Pooja Hegde facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pooja Hegde
Hegde in 2022
Born	(1990-10-13) 13 October 1990 (age 34) Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Alma mater	M. M. K. College
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2012–present

Pooja Hegde (born 13 October 1990) is an Indian actress. She acts in Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil films. She was the second runner-up in the 2010 Miss Universe India pageant. Pooja is one of the highest-paid actresses in South India. She has won many awards, including four SIIMA Awards.

Pooja joined the Indian film industry after her beauty pageant. Her first acting role was in the Tamil film Mugamoodi (2012). Her first Telugu film was Oka Laila Kosam (2014). She then made her first Hindi film, Mohenjo Daro (2016).

Pooja won the SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Telugu for her roles in Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020) and Most Eligible Bachelor (2021). She was also nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for Oka Laila Kosam, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, and Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava (2018). Some of her other successful films include Duvvada Jagannadham (2017), Maharshi (2019), Gaddalakonda Ganesh (2019), and Housefull 4 (2019).

About Pooja Hegde's Early Life

Pooja Hegde was born on 13 October 1990. She grew up in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Her family is from the Tulu community. Her father, Manjunath Hegde, is a lawyer. Her mother, Latha Hegde, is an immunologist and businesswoman. Her family is originally from Udupi, Karnataka. Her older brother, Rishabh Hegde, is a surgeon.

Pooja speaks many languages. She is fluent in English, Hindi, Marathi, and Kannada. She later learned Telugu for her acting career. She considers Bengaluru her hometown. Pooja went to Maneckji Cooper Education Trust School in Mumbai. She graduated from M. M. K. College with a degree in Commerce.

She trained in classical dance and music for ten years. She was interested in traditional dance forms like Bharatanatyam. Pooja has said she was a shy child. She wanted to change that in college. So, she joined many extra activities. Someone from Miss India met her at a college event. They suggested she join a beauty pageant.

Pooja competed in the Miss India 2009 contest. She was eliminated early but won the Miss India Talented 2009 award. She tried again the next year. She became the second runner-up in the Miss Universe India 2010 competition. She turned down many film offers for three years. She finally debuted in Mugamoodi after her mother suggested it.

Pooja Hegde's Acting Journey

Starting Her Acting Career (2012–2017)

Mysskin saw Pooja's photos from her pageant win. He offered her a role in his Tamil superhero film Mugamoodi (2012). She starred opposite Jiiva. She played Shakthi, a fun-loving girl. Her character inspired the main hero to change his view of society. Pooja practiced her Tamil lines for the film. She wrote and memorized words in English. She found similarities between Tamil and her mother tongue, Tulu.

The film was highly anticipated. It was about a superhero in Tamil cinema. It had a strong start at the box office in August 2012. Pooja was nominated for awards. These included the SIIMA Award for Best Female Debut – Tamil.

Hegde in 2017

In 2014, Pooja started acting in Telugu cinema. She starred with Naga Chaitanya in the romantic comedy Oka Laila Kosam. She signed the project because of the success of the production house Annapurna Studios. She also liked the director Vijay Konda's previous films. Pooja learned Telugu for her role as Nandana. Her performance was well-received. Critics praised her screen presence. The film was a commercial success. She was nominated for Best Actress at the 62nd Filmfare Awards South.

Pooja then starred with Varun Tej in Srikanth Addala's drama Mukunda. Viewers liked the chemistry between the lead actors. Pooja said the song "Gopikamma" was a big moment in her career. This film also did well financially.

In 2016, Pooja made her Bollywood debut. She played the lead role with Hrithik Roshan in Ashutosh Gowariker's film Mohenjo Daro. This film was set in the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. Pooja was chosen after Gowariker's wife saw her in an advertisement. She then successfully auditioned. Pooja took a break from regional films for this Hindi movie. She even turned down a film by Mani Ratnam. Critics had mixed reviews about her performance.

In 2017, she starred in Harish Shankar's Telugu action comedy DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham. She acted opposite Allu Arjun. Pooja described her role as a modern and outgoing girl. This was different from her earlier traditional roles in Telugu films. One critic wrote that Pooja "convincingly done the given job that is to look stunning". DJ was a big commercial success. It became one of the highest-grossing Telugu films.

Success and New Roles (2018–Present)

In 2018, Pooja Hegde appeared in three Telugu films. She started the year with a special dance number "Jigelu Rani" in Rangasthalam. She then starred with Bellamkonda Sreenivas in Saakshyam. She played a middle-class Brahmin girl who was a spiritual leader.

Her last film that year was Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava. It was directed by Trivikram Srinivas. The film received good reviews and had a strong worldwide opening. Pooja played Aravinda. Her character helped the hero, Veera Raghava Reddy, choose peace over violence. Pooja felt this role was a great chance to try new things with dubbing. Critics noted her good impression in the role. They said she was an important part of the story. The film was the second-highest-grossing Telugu film of the year. It was a big success.

In 2019, Pooja had three roles. Her first film was Vamshi Paidipally's Maharshi. This was an action drama film with Mahesh Babu. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. It received good reviews and was a commercial success.

Her second Telugu film that year was Gaddalakonda Ganesh. It was directed by Harish Shankar. This film was a remake of the Tamil film Jigarthanda. She starred with Varun Tej and Atharvaa. The film was a success with critics and at the box office. Pooja's acting was praised. She suffered sunburn while filming the song "Elluvochi Godaramma" in a river. Pooja returned to Bollywood after three years. She starred in Sajid Nadiadwala's comedy film Housefull 4. This was the fourth film in the Housefull series. She played Rajkumari Mala and Pooja. The film received mostly negative reviews. However, it was one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2019.

Hegde in 2022

In 2020, Pooja worked again with Allu Arjun and Trivikram. This was for the Telugu action drama film Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. She played Amulya, a self-made businesswoman. Critics said she played her part easily. They also noted her good chemistry with Allu Arjun. Her performance earned her several awards. These included the SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Telugu. Pooja's dance in the song "Butta Bomma" was very popular. The film became the first South Indian film to earn a lot of money in one language. It was one of the highest-grossing Telugu films ever.

In 2021, Pooja starred in Most Eligible Bachelor. It was directed by Bommarillu Bhaskar. She acted opposite Akhil Akkineni. She played a stand-up comedian. To prepare, she met several comedians. She learned how they write their jokes. Her performance in the film was well-received. She won the SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Telugu for this role. Critics praised her well-written role and her acting.

She started 2022 with Prabhas in the film Radhe Shyam. This was a multilingual romance film set in 1970s Europe. Pooja played Dr. Prerana. The film was about two people with different views on life. It was one of the most expensive Indian films made. Pooja filmed and dubbed her parts in Telugu and Hindi. Critics praised her performance. They said she acted with maturity in emotional scenes. Radhe Shyam broke records for opening-day earnings in Tollywood. However, it did not earn back its budget.

Pooja then starred with Vijay in the Tamil action comedy Beast. It was directed by Nelson. This film marked her return to Tamil cinema after nine years. Critics said Pooja looked pretty and did a good job. Her #ArabicKuthuChallenge went viral online. Many people copied her dance step. Despite mixed reviews, Beast broke the record for the highest opening-day earnings for a Tamil film.

In the same year, she had a small role in the Telugu film Acharya. She starred with Chiranjeevi and Charan. She also performed a dance number in F3: Fun and Frustration with Venkatesh and Tej. Her last film of 2022 was Cirkus. This was a Hindi comedy film with Ranveer Singh. It was based on a play by William Shakespeare. The film was not well-received.

In 2023, she starred with Salman Khan in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. The film was released during the Eid festival. One critic said Pooja had a good role and performed it confidently. However, the film did not do well financially.

Pooja will next star with Shahid Kapoor in Deva. This is a Hindi action thriller. She will also star in Retro. She will reunite with Vijay in Thalapathy 69. Pooja will also star with Varun Dhawan in the romantic comedy Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai.

Pooja Hegde's Films

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role(s)	Language(s)	Notes	Ref.
2012	Mugamoodi	Shakthi	Tamil
2014	Oka Laila Kosam	Nandana	Telugu
	Mukunda	Gopika	Telugu
2016	Mohenjo Daro	Chaani	Hindi
2017	DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham	Pooja	Telugu
2018	Rangasthalam	Jigelu Rani	Telugu	Special appearance in song "Jigelu Rani"
	Saakshyam	Soundarya Lahari	Telugu
	Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava	Aravinda	Telugu
2019	Maharshi	Pooja Mahalakshmi	Telugu
	Gaddalakonda Ganesh	Sridevi	Telugu
	Housefull 4	Rajkumari Mala/Pooja Thakral	Hindi
2020	Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo	Amulya	Telugu
2021	Most Eligible Bachelor	Vibha	Telugu
2022	Radhe Shyam	Dr. Prerana Chakravarthy	Telugu Hindi	Bilingual
	Beast	Preethi	Tamil
	Acharya	Neelambari	Telugu
	F3: Fun and Frustration	Herself	Telugu	Special appearance in song "Life Ante Itta Vundaala"
	Cirkus	Mala	Hindi
2023	Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan	Bhagyalaxmi Gundamaneni	Hindi
2025	Deva	TBA	Hindi	Post-production
	Retro	TBA	Tamil	Post-production
	Thalapathy 69	TBA	Tamil	Filming
	Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai	TBA	Hindi	Filming

Awards and Recognitions

See also

In Spanish: Pooja Hegde para niños