Pooja Hegde (/puːdʒɑː hɛɡdeɪ/ born 13 October 1990) is an Indian actress who appears in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil films. The second runner-up at the 2010 Miss Universe India pageant, Hegde is one of South India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including four SIIMA Awards.

Hegde accepted offers to join the Indian film industry following her beauty pageant. Her acting debut came in the Tamil film Mugamoodi (2012). She had her first Telugu release in Oka Laila Kosam (2014) followed by her first Hindi film in the poorly received Mohenjo Daro (2016).

Hegde won the SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Telugu for her performance in Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020) and Most Eligible Bachelor (2021). She was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for Oka Laila Kosam, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo and Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava (2018). Her other commercially successful films include Duvvada Jagannadham (2017), Maharshi (2019), Gaddalakonda Ganesh (2019) and Housefull 4 (2019). This success was followed by several poorly received films.

Pooja Hegde was born on 13 October 1990 and raised up in Mumbai, Maharashtra in a Tulu-speaking Bunt family. Her father, Manjunath Hegde, is a criminal lawyer and her mother, Latha Hegde, is a former Immunologist and entrepreneur. They are originally from Udupi, Karnataka. Her elder brother Rishabh Hegde, is an orthopaedic surgeon. Besides Tulu, she is fluent in English, Hindi, Marathi and Kannada. She later learnt Telugu following a career in her respective cinema. She considers Bengaluru as her home town, and maintains strong connections there. She did her schooling in Maneckji Cooper Education Trust School, Mumbai. She went to M. M. K. College, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. She trained in classical dance and music for ten years and showed an interest in traditional dance forms, including Bharatanatyam. Hegde has said that she was shy and introvert child. "When I got into college, I wanted to change that about myself. So I enrolled in every single extracurricular activity there was", she added. Someone from Miss India met Hegde at one of her college events and suggested her to participate in a pageant.

Hegde competed in the Miss India 2009 competition, but was eliminated in an early round despite winning the Miss India Talented 2009 honour. She re-applied the following year and was the second runner-up in the Miss Universe India 2010 competition. She rejected offers of several projects from big production banners over three years before debuting in Mugamoodi. She accepted the project by her mother's suggestion.

After noticing still photographs of her pageant win, Mysskin offered Hegde her debut in his Tamil superhero film Mugamoodi (2012) opposite Jiiva. She portrayed the female lead character of Shakthi, a fun-loving girl who inspires the male lead to change his outlook on society. Hegde practiced Tamil dialogues for the film by writing and memorizing words in English, adding similarities between Tamil and her mother tongue Tulu. Prior to its release, the film garnered high expectations due to its novel theme of a superhero in Tamil cinema, and had a strong opening at the box office in August 2012. A critic from The Times of India stated that "Hegde though has little to do and comes across as just another pretty face." She earned nominations for the SIIMA Award for Best Female Debut – Tamil and Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South.

Expanding to Telugu cinema in 2014, Hegde starred opposite Naga Chaitanya in the romantic comedy Oka Laila Kosam. The success of the production house Annapurna Studios and director Vijay Konda's previous ventures prompted her to sign the project. She learned Telugu language to play the female lead. Her portrayal of Nandana received positive reception. Ranjani Rajendra of The Hindu was appreciative of Hegde's screen presence. While Suresh Kavirayani of Deccan Chronicle lauded her debut. Around the same time, she was nominated for Best Actress at the 62nd Filmfare Awards South. The film proved to be a commercial success. Hegde was next cast opposite Varun Tej in Srikanth Addala's drama Mukunda. Reviewers of the film were generally pleased with the chemistry between the lead pair. Hegde has said that the song "Gopikamma" marked a major breakthrough in her career. The film became yet another successful financial venture for her.

In 2016, Hegde made her Bollywood film debut as the female lead opposite Hrithik Roshan in Ashutosh Gowariker's period film Mohenjo Daro, set against the backdrop of the Indus Valley civilisation. She was selected after Gowariker's wife, Sunita Gowariker, spotted her in an advertisement and called her for an audition, which she successfully completed. As a result of her commitment to the Hindi film, she revealed that she would take a break from appearing in regional Indian films until its release and rejected an opportunity to work in a film directed by Mani Ratnam. Mohenjo Daro released in August 2016 to unfavorable reviews for misrepresentation of the period. Shubha Shetty Saha from India Times that "Hegde is pretty and makes quite a confident debut". Lisa Tsering of The Hollywood Reporter dismissed her performance as "forgettable blandness". The film performed poorly at the box office. She received a nomination for Stardust Award for Superstar of Tomorrow – Female.

