Pooja Umashankar
Pooja Umashankar | |
|---|---|
| Born | Pooja Gauthami Umashankar June 25, 1981 |
| Occupation(s) | Model, Actress |
| Years active | 2003–present |
Pooja Gauthami Umashankar (born 25 June 1981), mononymously known as Pooja is an Indian actress, who has primarily appeared in Tamil films as well as Sinhala, Malayalam and Amateur films. Following a series of successful commercial ventures, Bala's Naan Kadavul saw Pooja's performance as a blind beggar praised by the critics, securing major awards, including the South Filmfare and Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. She simultaneously appeared in several commercial successes in Sinhala Cinema like Anjalika(2005) ,Suwanda Denuna Jeewithe(2007) and Kusa Pabha(2012), thus establishing herself as one of the leading actresses of Sinhala cinema.
Biography
Early life
Pooja's mother is a Sri Lankan Sinhalese and her father Uma Shankar is an Indian Kannadiga Lingayat.[1] Uma Shankar was at Valparai working with Hindustan Unilever Limited as a manager. He was not at all interested in film industry but she was attached to it. Pooja can speak Kannada, Sinhalese, Tamil and English. She went to Baldwin's school and studied at the Mount Carmel College in Bangalore. Vanathy has been her mentor throughout her acting career.
Career
Pooja was introduced by a friend of her to cinematographer-turned-director Jeeva, who signed her for the role of Anglo-Indian girl in his Tamil venture Ullam Ketkumae.[2] Pooja said that at that time she planned to finish that film and return to her original job and did not take an acting career into consideration. She stated: "I said to myself I'd act in just this film, see what it's like, make good use of the money and get back to studying".[3] She was soon offered a role opposite R. Madhavan, which she could not decline and made her rethink her decision.[4] Ullam Ketkumae's massive delay meant that her second film, the romantic comedy Jay Jay (2004), directed by Saran, became her first official release.[5] Pooja received favorable reviews for her performance in Jay Jay;[6] G. Ulaganathan from Deccan Herald wrote: "Spirited, lively, Pooja's sparkling eyes and smile do leave an impression". Similarly a critic from nowrunning.com noted: "[A]mong the two new heroines, it is Pooja who scores with her good performance and dances..."[7] She next played the romantic interest of Ajith Kumar in another Saran film, Attahasam, which, in spite of mixed critical response, went on to become a financial success.[8] Pooja, too, met with criticism, with critics citing that she had "only limited role" and was "wasted [...] in an insignificant and half-baked role".[9][10] Pooja's subsequent release happened to be Ullam Ketkumae that featured her in one of the five leading roles alongside Shaam, Laila, Arya and Asin. The film fetched positive remarks and emerged as a sleeper hit.[11] She went to appear in several hits like Thambi and Pori which finally established her as a star heroine in Tamil cinema. In 2007, Pooja also appeared in her only Malayalam film till date, Panthaya Kozhi. She bagged the lead female role in Bala's Naan Kadavul. Her portrayal of Hamshavalli, a blind beggar, was critically appreciated and earned her several accolades, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil and Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Character Artiste. Following Naan Kadavul, Pooja went on a sabbatical, appeared just in cameo roles in TN-07 AL 4777, Drohi and the Telugu film Orange.
She became a sensation in Sri Lankan film industry and a household name after the success of Anjalika (2005) and Asai Man Piyambanna (2007). She then on went to appear in several blockbusters in Sinhala cinema and rose to high popularity. Her big-budget film Kusa Pabha released in early 2012 and became the biggest grosser ever in the history of SriLankan film industry.Critics praised Pooja for her role of Pabawathi.These accomplishments have thus established her as a superstar in Sri Lanka.
Pooja has been a part of a Short film/AFI (Amateur film Industry) venture titled Mirage that was shot in September 2011. She says, her good friend Abhishek Venkteshwar requested for her participation in this short film. She agreed as AFI in India is a Bangalore-based Junior Film Industry encouraged by many Schools and Colleges across the State of Karnataka and She wanted to encourage those students.The film was eventually screened in various short film festivals in India and The West MidlandS International film festival in United Kingdom fetching accolades for the film and Pooja's performance.
Television
She was one of the judges in the popular reality dance show Aatam Paatam Kondatam opposite dance master Prasanna on Kalaignar TV, Sun TV.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Jay Jay | Seema | Tamil | |
| 2004 | Attahasam | Priya | Tamil | |
| 2005 | Ullam Ketkumae | Irene | Tamil | Debut in Tamil Cinema(first film she signed) |
| 2005 | Githan | Priya | Tamil | |
| 2005 | Anjalika | Anjalika, Uththara |
Sinhala | Debut in Sinhala Cinema |
| 2006 | Pattiyal | Sandhya | Tamil | |
| 2006 | Thambi | Archana | Tamil | |
| 2006 | Thagapansamy | Marikozhundhu Shanmugam | Tamil | |
| 2007 | Pori | Pooja | Tamil | |
| 2007 | Panthaya Kozhi | Shenbagam | Malayalam | Debut in Malayalam |
| 2007 | Asai Mang Piyabanna | Ranmalee / Maleesha | Sinhala | |
| 2007 | Oram Po | Rani | Tamil | |
| 2007 | Yahaluvo | Sinhala | ||
| 2009 | Naan Kadavul | Hamshavalli | Tamil | Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Character Artiste Vijay Award for Best Actress |
| 2009 | TN-07 AL 4777 | Tamil | Guest appearance | |
| 2010 | Suwanda Denuna Jeewithe | Sinhala | ||
| 2010 | Drohi | Roja | Tamil | Guest appearance |
| 2010 | Orange | Teacher | Telugu | Guest appearance |
| 2012 | Kusa-Paba | Pabawathi | Sinhala | Biggest Hit in Sri Lankan film History |
| 2012 | Mirage | Priya | English | First Short Film, Screened in the West Midlands International Film Festival |
| 2012 | Eriyum Thanal | Tamil | Bala's Film |
References
- ^ "Pooja Umashanker: About Me". Pooja Umashanker. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
- ^ http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/04/27/stories/2007042700120200.htm
- ^ http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/04/27/stories/2007042700120200.htm
- ^ http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/04/27/stories/2007042700120200.htm
- ^ http://www.hindu.com/cp/2007/11/30/stories/2007113050060300.htm
- ^ http://www.thiraipadam.com/cgi-bin/movie_review.pl?id=434&user_name=bbalaji&review_lang=english&lang=english
- ^ http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/467/tamil/j-j-(jay-jay)/173/review.htm
- ^ http://ia.rediff.com/movies/2004/nov/23ss.htm
- ^ http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/1673/tamil/attahasam/305/review.htm
- ^ http://www.sify.com/movies/tamil/review.php?id=13608855&ctid=5&cid=2429
- ^ http://www.sify.com/movies/ullam-ketkume-a-sleeper-hit-news-tamil-kkfv3Feggei.html