Pooja Umashankar
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Pooja Umashankar | |
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Pooja G Umashankar
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Born | Pooja Gauthami Umashankar June 25, 1981 Colombo, Sri Lanka |
Occupation | Model, Actress |
Years active | 2003–present |
Religion | Hindu |
Early life
Pooja's mother Sandhya is a Sri Lankan Sinhalese and her father H.R.Umashankar is an Indian Kannadiga Brahmin from Sringeri in Chikmagalur district, Karnataka.[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 did her early schooling in Poornapragnya in Aldur,Chikmagalur and Nirmala Convent in Mysore. Later she continued her education at Baldwin's Girls High school in Bangalore and did graduation (B.Com) and Post Graduation (MBA) at the prestigious Mount Carmel College in Bangalore.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] [2] She was soon offered a role opposite R. Madhavan, which she could not decline and made her rethink her decision.[2] Ullam Ketkumae's massive delay meant that her second film, the romantic comedy Jay Jay (2004), directed by Saran, became her first official release.[3] Pooja received favorable reviews for her performance in Jay Jay;[4] 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..."[5] 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.[6] Pooja, too, met with criticism, with critics citing that she had "only limited role" and was "wasted [...] in an insignificant and half-baked role".[7][8] 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.[9] 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 highest grosser ever in the history of Sri Lankan film industry. Critics praised Pooja for her role of Pabawathi.
Pooja has been a part of a short film titled Mirage that was shot in September 2011. She says, her good friend Abhishek Venkteshwar requested for her participation in this short film. 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. When she was shooting for Mirage, she also starred in Smoking kills a short film made by University students as a student welfare initiative.
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 |
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2003 | Jay Jay | Seema | Tamil | "Amudha Surabhi" Best Actress New Comer Award |
2004 | Attahasam | Sapna | Tamil | |
2005 | Ullam Ketkumae | Irene | Tamil | |
2005 | Githan | Priya | Tamil | |
2006 | Anjalika | Anjalika, Uththara |
Sinhala | Nominated - Sarasaviya Film Awards For Best Actress
Nominated -Sarasaviya Film Awards For Most Popular Actress |
2006 | Pattiyal | Sandhya | Tamil | |
2006 | Thambi | Archana | Tamil | Sree Gold Dhall and Kodai FM Film Star Award |
2006 | Thagapansamy | Marikozhundhu Shanmugam | Tamil | |
2007 | Pori | Pooja | Tamil | |
2007 | Panthaya Kozhi | Shenbagam | Malayalam | |
2007 | Asai Man Piyabanna | Ranmalee / Maleesha | Sinhala | Nominated - Sarasaviya Film Awards For Best Actress
Nominated -Sarasaviya Film Awards For Most Popular Actress |
2007 | Oram Po | Rani | Tamil | |
2007 | Yahaluvo | Manorani | 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 World Malayalee Council Film Awards for Best Actress - Tamil Nominated - National Film Awards For Best Actress Nominated - Edison Award For Best Actress Nominated - Vikatan Award For Best Actress |
2009 | TN-07 AL 4777 | Tamil | Guest appearance | |
2010 | Suwanda Denuna Jeewithe | Rashmi | Sinhala | |
2010 | Drohi | Roja | Tamil | Guest appearance |
2010 | Orange | Meenakshi Teacher | Telugu | Guest appearance |
2011 | Smoking Kills | Pooja | English | Short film |
2012 | Kusa Pabha | Pabawathi | Sinhala | Derena LUX Film Awards For Most Popular Actress |
2012 | Mirage | Priya | English | Short film |
2013 | Vidiyum Munn | Rekha | Tamil | A Thriller film Releasing in September |
References
- Jump up ^ "Pooja Umashanker: About Me". Pooja Umashanker. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Screen presence". The Hindu (Chennai, India). April 27, 2007.
- Jump up ^ "Oram Po… here she comes". The Hindu (Chennai, India). November 30, 2007.
- Jump up ^ http://www.thiraipadam.com/cgi-bin/movie_review.pl?id=434&user_name=bbalaji&review_lang=english&lang=english
- Jump up ^ "J ! J ! (Jay Jay) Review - Tamil Movie Review". Nowrunning.com. 2003-11-12. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
- Jump up ^ "Ajith tastes success!". Ia.rediff.com. 2004-11-23. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
- Jump up ^ "Attahasam Review - Tamil Movie Review". Nowrunning.com. 2004-09-09. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
- Jump up ^ "Movie Review:Attakasam". Sify.com. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
- Jump up ^ "`Ullam Ketkume` - A sleeper hit!". Sify.com. 2005-06-07. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
External links
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NAME = POOJA AYUB
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