Pooja Umashankar

Pooja Gauthami Umashankar, known as Pooja, is an actress of Indian-Sri Lankan descent who has primarily worked in Indian Tamil and Sri Lankan Sinhala cinema.

Early Life and Personal Background:
Pooja's mother, Sandhya, is of Sri Lankan Sinhalese heritage, while her father, H. R. Umashankar, hails from Sringeri, Karnataka, India, and belongs to the Kannadiga Brahmin community.[1] Pooja grew up speaking Kannada, Sinhala, Tamil, and English.[2] She completed her pre-schooling in Sri Lanka before moving to India. She attended Poornapragnya School in Aldur, Chikmagalur, and later studied at Nirmala Convent in Mysore. For higher education, Pooja attended Baldwin Girls' High School in Bangalore and pursued a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore.[2] In December 2016, Pooja married Prashan David Vethakan, a Sri Lankan businessman.[3]

Career:
Pooja was introduced to cinematographer-turned-director Jeeva by a friend, which led to her debut in the Tamil film "Ullam Ketkumae." Initially, Pooja had not intended to pursue acting and planned to return to her original job after completing the film. However, she received another offer opposite R. Madhavan, which made her reconsider her decision.[4] While "Ullam Ketkumae" faced a significant delay, her second film, the romantic comedy "Jay Jay" (2004) directed by Saran, became her first official release. Pooja garnered positive reviews for her performance in the film.[6]

She then appeared as the romantic interest of Ajith Kumar in another Saran film, "Attahasam," which achieved commercial success despite mixed critical reception.[7] Pooja received some criticism for her limited role in the film.[8] "Ullam Ketkumae" eventually released and received positive responses, becoming a sleeper hit.[9] Pooja went on to act in commercial Tamil films like "Thambi" and "Pori." In 2007, she ventured into Malayalam cinema with "Panthaya Kozhi" and subsequently landed the lead female role in Bala's "Naan Kadavul." Her portrayal of Hamshavalli, a blind beggar, earned her critical acclaim and prestigious awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Tamil and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Character Artiste.

After "Naan Kadavul," Pooja took a break from acting and made cameo appearances in films such as "TN-07 AL 4777," "Drohi," and the Telugu film "Orange." Her highly anticipated big-budget film, "Kusa Pabha," released in 2012 and became the highest-grossing film in the history of the Sri Lankan film industry. Pooja received praise for her role as Pabawathi in the film.