It’s Pooja Hegde’s birthday today, and what better moment to look at her hard-earned rise from the South to Bollywood, and ultimately a pan-Indian star. Hailing from a family with no film background nor having any Godfather’s guidance, Pooja paved her own path and built herself one industry at a time! Here’s looking at the films that made her a pan-India star.
Mugamoodi (2012):Pooja made her South debut with Mugamoodi, a Tamil-language superhero film directed by Mysskin. The film emerged as a commercial success, and cemented Pooja as a promising star to look upto. She even won the Best Newcomer Actress Award at the Norway Tamil Film Festival (2013).
Mukunda (2014):Pooja Hegde headlined Mukunda as the leading lady and shared the screen space with debutant Varun Tej. The film highlighted Pooja’s potential to become the centerpiece of attention for her acting range, and it worked. Mukunda kept the cash registers ringing at the box office, throwing light on her initial drive to make the audience rush to theatres!
Mohenjo Daro (2016): Pooja Hegde made a promising debut in Bollywood with Mohenjo Daro, also starring Hrithik Roshan. The filmmakers desired to cast a fresh face who radiated innocence, and they found Pooja to be the right fit! A period action adventure film, Mohenjo Daro saw Pooja fuse it with soft charm and femininity, marking her significant transition to the Bollywood space. Here too, she displayed her ability to deliver a hit, and that’s exactly what caught the attention of known filmmakers.
Housefull 4 (2019): Pooja tickled the audience's funny bones with Housefull 4, and explored the comic bone in her. Be it her humorous dialogues, punchlines, her on-point expressions, or her natural dancing flair, Pooja kept the attention of the audience hooked to the screens for the right reasons!
Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020): Pooja headlined the film as its leading lady and added a strong title to her body of work. With a strong acting range and infectious energy in each frame, Pooja added weight to the film’s commercial success. Her infectious energy in iconic songs like Butta Bomma, Ramuloo Ramulaa and others carved her way to becoming the hookstep queen.
Beast (2022): Already an in-demand actress by now, Pooja Hegde bagged Beast with Thalapathy Vijay. She stepped into a layered role yet again and let her versatility speak volumes. Be it disappearing into the nuance of her role or setting the dance floor on fire in Arabic Kuthu, Pooja Hegde proved herself as a true-blue performer!
Radhe Shyam (2022): Pooja kept her creative knack alive by exploring a period romantic fantasy drama with Radhe Shyam, alongside Prabhas. Audiences praised Pooja Hegde’s soft charm, with her naturally flowing energy complementing the film’s plot. The film emerged as a commercial success and became the third-highest-grossing Telugu film of the year.
Retro (2025): In this romantic action thriller, Pooja Hegde stepped into a retro cinematic zone and made audiences fall in love with her acting skills. From vulnerable sequences to emotionally charged stills and a peppy song like Kanimaa, Pooja touched both corners and delivered a performance worth remembering!
Whether it’s South or Bollywood, Pooja has seamlessly navigated both industries, built fanbases in both, and continues to represent the new-age pan-India actress who’s loved nationwide!
