When Pooja Hegde makes her debut at the end of this month in the dubbed film Mask ( Mugamoodi in Tamil), you will realise that she bears no resemblance to any of her contemporary co-stars. The pretty actor speaks with an air of confidence, “I bring to this industry a fresh face and I have a very strong mind. I was meant to do movies, if not this career, I would be doing fashion designing, styling, photography but not a regular nine to five job, sitting behind the desk. That would be criminal.
I love travelling. All women love to look at themselves in the mirror and I am no exception. I find even men vain but here I get paid to look good. I am a plain simple person and but sometimes I like to sit back and take life easy.”
The actor is from Udipi, Mangalore and was the runner-up in Miss India (Universe) contest in 2010 .She feels she is on the right path by choosing a Tamil-Telugu film for her launch as the industries down south are quite respected. Moreover, Katrina, Aishwarya, Priyanka all started their career from here. She is aware of an actor’s short shelf life and that among those who run longer, only those who make the most of itprosper. “Beneath all that there is hard work, looking good one day or two days is fine but maintaining that look and smile during a continuous stretch of long hours is quite a task. My mum once accompanied me to the sets, she is a business woman and she remarked that it was easier to do business than be in movies. It is a test of patience and I salute all those actors who have been doing this for so many years. One serious look, you get written about, only few people know that you are going through a bad day.”
The actor says that she has a high metabolic rate and claims, “I eat every two hours.” How has the film shaped up? “I’ve understood that it is my first movie and practice makes you perfect. I speak Tulu; Tamil and Tulu are similar. Telugu they say is like Kannada and all I can remember is chaala bagundhi . I want to be a better actor, looks are God-given but it is mainly talent that you have to focus on. I have to pick up more roles, movies, challenging directors who push me to be more different and entertain the audience.”