In 2017, she starred in Harish Shankar's Telugu action comedy DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham, opposite Allu Arjun. Hegde described her role as an outgoing and modern girl, unlike her previous roles in Telugu films, which she considered traditional. Manoj Kumar R from The Indian Express wrote that "Hegde has convincingly done the given job that is to look stunning in every frame of the film". DJ opened to commercial success grossing over ₹1.5 billion (US$18 million) emerging one of the highest-grossing Telugu film.

In 2018, Hegde featured in three Telugu films. She began the year with an item number "Jigelu Rani" for the period action Rangasthalam. The song was trending in the YouTube and she was praised for her performance. She next starred opposite Bellamkonda Sreenivas in the fantasy action Saakshyam, portraying the role of a middle-class Brahmin girl who was a spiritual leader. Murali Krishna C H from Cinema Express found that she "gets more screen time in this film compared to her last outing DJ and she does a good job". Vyas of The Hans India wrote that she "has once again grabbed the attention with her performance and glamour show". The film proved to be a box-office success.

In her final appearance that year, she played the titular character in Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava directed by Trivikram Srinivas, which opened to positive reviews and had a strong opening worldwide. She played the role of Aravinda, who significantly influenced Veera Raghava Reddy, the protagonist portrayed by N. T. Rama Rao Jr., to challenge the deep-rooted enmity and seek a path of non-violence and self-discovery. She felt that the role was an amazing opportunity to explore a new aspect of dubbing for herself. Hemanth Kumar CR of Firstpost noted that "Hegde makes a good impression with her role, and for a change, she becomes an intrinsic part of the narrative". Sangeetha Devi Dundoo from The Hindu credited her role as "impressive" and wrote that she "gets to be more than a glam doll and enjoys her role". The film was the second-highest-grossing Telugu film of the year and grossed over ₹1.8 billion (US$22 million) worldwide attaining a blockbuster status.

In 2019, Hegde had two three roles. Her first film was Vamshi Paidipally's Maharshi, an action drama film co-starring Mahesh Babu. The film was awarded the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the 68th National Film Awards. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success at the box office earning over ₹2 billion (US$24 million) worldwide.

Her second Telugu film in the same year was the Harish Shankar-directed Gaddalakonda Ganesh, a remake of the 2014 Tamil-language film Jigarthanda, co-starring Varun Tej and Atharvaa alongside her. The film was a critical and commercial success, and Hegde's performance received critical acclaim. Lauding her chemistry with Tej, Hemanth Kumar from Firstpost noted that she "fits into her character quite well". She suffered sunburn during the filming of the song "Elluvochi Godaramma", in the middle of the river at Yanam. Hegde returned to Bollywood after a gap of three years with Sajid Nadiadwala's comedy film Housefull 4, directed by Farhad Samji, the fourth instalment of the Housefull franchise, featuring her as Rajkumari Mala and Pooja (reincarnated). Hegde's performance received positive reviews, with Bollywood Hungama describing it as "decent". The film received predominantly negative reviews, but was one of the highest grosser of the year, earning ₹2.9 billion (US$35 million).

In 2020, she reunited with both Arjun and Trivikram in Telugu action drama film Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, in which she portrayed the role of a travel company head Amulya, a self-made businesswoman. Murali Krishna C H of The New Indian Express wrote that "she plays her part effortlessly and strikes up palpable chemistry with Allu Arjun." Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India noted that "Hegde manages to bring in spunk into a character that is nothing more than a manic pixie dream girl, but she sure is a delight to watch on-screen". Her performance fetched her several awards, including the SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Telugu. The film was ranked among the highest-grossing Telugu films of all time, grossing over ₹2.8 billion (US$34 million). Hegde's dance performance in the song "Butta Bomma" received wide response.

In 2021, Hegde starred in Most Eligible Bachelor, directed by Bommarillu Bhaskar opposite Akhil Akkineni, in which she played the role of a stand-up comedian. To prepare for the role, she met several stand-up comedians to learn how they prepare their punchlines. Her performance in the film received positive reception and won her the SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Telugu. Srivathsan Nadadhur from OTTPlay and Ram Venkat Srikar from Cinema Express lauded her well-written role and her performance, which does justice to that writing, highlighting a notable achievement in Hegde's career.

