Pooja Umashankar

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Pooja Umashankar
Pooja G Umashankar.jpg
Pooja in 2012
Born
Pooja Gauthami Umashankar

June 25, 1981 (age 44)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Education Baldwin Girls' High School, Bangalore
Mount Carmel College, Bangalore
Occupation(s)Model, Actress
Years active2003–2016
Spouse
Prashan David Vethakan
(m. 2016)

Pooja Gauthami Umashankar is an Indian-Sri Lankan former actress who has primarily appeared in Indian Tamil and Sri Lankan Sinhala cinema.

Contents

Early and personal life

Pooja was born on June 25, 1981, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. [1] 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. [2] 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. [2] 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. [2]

Pooja can speak Kannada, Sinhala, Tamil, and English. [2]

In December 2016, she married Prashan David Vethakan, who is a Sri Lankan businessman. [3]

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 . [4] 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". [4] She was soon offered a role opposite R. Madhavan, which she could not decline and made her rethink her decision. [4] Ullam Ketkumae's massive delay meant that her second film, the romantic comedy Jay Jay (2004), directed by Saran, became her first official release. [5] Pooja received favorable reviews for her performance in Jay Jay; [6] 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. [7] Pooja, too, met with criticism, with critics citing that she had "only limited role" and was "wasted [...] in an insignificant and half-baked role". [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 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.

Filmography

YearFilmRoleLanguageNotes
2003 Jay Jay Seema Tamil
2004 Attahasam SapnaTamil
2005 Ullam Ketkumae IreneTamil
Jithan PriyaTamil
2006 Anjalika Anjalika,
Uththara
Sinhala
Pattiyal SandhyaTamil
Thambi ArchanaTamil
Thagapansamy Marikozhundhu ShanmugamTamil
2007 Pori PoojaTamil
Asai Man Piyabanna Ranmalee / MaleeshaSinhala
Oram Po RaniTamil
Panthaya Kozhi Chempakam Malayalam
Yahaluvo ManoraniSinhala
2009 Naan Kadavul HamshavalliTamil
2010 Suwanda Denuna Jeewithe RashmiSinhala
Drohi RojaTamilGuest appearance
Orange Meenakshi Telugu Guest appearance
2011Smoking KillsPooja English Short film
2012 Kusa Paba PabawathiSinhala
MiragePriyaEnglishShort film
2013 Vidiyum Munn RekhaTamil
2015 Kadavul Paathi Mirugam Paathi TamilGuest appearance
2016 Paththini Kannagi (Paththini)Sinhala
Sarigama MariyaSinhala
2024 Sihinayaki Adare JenniferSinhala
Minnu Sinhalacameo role [10]

Television

ShowRoleLanguageNotes
Daskon Princess PramilaSinhalaTeledrama
Derana City of Dance season 5JudgeReality show
Aatam Paatam KondatamJudgeTamilReality show
Derana City of Dance season 6JudgeSinhalaReality show
Dance Jodi DanceJudgeTamilReality show

Awards

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultAchievements
2006 Sarasaviya Awards Most Popular Actress Anjalika Nominated
Best ActressNominated
2007 Asai Man Piyabanna Nominated
Most Popular ActressNominated
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 CouncilBest ActressWon
2013 Derana Film Awards Most Popular Actress Kusa Pabha Won
Best ActressNominated
Hiru Golden Film Awards Most Popular ActressNominated
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 MedalsBest ActressWon
2016 SLIM-Nielsen Peoples Awards Most Popular ActressWon
Sarasaviya Awards Best Actress Sarigama Won
2017 Derana Film Awards Most Popular Actress Paththini Won
Janabhimani Honorary AwardWonHonor From Sri Lankan Government [11]
2018 Hiru Golden Film Awards Most Popular ActressWon
2019SLIM-Nielsen Peoples AwardsMost Popular ActressWon
2020SLIM-Nielsen Peoples AwardsMost Popular ActressWon
2021SLIM-Nielsen Peoples AwardsMost Popular ActressWon

References

  1. "Pooja Umashankar Awards: List of awards and nominations received by Pooja Umashankar | Times of India Entertainment". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "I am enjoying every moment of acting". The Hindu . Chennai, India. 30 May 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
  3. "Actress Pooja gets married". The Times of India. 16 January 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Screen presence". The Hindu . Chennai, India. 27 April 2007. Archived from the original on 27 May 2007.
  5. "Oram Po… here she comes". The Hindu . Chennai, India. 30 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2 December 2007.
  6. "Jay Jay – Tamil Movie Review" Archived 22 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine . thiraipadam.com
  7. "Ajith tastes success!". Ia.rediff.com. 23 November 2004. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  8. "Movie Review:Attakasam". Sify . Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  9. "'Ullam Ketkume' – A sleeper hit!". Sify . 7 June 2005. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  10. "තුන්පත් රෑනක සොඳුරු අනන්තය "මින්නු"". www.sundaytimes.lk.
  11. "Honorary Award". poojaumashankar.tumblr.com.