Actress Pooja Hegde has made a mark for herself in South cinema. The actress has given remarkable performances in some of the most super hit films like Duvvada Jagannadham, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, and Most Eligible Bachelor among others.
After making a mark in the South Indian industry, Pooja also made her Bollywood debut in July 2014 opposite Hrithik Roshan in Ashutosh Gowariker’s period film Mohenjo Daro which wasn’t able to do much well at the box office. Later, she appeared in 2019’s comedy Housefull 4. Now, the actress is making her comeback to Bollywood with the PAN India love-drama film Radhe Shyam opposite superstar Prabhas.
The film is all set for a worldwide theatrical release on 11th March 2022 and its promotions are going on in full swing. Recently, during a group interaction in Mumbai, the actress spoke at a length about her absence in Hindi films.
Pooja said that it was her conscious decision to step away from the Hindi belt. She said, “It was my conscious decision which was made even before the release of ‘Housefull 4.’ I had decided not to do films just for the sake of it.”
The actress also discussed about her debut Bollywood film Mohenjo Daro and added, “Honestly saying, I come from a very academically driven family, I have no family connection in films and when your first film doesn’t do well, it’s very difficult to get another film. Having said that, I got films after ‘Mohenjo Daro,’ but it wasn’t something that I loved or was excited about.” Hegde continued, “At the same time, South films were coming, and they were so interesting. I was excited about it. So, I thought that South is giving me so much respect, so much love, thus I decided to concentrate there.”
Even though Pooja expects meatier roles from Bollywood, she did Housefull 4 where her character wasn’t that interesting. Revealing the reason behind getting on board for Housefull 4, she stated “I did ‘Housefull’ because of the banner (Sajid Nadiadwala), and I got a chance to work opposite Akshay Kumar, so I’m glad I did it.” Pooja also believes that her stint with ‘Housefull’ helped her in getting the lead opposite Salman Khan in ‘Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali,‘ “Because I did ‘Housefull,’ I ended up getting ‘Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali.’ Probably, Nadidawala sir liked the way I work. I’m a very happy-go-lucky person. So that could probably be another reason why he signed me.”
Pooja always wanted to be an Indian actor, and she does feel that languages have an instant power to connect. “I’m so happy that the Telugu audience has accepted me as one of them, and that’s something. I don’t want to let go of.” Like Prabhas, Pooja is also ready to take up films in different languages, as she wishes to connect with more people.