She began 2022 by playing the leading lady opposite Prabhas in the multilingual period romance film Radhe Shyam, directed by Radha Krishna Kumar. Set in 1970s Europe, the film is a love saga of two individuals with different approaches to life: Vikramaditya (Prabhas), who follows fate and destiny, falls for Dr. Prerana (Hegde), who deeply believes in the power of science. It is one of the most expensive Indian films produced. Hegde shot and dubbed her portions in Telugu and Hindi languages. Monika Rawal Kukreja from Hindustan Times praised her performance and noted that "she performs the emotional sequences with a lot of maturity and conviction". Divya Nair of Rediff.com found she "looks fantastic in every frame and delivers even the silliest of scenes with grace". Reviewers of the film generally praised with the chemistry between the lead pair, but criticized the plot. The film's song "Aashiqui Aa Gayi" gained more popularity among audiences with Hegde's grace and style being appreciated. Radhe Shyam broke Tollywood's record for the highest opening-day earnings, but was a financial failure, failing to recoup its ₹3 billion (US$36 million) budget.

Hegde next starred alongside Vijay in Tamil action comedy Beast, directed by Nelson. Produced by Sun Pictures, the film marked her return to Tamil cinema after a gap of 9 years. While Divya Nair of Rediff.com and Jose K George of The Week wrote that Hegde looks pretty and does a decent job, Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute opined that she is gorgeous in "Arabic Kuthu". Hegde's #ArabicKuthuChallenge went viral on social media, and many recreated her signature step. Despite mixed reviews, Beast broke the record for the highest opening-day earnings for a Tamil film. The film performed well in overseas box office and was commercially successful, collecting over ₹3 billion (US$36 million) worldwide.

In the same year, she took on a brief role in the Telugu-language action drama film Acharya, starring Chiranjeevi and Charan. She performed her second dance number in the film, F3: Fun and Frustration alongside Venkatesh and Tej in the party song "Life Ante Itta Vundaala". In her final release of 2022, Hegde played one of the female leads opposite Ranveer Singh in Rohit Shetty's poorly received Hindi period comedy drama film Cirkus, an adaptation of the William Shakespeare's play The Comedy of Errors.

In 2023, she starred opposite Salman Khan in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, a remake of the 2014 Tamil film Veeram. Sakshi N considered the film as one of the biggest milestones in her career. She played the role of a Telugu girl who transforms the life of the protective and solitary Bhaijaan (played by Khan), bringing love, family unity, and a new purpose to his existence. The film was declared to have performed averagely at the box office. Critics were divided in their opinion of the film, but particularly praised Hegde's performance; Bollywood Hungama wrote that she "delivers a first-rate performance". Additionally, Avinash Lohana from Pinkvilla opined that "Hegde really shines in her role of Bhagya, which has the right mix of quirks, entertainment, humour, charm and emotions. She portrays all of it and more, effortlessly in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan".

Hegde will next star opposite Shahid Kapoor in Deva, a Hindi action thriller film from filmmaker Rosshan Andrrews. She will star in Retro, directed by Karthik Subbaraj and reunite with Vijay in Thalapathy 69 in their second collaboration after Beast. Hegde will also star alongside Varun Dhawan in romantic comedy Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai.

Hegde is considered among the most popular actors of Telugu cinema. She stood at the 7th place on Forbes India's Most Influential Stars on Instagram in South Cinema for the year 2021. As of August 2024, she is one of the most-followed actors on Instagram in Tollywood.

Riya Ashok Madayi of News18 wrote that "Hegde has made a mark in the film industry" and "her on-screen charm and adorable expressions, coupled with scintillating dance moves, have struck the right chords with the masses". Remarking upon her role choices, Trishna Das of Desimartini described it a "challenging roles with great élan". Analysing Hegde's career, Arshi Khanam of OTTPlay believes that she "has impressed fans and filmmakers with her charming ability to transition into different roles across language barriers". Prachi Rijhwani of Femina noted, she "has left an indelible mark on the television screen with her mesmerizing performances". The Hans India found that "with every film of hers, actress Pooja Hegde is only proving her versatility across various film industries". Stating Hegde is "ruling the South film industry", Ankita Mukherjee of Pinkvilla noted, "her stunning looks, pretty smile, and dancing skills have been the talk of the town".

Hegde is described as a style icon, for her fashion sence. Her figure, eyes, lips and looks have been cited by the media as her distinctive physical features. Suman Sharma from Filmfare described Hegde "an epitome of beauty" and noted "her ethereal looks are mesmerising and compel you to turn your attention to her". Adrija Dey of Hindustan Times wrote that she is a "style diva and effortlessly rocks all kinds of outfits, whether it’s the simplicity of traditional attire or contemporary, modern glam". Asianet News ranked her on their list of "Indian actresses with most sexiest body".

