Pooja Hegde on Monica, Coolie & working with Vijay on his last film | Infocus | THR India

In this exclusive InFocus interview, Anupama Chopra sits down with Pooja Hegde for an in-depth conversation about her remarkable journey in Indian cinema. The actress opens up about her career-defining performance as Rukmani in Karthik Subbaraj's 'Retro' opposite Suriya, revealing how the director saw something special in her performance in 'Radhe Shyam' that led to this transformative role. She discusses the challenges of working across multiple film industries, mastering different languages including Tamil dubbing for the first time, and how she's strategically breaking free from glamorous typecasting to pursue more substantial, diverse roles.

Pooja also shares insights into creating the viral sensation 'Monica O My Darling' with its 55 million views, the five-day shoot in challenging conditions, and the unexpected validation from Monica Bellucci herself. From her early struggles getting meetings despite her success in South cinema to working with icons like Vijay in his final film, Hrithik Roshan who praised her rare talent, and maintaining perspective through social media trolling, this conversation captures an actress at a pivotal moment in her career. She candidly discusses her upcoming projects, her philosophy on choosing films, and why she believes cinema has the power to change lives.

00:00 Introduction
02:50 Career's finest performance
05:46 Monica song
09:35 Working with Karthik Subbaraj
15:14 Being typecast in Mumbai
17:31 From Radhe Shyam to Retro
22:14 Emotional decisions about Hindi films
24:15 Hindi cinema and pan-India reach
27:11 Acting across different cultures
31:48 Working with Suriya
37:25 Dealing with paid trolls
40:05 Social media vs ticket buyers
42:07 Hrithik Roshan's quote
44:29 Obsession with cinema
46:34 Getting meetings in Bollywood
48:38 Vijay's last film experience
52:55 Not being a diva

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