Pooja Umashankar

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]

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.