Becoming pan-India actor unplanned co-incidence: Pooja Hegde
Hyderabad: Pooja Hegde, who is riding on the success of Radhe Shyam that also stars Bahubaali fame Prabhas, says finding her fan base across the country wasn’t her career strategy but just a co-incidence because she is only going with the flow.
Pooja made her debut in Bollywood opposite Hritik Roshan in Mohenjo Daro in 2016. However, she became a star in the south with a string of successful films like Oka Laila Kosam, Duvvada Jagannadham, Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava, Maharshi and Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo.
Now that Radhe Shyam is released in multiple languages and she is getting praised for her acting, Pooja said that language never stopped her from connecting with her fans, rather it has empowered her. She said, “When I started working in south Indian films, I was just going with the flow without strategising much. It is a blessing that the audience has accepted me in every region. Radhe Shyam is an important film for me because it’s a multi-lingual movie.”
“I worked hard on my character too. Earlier, people would say that I have a strong screen presence and that I am ‘beautiful’. I think that was more of a compliment for my parents because I got my good looks and physic from them. My acting and my contribution to a successful film makes me happy and satisfied. It fuels my energy to do more,” she added.
The actor now has an interesting line-up in Hindi, including Rohit Shetty’s Cirkus opposite Ranveer Singh and Salman Khan’s Bhaijaan. She will also be seen in the Telugu film Acharya starring Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan, and Tamil film Beast alongside Vijay.
Asked if her success in south Indian films empowered her to choose better projects in Bollywood, she said, “Yes, undoubtedly so. It actually made me secure in many ways. Look, in Bollywood, I am still a baby… I have a lot more to do. In the Telugu film industry, especially after the success of Most Eligible Bachelor, producers count me as a bankable star. So there I can demand female-oriented stories, big-budget films with superstars etc. I have worked hard to earn that space in the Telugu film industry. In Bollywood, things are different for me.”
She added, “I am not in a rush in Bollywood that I have to appear in films otherwise I will lose out on visibility. No, I can wait. I am also a fan of many filmmakers and superstars in Bollywood, so I will grab those opportunities. For instance, I am a fan of Rohit Shetty and the kind of commercial potboilers he makes. So when I got the offer of Cirkus, I just agreed to do the film because I am a fangirl!”
However, she mentioned that even in the south Indian film industry, connecting with the audience of every region is very interesting because the audience is very diverse. Pooja explained, “When we say ‘south Indian film’, we must understand that every region is different. The audience of Telugu film is different from Tamil. I am lucky that I have got a connection with both the region.”
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