Background and career
Pooja Hegde (; born 13 October 1990) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil films. One of the highest-paid actresses of South Indian cinema, Hegde is a recipient of four SIIMA Awards along with four Filmfare Awards South nominations.
After participating in the 2010 Miss Universe India beauty pageant, Hegde made her film debut with the Tamil film Mugamoodi (2012). She gained recognition in Telugu cinema with roles in Oka Laila Kosam and Mukunda (both 2014), and achieved wider success with the action comedy DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham (2017). Her Bollywood debut came with Mohenjo Daro (2016) opposite Hrithik Roshan, followed by a commercial success in the ensemble comedy Housefull 4 (2019).
Hegde established herself in Telugu films through commercially successful films such as Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava (2018), Maharshi (2019), and Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020) and Most Eligible Bachelor (2021). This success was followed by several poorly received films, following which Hegde found success with Retro (2025).
