Dayanand Shetty

Shetty was born on 11 December 1969, in a Tulu speaking Bunt family in Shirva^[4] village in Dakshina Kannada (now Udupi district) of Karnataka to Chandra Prakash Shetty and Uma Shetty. He has two sisters (Naina and Sandhya). He did his B.com from Rizvi College, Bandra in Mumbai.^[4] He married Smitha Shetty and they have a daughter, Viva Shetty.^[5]

Shetty is a sportsman who turned to acting due to a leg injury. He was a shot put and discus thrower, and won many prizes in these sports. He was the champion of discus throw from Maharashtra in 1996. He has acted in many commercials and has won awards as a theatre artist. He won the Best Actor award for his role in the Tulu language play Secret.^[6]

He auditioned and was selected for the role of CID officer in 1998.^[7] He is known for his role of Senior Inspector Daya in CID. He along with actors Shivaji Satam and Aditya Srivastava are the main leads of the show. He has also written for some of the episodes of CID.

In CID, Senior Inspector Daya is known for his immense strength, whose name is enough to make the toughest of criminals break down. Daya's signature dialogue in CID is "Jab Daya ka hath padta hai, to muh ke andar daaton se piano bajne lagta hai" (meaning "When Daya slaps someone, then a piano plays in the mouth by the teeth"). One of the most famous dialogues in CID is that of ACP Pradyuman asking him, "Daya darwaaza tod do" (meaning "Daya, break the door"). This dialogue became so popular that it is even used in the film Singham Returns and Singham Again in one of its most appreciated scenes. In CID, Daya is also critical in finding clues to solve cases. Although tough in appearance, he is also soft-mannered and sympathetic in nature and is always the first one to support team members and others when they need help the most.

Shetty has acted in TV commercials, plays and films. He also won the "Best Looking Guy" vote, conducted by Indian Television in 2002. He also participated in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (Season 4), a dance reality show.

A song was recorded for CID episode (aired on 21 January 2012), which was a lullaby sung by Shetty and his fellow actors Shivaji Satam and Aditya Shrivastava. His talent as a singer has been appreciated in talk shows like Movers and Shakers as well.

The movies he has acted in include Johnny Gaddaar, Runway, Singham Returns and Singham Again.

Shetty has made guest appearances in shows like Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin and Kkusum. He has acted in Gutur Gu, which is a silent comedy show (in both season one and two). He has made appearances as a celebrity guest in shows including Deal Ya No Deal, Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega (season 4), Kahani Comedy Circus Ki and Aapka Sapna Hamara Apna.

He participated in 5th season of Khatron Ke Khiladi doing many stunts, but was eventually eliminated.^[8][9]

Shetty and Shivaji Satam appeared as celebrity guests on the TV show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs (in the Independence Day Special episode of 2011). Shetty, Satam, Aditya Srivastava and Narendra Gupta also appeared on Kaun Banega Crorepati in 2014.^[10] He has won the best-supporting actor award (for the role of Senior Inspector Daya in CID) in the Gold Awards 2012.

Shetty and Srivastava teamed up for a travel and food-based YouTube non-fiction show called Safarkhana in 2024.^[11]

Shetty also played the role of ACP Daya in film Singham Again.

In 2025, Shetty was cast as Parbat Singh in the Netflix series Single Papa along with Kunal Khemu, Prajakta Koli, Manoj Pahwa, and Ayesha Raza Mishra, where he played a commendable role of a male nanny.^[12] The series and his character received positive response from critics and viewers.^[13]