starring and produced by businessman R. K. During the audio release function of the film, she was confronted by actor Radharavi on stage, who felt she failed to address him with respect. R. K. then cast her again in his next film, ''Vaigai Express'' (2017) in another small role.Her appearance in ''Yenda Thalaiyila Yenna Vekkala'' (2018) saw her feature as a cheating wife in love with the character portrayed by Yogi Babu. A reviewer noted the scenes were "high on adult content but manages to evoke a smile". She was seen in ''Doctor'' (2021), where she featured alongside her daughter Zaara in a supporting role.

Personal life

Archana Chandhoke was born to Rakesh Lal Chandhoke and Nirmala Lal, and has a younger sister named Anita. She attended DAV Senior Secondary School, Gopalapuram in Chennai. After completing her schooling in 1999, Archana pursued a degree in corporate secretaryship from Ethiraj College for Women, and then later received a master's degree in communication from M.O.P. Vaishnav College for Women. She married Cdr Vineet Muthukrishnan, a serving officer in the Indian Navy, in May 2004. The couple have a daughter, Zaara, born in May 2007, who appeared as her daughter in Doctor movie