Pooja Umashankar

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

Early and personal life Pooja was born on June 25, 1981, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 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.

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

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. 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". Pooja received favorable reviews for her performance in Jay Jay; 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. Pooja, too, met with criticism, with critics citing that she had "only limited role" and was "wasted [...] in an insignificant and half-baked role". 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. 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 Paba 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 Film Year Film Role Language Notes 2003 Jay Jay Seema Tamil 2004 Attahasam Sapna Tamil 2005 Jithan Priya Tamil Ullam Ketkumae Irene Tamil 2006 Anjalika Anjalika,Uththara Sinhala Thambi Archana Tamil Pattiyal Sandhya Tamil Thagapansamy Marikozhundhu Shanmugam Tamil 2007 Pori Pooja Tamil Panthaya KozhiChempakamMalayalam Yahaluvo Manorani Sinhala Asai Man Piyabanna Ranmalee / Maleesha Sinhala Oram Po Rani Tamil 2009 Naan Kadavul Hamshavalli TN 07 AL 4777Car driver who crashes into GauthamGuest appearance 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 Fernandez Sinhala Minnu Sinhala Guest appearance

Television Show Role Language Notes Daskon Princess Pramila Sinhala Teledrama Derana City of Dance season 5JudgeReality show Aatam Paatam Kondatam Judge Tamil Reality show Derana City of Dance season 6JudgeSinhalaReality showDance Jodi DanceJudgeTamilReality show

Awards and nominations