Hegde competed in the Miss India 2009 competition, but was eliminated in an early round despite winning the Miss India Talented 2009 honour. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pooja Umashankar.Hegde at the Red Carpet event of LoveScotch Archived from the original on 5 October 2012.
^ "Attahasam Review – Tamil Movie Review".Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. ^ "J ! J ! (Jay Jay) Review – Tamil Movie Review".Archived from the original on 2 December 2007. ^ "Actress Pooja gets married - Times of India".Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. ^ a b c "I am enjoying every moment of acting".She was one of the judges in the reality dance show Aatam Paatam Kondatam Kalaignar TV, Sun TV. Critics praised Pooja for her role of Pabawathi. Her big budget film Kusa Pabha released in early 2012 and became the highest grosser ever in the history of Sri Lankan film industry. 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 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. In 2007, Pooja also appeared in a Malayalam film, Panthaya Kozhi, before landing the lead female role in Bala's Naan Kadavul. She went to appear in commercial Tamil films such as Thambi and Pori. The film fetched positive remarks and emerged as a sleeper hit. 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. Pooja, too, met with criticism, with critics citing that she had "only limited role" and was "wasted in an insignificant and half-baked role".
Similarly a critic from noted: "mong the two new heroines, it is Pooja who scores with her good performance and dances." 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. Ulaganathan from Deccan Herald wrote: "Spirited, lively, Pooja's sparkling eyes and smile do leave an impression". Pooja received favorable reviews for her performance in Jay Jay G. Ullam Ketkumae's massive delay meant that her second film, the romantic comedy Jay Jay (2004), directed by Saran, became her first official release. Madhavan, which she could not decline and made her rethink her decision. 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 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. 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. On December, 2016 she married Prashan David Vethakan who is a Sri Lankan businessman. Later she continued her education at Baldwin's Girls High school in Bengaluru and did graduation (B.Com.) and Post Graduation (MBA) at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. 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 Mysuru. Pooja can speak Kannada, Sinhala, Tamil and English. Pooja's father Umashankar was at Valparai working with Hindustan Unilever Limited as a manager. Pooja's mother Sandhya is a Sri Lankan Sinhalese and her father H.R.Umashankar is an Indian Kannadiga Brahmin from Sringeri in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka.