Pooja Hegde talks about her journey in the industry, says it was 'full of ups and downs' - Exclusive

She started her career with films in Telugu and Tamil languages; she then shifted her focus to Bollywood as well. Pooja Hegde is one of the highest-paid actresses in the South Indian industry.

Pooja made her Bollywood debut opposite Hrithik Roshan with a 2016 film, Mohenjo Daro; the film didn't do well at the box office, but the actress was noticed. Since then she has appeared in movies like Cirkus (2022) and Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan opposite Salman Khan.

The actress has mainly focused on her Telugu and Tamil films. She will soon be seen in Retro opposite Suriya, where she is playing a completely different avatar.

Excerpts from the interview:

The journey has been full of ups and downs

Oh, it's been full of ups and downs. It's had its ups and downs, like a roller coaster ride. You have those great moments, and so it's had that. But, I feel like, when people say that, I feel that's really great because I've survived and am not coming from a filmy family. I am that person who's always like, Next project, next project, next project. I haven't really paused, but sometimes when you pause and you just look back, you feel like, wow, it's been a great ride. I did not think of this journey for myself, and I've had a great time. But I think I've just fallen in love more and more with films and with cinema. I remember when I first went on set, and, to who I am today, I am a completely different person. And I'm watching my film in the theater for the first time, and I genuinely thought it was the closest thing to magic.

Also Read: Exclusive - Shahid Kapoor on Deva being compared to Kabir Singh; his wife Rajput's reaction his roles, says 'she is the first one to watch my films'

Ready to experiment with my roles

I was like, my god, all these shots have come together to make this. Like, like, wow. I didn't know. Like, this is how films are made. And the more I've been in it, I've learned my lord, whatever I've learned, I've learned by being on set. I've learned by actually just learning the craft. And I hope to, like, do better roles now, do different kinds of roles. Like, you'll see Diya in Dev. I am playing an investigative journalist. I like the fact that Divya was very muft. She said what she wanted to. She was not afraid of, you know, Deva. She wrote that article of Mafia Ya Police. So I like to challenge myself, and with my next film, Retro, which is coming, I'm playing a very different character. So I'm just trying to experiment, and I hope somewhere, if you like me as Diya, then something can come off it.

Don't share too much info with my family

They don't understand when you just tell them a small part, like my family, or then they'll start to, like, so I feel like now my parents are just like, You don't say anything about what the film is. You don't tell me about anything. And they have this constant thing. When they watch it in one flow, they get the bigger picture.

Experience of working in Bollywood and South films

I think it is just that the language is different; people are people; they are pretty much the same. I feel the director sets the tone for what the set is going to be like, and that's the most important. I've had all kinds of experiences. So it's just the language and the type of characters that I'm seeing, you know, like, a town girl, a small-town girl in Maharashtra will behave very differently than a small-town girl in Karnataka or in Tamil Nadu. So that's, it's just the characteristics and the people you have to understand, not, nothing else. That's it.

Pooja Hegde made her acting debut with Tamil film Mugamoodi in 2012. And two years later she had her first Telugu release in Oka Laila Kosam (2014).

Action thriller Deva is directed by Rosshan Andrrews and stars Shahid Kapoor, Pooja Hegde, and Pavail Gulati.

Produced by Roy Kapur Films in collaboration with Zee Studios, 'Deva' will hit the screens on January 31.