With a huge fan base not just on social media, actor Pooja Hegde has managed to build her career in both Hindi and South films. Be it avant-garde gowns or oversized casual fits, Pooja believes that fashion can be empowering. While shuttling between multiple industries and living out of a suitcase, she says fashion is always a huge help. She draws a parallel between fashion and acting as she says, “For me, fashion is empowering as you can use it to your advantage. It can make you feel different. It’s like a character one puts on.”
Addressing fashion’s dual power, Pooja likes to use it for her own good. She shares, “Either you express who you are through fashion, or you make yourself feel different with the clothes you wear. Like when you wear heels, it gives you a different posture and a different stance. The same goes for different kinds of outfits. I feel fashion is really empowering.”
The 34-year-old actor, who exudes class and elegance, and effortlessly balances bold glamour with an understated charm, is a self-proclaimed “tomboy”: “As for my style statement, I love oversized and comfortable fits. I like Tomboy Femme where it’s like a little tomboyish, but has a feminine touch at the same time.”
Having been an actor for over 12 years now, Pooja attributes her growth and sartorial sense to her work experiences and learnings through various characters. She says, “Over the years, my fashion sense has evolved and it has helped me find out who am I as a person. Obviously, there have been hits and misses and I have learnt from them, groomed myself and evolved over time.”
While she gets most of her looks right, there is one that she has been trying for a while. Sharing the one “miss”, she says, “One of the misses that I keep trying often is sleek hair. I need to know how to work it because it’s something that can go wrong. That’s one thing that I’m still trying to crack.”
Having been on a “wonderful roller coaster of a ride” in her career with hits such as Maharshi (2019), Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020), Most Eligible Bachelor (2021), and Beast (2022) among others, she admits that she has “a long way to go”.
Talking about how the characters she portrayed had different style statements and impacted her, Pooja says, “The character I played in Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava (2018), I feel, dressed a lot like me. It felt like me and it was such an exploration of who I am. I also love blending and becoming another person. In my upcoming film Retro, with Suriya, my look is of a simple village girl in a sari. It’s de-glam and that’s empowering, too, as it makes you feel different.”
The actor has a spectacular line-up of two big-budgeted South and Hindi films coming up. Excited about her projects, she shares, “This year, I just want to do films that make me happy as an actor and explore challenging roles. I have taken up roles that I haven’t explored before in Hindi cinema or South. While choosing projects, I took a little step back. And I decided I’m going to work with filmmakers that excite me. I have tried to maintain a balance as well— there’s commercial, there’s masala, and there’s comedy, too. I have David Dhawan’s next with Varun Dhawan and at the same time, the film with Suriya, Retro, is so different. I have Jana Nayagan with Vijay, and there are two more announcements coming up. I’m working in three languages this year, so the audience will see different shades of me.”
She adds, “This year, I want to do more Hindi films and try to balance them with the South. I hope my films kind of crossover and audiences see my films irrespective of the language.”
Credits:
Creative Director: Shara Ashraf Prayag
Photographer: Vijit Gupta
Stylist: Karishma Patidar
Styling team: Priti Mehta, Niyanta Varma
Makeup: Kajol Mulani
Hair: Suhaas Shinde
Talent Coordinator: Kavita Awaasthi
Location: Krome Studios, Bandra
PR Agency: Tree-Shul Media Solutions
