Pooja Umashankar | |
|---|---|
 Pooja in 2012 | |
| Born | Pooja Gauthami Umashankar Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Education | Baldwin Girls' High School, Bangalore Mount Carmel College, Bangalore |
| Occupation(s) | Model, actress |
| Years active | 2003–2016 |
| Spouse | Prashan David Vethakan (m. 2016) |
Pooja Gauthami Umashankar is an Indian-Sri Lankan actress who has primarily appeared in Indian Tamil and Sri Lankan Sinhala cinema.
Pooja's father, H. R. Umashankar, is an Indian Kannada Brahmin from Sringeri, in the Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka while mother, Sandhya, is a Sri Lankan Sinhalese. [1] Her father worked with Hindustan Unilever in Valparai as a manager. After she did her pre-schooling in Sri Lanka, she came to India and went to Poornapragnya in Aldur, Chikmagalur and then to Nirmala Convent in Mysore. [1] Later she continued her education at Baldwin Girls' High School in Bangalore and did graduation (B.Com.) and Post Graduation (MBA) at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. [1]
Pooja can speak Kannada, Sinhala, Tamil, and English. [1]
In December 2016, she married Prashan David Vethakan, who is a Sri Lankan businessman. [2]
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 . [3] 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. [3] Ullam Ketkumae's massive delay meant that her second film, the romantic comedy Jay Jay (2004), directed by Saran, became her first official release. [4] Pooja received favorable reviews for her performance in Jay Jay; [5] G. Ulaganathan from Deccan Herald wrote: "Spirited, lively, Pooja's sparkling eyes and smile do leave an impression". 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] 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. [8] She went to appear in commercial Tamil films such as Thambi and Pori . In 2007, Pooja also appeared in a Malayalam film, Panthaya Kozhi, before landing 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 .
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.
| Year | Film | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Jay Jay | Seema | Tamil | |
| 2004 | Attahasam | Sapna | Tamil | |
| 2005 | Ullam Ketkumae | Irene | Tamil | |
| Jithan | Priya | Tamil | ||
| 2006 | Anjalika | Anjalika, Uththara | Sinhala | |
| Pattiyal | Sandhya | Tamil | ||
| Thambi | Archana | Tamil | ||
| Thagapansamy | Marikozhundhu Shanmugam | Tamil | ||
| 2007 | Pori | Pooja | Tamil | |
| Asai Man Piyabanna | Ranmalee / Maleesha | Sinhala | ||
| Oram Po | Rani | Tamil | ||
| Panthaya Kozhi | Chempakam | Malayalam | ||
| Yahaluvo | Manorani | Sinhala | ||
| Naan Kadavul | Hamshavalli | Tamil | ||
| 2010 | Suwanda Denuna Jeewithe | Rashmi | Sinhala | |
| Drohi | Roja | Tamil | Guest appearance | |
| Orange | Meenakshi | Telugu | Guest appearance | |
| 2011 | Smoking Kills | Pooja | English | Short film |
| 2012 | Kusa Paba | Pabawathi | Sinhala | |
| Mirage | Priya | English | Short film | |
| 2013 | Vidiyum Munn | Rekha | Tamil | |
| 2015 | Kadavul Paathi Mirugam Paathi | Tamil | Guest appearance | |
| 2016 | Paththini | Kannagi (Paththini) | Sinhala | |
| Sarigama | Mariya | Sinhala | ||
| 2024 | Sihinayaki Adare | Jennifer | Sinhala | |
| Minnu | Sinhala | cameo role [9] |
| Show | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daskon | Princess Pramila | Sinhala | Teledrama |
| Derana City of Dance season 5 | Judge | Reality show | |
| Aatam Paatam Kondatam | Judge | Tamil | Reality show |
| Derana City of Dance season 6 | Judge | Sinhala | Reality show |
| Dance Jodi Dance | Judge | Tamil | Reality show |
 | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(April 2023) |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Sarasaviya Awards | Most Popular Actress | Anjalika | Nominated | |
| Best Actress | Nominated | ||||
| 2007 | Asai Man Piyabanna | Nominated | |||
| Most Popular Actress | Nominated | ||||
| 2009 | Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Naan Kadavul | Won | |
| 2010 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Actress | Won | ||
| Vijay Awards | Best Actress | Won | |||
| World Malayalee Council | Best Actress | Won | |||
| 2013 | Derana Film Awards | Most Popular Actress | Kusa Pabha | Won | |
| Best Actress | Nominated | ||||
| Hiru Golden Film Awards | Most Popular Actress | Nominated | |||
| Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards | Best Actress | Vidiyum Munn | Won | ||
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | Won | ||||
| 2014 | Filmfare Awards South | Nominated | |||
| Vijay Awards | Nominated | ||||
| SIIMA - Tamil | Nominated | ||||
| BehindWood Gold Medals | Best Actress | Won | |||
| 2016 | SLIM-Nielsen Peoples Awards | Most Popular Actress | Won | ||
| Sarasaviya Awards | Best Actress | Sarigama | Won | ||
| 2017 | Derana Film Awards | Most Popular Actress | Paththini | Won | |
| Janabhimani Honorary Award | Won | Honor From Sri Lankan Government [10] | |||
| 2018 | Hiru Golden Film Awards | Most Popular Actress | Won | ||
| 2019 | SLIM-Nielsen Peoples Awards | Most Popular Actress | Won | ||
| 2020 | SLIM-Nielsen Peoples Awards | Most Popular Actress | Won | ||
| 2021 | SLIM-Nielsen Peoples Awards | Most Popular Actress | Won |
Varalaru: History Of Godfather, or simply known as Varalaru (transl. History), is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language action-drama film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar, and produced by S. S. Chakravarthy under the banner NIC Arts. The film stars Ajith Kumar in the main triple lead role as a father and his two twin sons. Asin, Kanika, Ramesh Khanna, Suman Setty, Sujatha and M. S. Baskar play supporting roles. The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by A. R. Rahman. The film ran for 215 days and became a blockbuster at the box office. Prior to its release, the film was known by the title Godfather, but following the Government of Tamil Nadu's motion to exempt tax on films titled in Tamil, the title was changed to Varalaru.
Jay Jay is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Saran . The film stars R. Madhavan, Amogha and Pooja, while Kalabhavan Mani, Charle, Dhamu and Malavika Avinash also play key supporting roles. Produced by V. Ravichandran of Oscar Films, the film had music scored by Bharadwaj and is based on Hollywood film Serendipity.
S. Ajith Kumar is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. To date, he has starred in over 61 films, and won four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. In addition to his acting career, Ajith is also an occasional racing driver and participated in the MRF Racing series (2010) and having competed in circuits around India in places such as Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. He is one among very few Indians to race in the international arena and in Formula championships. Based on the annual earnings of Indian celebrities, he was included in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list three times.
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Asin Thottumkal, known mononyomusly as Asin, is an Indian former actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. Asin is a recipient of several accolades including a Filmfare Award, two Filmfare Awards South and four SIIMA Awards. The Government of Tamil Nadu honoured her with the state's highest civilian award Kalaimamani, in 2009. Asin is considered as one of the leading South Indian actresses of the 2000s and is referred to as the "Queen of Kollywood".
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Asai Man Piyabanna is a 2007 Sri Lankan Sinhala musical romantic film directed by Udayakantha Warnasuriya and produced by Dhammika Siriwardana for Alankulama Films. It stars Roshan Ranawana and Pooja Umashankar in lead roles along with Sanath Gunathilake and Upeksha Swarnamali. The music is composed by Rohana Weerasinghe.
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