Pooja Hegde
Actor Pooja Hegde says it is her endeavour to be a part of projects that bring her creative satisfaction. The 31-year-old actor, known for films such as "Mohenjo Daro","Duvvada Jagannadham", "Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo" and "Most Eligible Bachelor", said she aims to create a body of work that speaks for who she is as a person. "I want to do films that make my soul happy as an actor. I want to make more films for women because growing up, I felt there weren't enough films for girls. I didn't feel represented enough.
"When you watch someone on screen, you want to be them... It is so inspiring when you see stronger women on screen. And I hope that I can make more content, which can inspire other girls to do the same. I have a long way to go. I hope that I can create my body of work, which speaks for who I am as a person," Hegde told PTI.
The actor made her cinema debut with the Tamil superhero film "Mugamoodi" but it was Ashutosh Gowarikar's 2016 period film "Mohenjo Daro" that brought her wider fame despite not doing well at the box office. Hegde said the film's failure was a setback for her.
"When you come from a non-film background and your first film doesn't do well, it kind of sets you back a little bit. It's not like I have the top filmmakers in the country going like, 'don't worry, take another chance'. Your first film becomes the audition to the world. And people quickly judge you whether you're good or you're not. And when it doesn't work, it kind of pushes you back."
Hegde said she decided to get back on her feet and started looking for opportunities in South cinema.
"There were a lot of offers coming to me after 'Mohenjo Daro' in Hindi, but they were not something I was excited about or wanted to do. At the same time, South cinema was giving me such amazing films and I just went where the content was. I went with my heart and my gut feeling."
Hegde currently features opposite superstar Prabhas in the multilingual film "Radhe Shyam", which hit the theatres countrywide last week. Written and directed by Radha Krishna Kumar, the film features Prabhas as Vikramaditya, a palmist who is conflicted between destiny and his love for Prerana, essayed by Hegde.
The actor said that she was supposed to collaborate with Prabhas on another film but that didn't materialise. But destiny brought them together in "Radhe Shyam".
"I think somewhere in my destiny, this film was there and this is why this character of Prerna was offered to me. It's such a beautiful and layered character. There's so many shades to her. She's not the average Hindi heroine film character. There was so much depth to her and that's something I loved about it. I like love stories. So I was very happy that in a commercial film on such a big scale, I got to be a part of a love story."
'Radhe Shyam' is presented by Gulshan Kumar and T-Series and is produced by UV Creations, Bhushan Kumar, Vamsi and Pramod.
