Pooja Hegde is a popular Indian Kannada actress. She has worked in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu films. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in South Indian cinema. Pooja has been nominated for four Seema Awards and three Filmfare Awards for her acting. In 2010, the actress participated in the Miss Universe India competition. She made her debut in Tamil films in 2012.
Some of her notable films are:
- Mugamoodi – 2012
- Maharshi – 2019
- Gaddalakonda Ganesh – 2019
- Housefull 4 – 2019
- Most Eligible Bachelor – 2021
- Retro -2025
Early Life
Pooja Hegde was born on 13 October 1990 and grew up in a Tulu-speaking Bant family in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Her father, Manjunath Hegde, is a lawyer by profession, and her mother, Lata Hegde, is an immunologist and entrepreneur by profession. Pooja’s elder brother, Rishabh Hegde, is an orthopedic surgeon. She completed her primary and secondary education from Manekjee Cooper Education Trust School, Mumbai, and graduated from M. M. K. College. She has trained in Bharatanatyam, classical dance, and music. While in college, she participated in the Miss India pageant in 2009 but was eliminated in the preliminary round. She did not give up hope and entered the contest again the following year and this time she became the runner-up. After that, she worked in various small commercials.
| Attribute | Details |
| Born | 13 October 1990 |
| Alma mater | M. M. K. College (B.Com) |
| Years Active | 2012 – Present |
Movies & Details
(2012 – 2017)
After winning Miss India, in 2012, she was offered a role in the Tamil film ‘Mugamudi’ opposite Jiiva, where she played a role. Her first Tamil film was a box office hit. In 2014, she made her debut in the Telugu film industry with the movie ‘Oka Laila Kosam‘ opposite Naga Chaitanya. Just as she learned Tamil to work in Tamil films, she also learned Telugu for Telugu films. She was praised by critics for her acting skills. Like the Tamil film, this film was also a box office success. Later, she acted opposite Varun Tej in the drama ‘Mukunde’ directed by Srikanth Addala. Netizens praised this caste.
In 2016, the Hindi film ‘Mohenjo Daro’, which was based on the Indus Valley Civilization, was released, where she acted opposite Hrithik Roshan. In 2017, she acted in the Telugu movie ‘Dubhavada Jagannadhame’. In the film, Pooja describes herself as an extroverted and modern girl, for which the film became a successful movie, grossing US$18 million at the box office.
(2018 – 2023)
Pooja acted in a total of 3 films in 2018, starting with the movie ‘Jigelu Rani’. Later, she acted in the movie ‘Sakshyam’ opposite Bellamkonda Srinivas and at the end of the year, she acted in the movie ‘Arvind Sametha Veer Raghav’ opposite Trivikram Srinivas. In the movie ‘Arvind Sametha Veer Raghav’, she dubbed for herself like a father. The film grossed 21 million US dollars and became the 2nd highest-grossing film of the year. Her first film in 2019 was ‘Vanshi Paidipalli Maharshi’. In the same year, she worked in the movie ‘V’, which was based on the Tamil film ‘Jigarthanda’. After seeing Pooja’s performance, Hemanth Kumar mentioned that she “adapted to her character quite well”. After that, after a 3-year long break in Bollywood, she returned with Sajid Nadiadwala’s Bollywood comedy film ‘Housefull 4’.
In 2020, he won the SIIMA Award for his performance in the movie ‘Aala Vaikunthapurramuloo‘. The film grossed US$24 million at the box office. After that, he acted in ‘Eligible Bachelor’ in 2021; in 2022, he acted in 4 movies ‘Radhe Shyam’, ‘Bistay’, ‘Acharya’ and Circus. In 2023, he worked in Salman’s movie ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’.
2024-Present
Although he took a break from acting in 2024, he returned to Bollywood in 2025 with ‘Deva’. His next projects include ‘Retro’, ‘Jan Nayagan’, ‘Coolie’, ‘Hain Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ and Kanchana 4.
Awards
She wins 12 awards In her small film career. Like,
- Zee Telugu Golden Awards on 2017
- Filmfare Awards South for 2 times on 2019 & 2022
- Sakshi Excellence Awards on 2019 & 2021
- South Indian International Movie Awards for 3 times on 2020, 2021 & 2022
- Zee Cine Awards Telugu on 2020
- Bollywood Hungama Style Icons on 2023 & 2024
- Lokmat Stylish Awards & Pinkvilla Style Icons Awards on 2024
