Pooja Hegde

Actress, Model

Pooja Hegde is an actress who established herself in Tollywood quickly but with much effort. The actress who was called "not-so-promising" for her debut is now among the most demanded actresses.

Wrote Letters To Santa

Pooja Hegde grew up in a family that nurtured her innocence. She is a girl who believed in Santa Claus and wrote letters to him occasionally as a child. Being brought up in an academically driven family, she was intelligent and an active participant in sports & extracurricular activities. Pooja is fond of cricket & tennis, and Rahul Dravid & Roger Federer are her favourites.

In her college days, she got into dance and modelling and went for inter-college competitions a lot. She also helped her mother in her network marketing business which helped her improve her networking skills.

Miss Glamorous Hair

Pooja entered the Femina Miss India beauty pageant in 2009 and got evicted early on. She tried again at Miss India Universe 2010 and became the second runner-up and won the title of Miss Glamorous Hair.

Her pictures from the pageant caught the attention of Myskin, and she bagged the role in Mugamoodi.

Disappointing Performance

Pooja was expecting her debut to be mind-blowing as the audiences were excited about the movie. It didn't work at the box office, and she got mixed to mostly negative reviews from the critics. This was heartbreaking for Pooja. She remembered Oprah once said that post any setback, take fifteen minutes to deal with it and after that, move on. She did the same.

After this, she garnered the appreciation she was craving when she did her second film in the Telugu industry. That boosted her confidence and lifted her.

Moving On To Bollywood

Ashutosh was looking for a fresh face for his movie Mohenjo Daro at the time. Pooja Hegde appeared in an advertisement with Ranbir Kapoor. Ashutosh's wife spotted her and insisted her husband cast her in the film.

When Ashutosh met her, he found her to be perfect for the role. She showed the right amount of innocence, grace, strength, and dignity demanded by the script.

The contract she signed barred her from signing any other films in Bollywood till the movie's release. She was again hoping that the movie would prove to be pivotal for her. She was hoping to do a light romantic genre for her next Bollywood movie. But she faced disappointment when the movie flopped.

This hurt her more than her debut's failure, and she decided to conquer Bollywood later when she'll get a strong & sturdy script. Until then, she went back to the South industry and established herself as a successful actress in a very short time.

Make My Happiness

She makes it a point that she enjoys her time on the sets, even on the most boring days. In her goofy ways, she keeps herself in charge of her happiness and makes people around her happy.

Spread Happiness on Sets

When on-screen, no matter how much time she gets, Pooja tries to make her performance impactful. Her only goal then is that she makes optimal use of her given screen time. When she chooses a film, the relationships with the director, co-stars, producer, etc., play a role and whether she wishes to work with someone or not.

There are a few directors in the industry with whom she wants to work desperately. She trusts their work so much that she doesn't feel the need to listen to the script. This is one of the reasons why she accepted the offer of working in Cirkus when Rohit Shetty approached. She didn't even bother asking who her co-star was.

In between, rumours of her throwing tantrums on sets started doing rounds. Her co-stars came forward to clarify things and told the media that she's among the most punctual and easy-going actresses.

Fan Slept on Road For Her

Pooja is always humbled when she sees the passion of her fans for her. She gets encouraged to do better every time she hears that someone drove two hours, spent their pocket money to watch her film.

Once, a fan travelled to Mumbai and slept on the road for five days just to meet her. She met that person, and though the gesture touched her, she explained to him that this is not necessary to meet just an actor.

All About Love

Pooja launched her foundation, All About Love, with an intent to help people. She has collaborated with a hospital in Mangalore where she supports children with artificial limbs undergoing treatment. Before the foundation, Pooja has been doing the same.

She has been taking care of the expenditures of the children diagnosed with cancer. She is also supporting families financially whose sole breadwinner died due to any accident. During the lockdown, she distributed ration to wage earners for a month.

Pooja Hegde is an actress who has created her niche in the industry and is now expanding pan India. She shows talent and calibre to make it bigger than she already has. Her recent blockbuster movie is  Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. Watch all Pooja Hedge's movies on ZEE5.

Born

13 October 1990 (age31) Mangalore, Karnataka, India

Active Years

1990 - Today

Bio

Name Pooja Hegde
Nickname Not Known
Profession Actress
Model
Physical Stats
Height
Weight
 
175 cm
53 Kg
Career Debut Film: Mugamoodi (2012)

Early Life and Education

DOB 13-10-1990
Age 31
Birth Place Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Zodiac Sign Libra
Nationality Indian
Home Town Udupi, Karnataka, India
School Not Known
College M. M. K. College
Educational Qualification Master of Commerce
Religion Hinduism
Food Habits Not Known
Address Not Known
Hobbies Dancing, Travelling, Singing, Reading

Relationships & More

Marital Status Unmarried
Marriage Date
Marriage Location N/A
Children
Son
Daughter
 


Boyfriends/Girlfriends Not Known

Family

Wife/Spouse None:
Parents
Father
Mother
 
Manjunath Hegde
Lata Hegde
Siblings Brother(s): Rishabh Hegde (Doctor)
Sister(s): None

Favourite Things

Food Biryani, Pizza
Actor Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Leonardo Di Caprio and Aamir Khan
Actress Madhuri Dixit, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Sandra Bullock
Films
Bollywood Not Known
Hollywood Not Known
Tollywood Not Known
Singer Not Known
Sports Not Known
colour Pink
Songs Not Known
Holiday Destination Goa, India
Restaurants Not Known
Perfume Not Known

Style Quotient

Car Collection Jaguar Xf
Porsche Cayenne
BMW 520d
Audi Q7
Bike Collection None

Money Factor

Salary (approx) Not Known
Net Worth (approx) Not Known

Controversies

Pooja Hegde issues clarification after being slammed for saying 'South Indian cinema is obsessed with midriff'

Did you know?

1) Her family wanted her name to be Lakshmi as she was born on the Lakshmi pooja day, but because her maternal aunt considered it a bit old-fashioned, they changed it to Pooja.

2) She ws seen in the Hero Maestro ad commercial opposite Ranbir Kapoor.

3) Ashutosh Gowariker's wife Sunita recommended her name for the film Mohenjo Daro after watching her in an advertisement.

Awards

Zee Golden Awards
2017:Entertainer Of The Year (Female) for Duvvada Jagannadham
Zee Cine Awards Telugu
2020:Favourite Actress for Maharshi
South Indian International Movie Awards
2021:Best Actress – Telugu for Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo