Neelu Vaghela

Neelu Vaghela (born 15 April 1970)^[1][2] is an Indian actress, dancer and television personality, well known for her work in the Rajasthani cinema. She is also known for the role of Santosh Arun Rathi aka Bhabho in the soap opera Diya Aur Baati Hum and its sequel Tu Sooraj Main Saanjh, Piyaji on Star Plus. She has her own production house, Aruneel Films, which makes Rajasthani movies.^[3]

Neelu Vaghela
Born	(1970-04-15) 15 April 1970 (age 55) Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation(s)	Actress, Dancer, TV presenter
Years active	1981–present
Known for	Diya Aur Baati Hum Tu Sooraj Main Saanjh, Piyaji
Spouse	Arvind Kumar
Children	2

Early life and career

Neelu Vaghela started her career as a stage artist and was chosen for films. She appeared in Supattar Binani in 1981 at the age of 11 and acted in Bai Chali Sasariya which was remade in Hindi as Saajan Ka Ghar. She spent her earlier phase of life in Jaipur.

She has also appeared in films like Ramgarh Ri Ramli, Jai Karni Mata, Naini Bai Ro Mayro, Lancha Gujri, Derani Jethani, Ramkudi Ghamkudi, Baisa Ra Jatan Karo, Dadosari Laadli, Veer Tejaji and Bai Chali Sasariye.^[4]

Vaghela became a household name after portraying Santosh Arun Rathi aka Bhabho on popular Star Plus soap Diya Aur Baati Hum. She then went on to participate in the dance reality show Nach Baliye 5 with her husband Arvind Kumar. On 23 March 2013, Vaghela and her husband finished in third place on the fifth season of Nach Baliye.

She is married to Arvind Kumar, and has two children: a son, Kaizer, and a daughter, Vanshikha. There are rumours of her being separated from her husband, as she has unfollowed him from social media accounts and also removed 'Vaghela' surname.^[5]

Television

Year	Serial	Role	Notes
2011–2016	Diya Aur Baati Hum	Santosh Arun Rathi aka Bhabho	[6]
2012–2013	Nach Baliye 5	Contestant	With husband Arvind Kumar[7]
2013	Meri Maa	Host	[8]
2017–2018	Tu Sooraj Main Saanjh, Piyaji	Santosh Arun Rathi aka Bhabho	[9][10]
2018–2019	Main Maike Chali Jaungi Tum Dekhte Rahiyo	Satya Amarnath Sharma / Satya Vikramjeet Singh	[11][12]
2020	Shaadi Mubarak	Bua	[13]
2020–2021	Aye Mere Humsafar	Pratibha Kothari	[14]
2021–2022	Pavitra: Bharose Ka Safar	Uma Thakur	[15]
2022–2023	Bindiya Sarkar	Barfi Kantilal Bharadwaj
2023	Laal Banarasi
2024	Mera Balam Thanedaar	Bhavani Chundawat
	Suhaagan	Shanti Shukla
	Dhruv Tara – Samay Sadi Se Pare	Rajrani
	Saajha Sindoor	Hukum
2024–2025	Shyam Dhun Laagi Re	Mrs. Mehta
	Main Dil Tum Dhadakan

Filmography

• Ramgarh Ri Ramli
• Jai Karni Mata
• Naini Bai Ro Mayro as Naini Bai
• Baba ji ka tullu
• Derani Jethani
• Dharambhai (with Naresh Kanodia and Arvindkumar)
• Ramkudi Ghamkudi as Ramkudi Ghamkudi
• Binani
• Baisa Ra Jatan Karo
• Dadosari Laadli
• Veer Tejaji
• Bai Chali Sasariye
• Nanad Bhojai
• Supattar Binani
• Lado Tharo Gaon Bado Pyaro^[16]
• Binani
• Jaatni
• Baba Ramdev