She topped the India Today's "Heroines who ruled Telugu cinema in 2022". In 2024, Goutham S listed her among "Beautiful Tamil actresses who are ruling the silver screen". She has frequently featured in Times' Most Desirable Woman list. She was the Hyderabad Times' Most Desirable Woman of 2017. In the same list, she stood 5th in 2019 and 3rd in 2020. Hegde was one of the most searched actresses on Google, for several times. She also became one of the most searched Asian on Google in 2022.

Hegde is also one of the highest-paid South Indian actress. She is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products. Hegde has represented many brands, including Citra, pTron, Garnier, IGP and Maaza; she was the first brand ambassador of Bhima Jewellers. In February 2022, she performed at Expo 2020 in Dubai for the "Da-Bangg Tour", alongside Salman Khan. She served as a judge at Miss World 2023.

Hegde supports various causes through her foundation "All About Love", which works towards providing support to unprivileged children across the country in the areas of education and health. She said, "All About Love is just a small way of giving back to the society. I am extremely grateful to the people for putting me in a position where I can make a difference to someone's life today." In 2020, she donated ₹2.5 million (US$30,000) to Cure Foundation. In October 2017, she agreed to pay complete medical expenses of two kids at Tata Memorial Centre. During the COVID-19 pandemic in India, she gave ration kits to 100 families.

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role(s)	Language(s)	Notes	Ref.
2012	Mugamoodi	Shakthi	Tamil
2014	Oka Laila Kosam	Nandana	Telugu
	Mukunda	Gopika	Telugu
2016	Mohenjo Daro	Chaani	Hindi
2017	DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham	Pooja	Telugu
2018	Rangasthalam	Jigelu Rani	Telugu	Special appearance in song "Jigelu Rani"
	Saakshyam	Soundarya Lahari	Telugu
	Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava	Aravinda	Telugu
2019	Maharshi	Pooja Mahalakshmi	Telugu
	Gaddalakonda Ganesh	Sridevi	Telugu
	Housefull 4	Rajkumari Mala/Pooja Thakral	Hindi
2020	Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo	Amulya	Telugu
2021	Most Eligible Bachelor	Vibha	Telugu
2022	Radhe Shyam	Dr. Prerana Chakravarthy	Telugu Hindi	Bilingual
	Beast	Preethi	Tamil
	Acharya	Neelambari	Telugu
	F3: Fun and Frustration	Herself	Telugu	Special appearance in song "Life Ante Itta Vundaala"
	Cirkus	Mala	Hindi
2023	Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan	Bhagyalaxmi Gundamaneni	Hindi
2025	Deva †	TBA	Hindi	Post-production
	Retro †	TBA	Tamil	Post-production
	Thalapathy 69 †	TBA	Tamil	Filming
	Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai †	TBA	Hindi	Filming

Year	Award	Category	Film	Result	Ref.
2013	2nd South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Female Debutant – Tamil	Mugamoodi	Nominated
2015	4th South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Female Debut – Telugu	Oka Laila Kosam	Nominated
	62nd Filmfare Awards South	Best Actress – Telugu		Nominated
2016	Stardust Awards	Superstar of Tomorrow – Female	Mohenjo Daro	Nominated
2017	Zee Telugu Golden Awards	Entertainer Of The Year (Female)	DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham	Won
		Favourite Heroine of the Year		Won
2019	66th Filmfare Awards South	Best Actress – Telugu	Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava	Nominated
	Sakshi Excellence Awards	Most Popular Actress of the Year		Won
2020	9th South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Actress – Telugu	Maharshi	Nominated
	Zee Cine Awards Telugu	Favourite Actress		Won
2021	9th South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Actress - Telegu	Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo	Won
	7th Sakshi Excellence Awards	Most Popular Actress of the Year		Won
2022	67th Filmfare Awards South	Best Actress – Telugu		Nominated
	10th South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Actress – Telugu	Most Eligible Bachelor	Won
		Critics Award for Best Actress – Telugu		Won
		Youth Icon (Female)	—	Won
2023	Bollywood Hungama Style Icons	Most Stylish Mould Breaking Star (Female)	—	Nominated
		Most Stylish Trend Setter (Female)	—	Nominated
		Most Stylish Haute Stepper	—	Nominated
		Most Stylish Glam Star	—	Nominated
	Pinkvilla Style Icons Awards	Stylish Game Changer - Female	—	Won
	Lokmat Stylish Awards	Most Stylish Youth Icon (Female)	—	Won
2024	Bollywood Hungama Style Icons	Most Stylish Versatile Talent of the Year	—	Won

• Pooja Hegde at IMDb 
• Pooja Hegde on Instagram
• Pooja Hegde at Bollywood Hungama