Pooja Gandhi

Pooja Gandhi
Born	Pooja Gandhi Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Nationality	Indian
Other names	Sanjana Gandhi[1][2][3]
Ethnicity	Punjabi[4]
Occupation	Actress model producer politician, social activist philanthropist, contestant
Years active	2003 – present
Television	Bigg Boss Kannada – Reality Show
Relatives	Radhika Gandhi (sister) Suhani Gandhi (sister)

Pooja Gandhi is an Indian film actress and producer who works mainly in Kannada and Tamil cinema, and also appears in Malayalam, Bengali and Hindi films. One of the most popular and highest-paid South Indian actresses.^[5][6] Gandhi came to be known as Mungaru Male Hudugi ("Mungaru Male Girl") in the media.^[7][8][9]

She has played lead roles in commercially successful films such as Mungaru Male (2006), Milana (2007), Krishna (2007), Taj Mahal (2008), Budhivanta (2008), Gokula (2009) and Dandupalya (2012). She has performed in more than 50 films in several languages.^[5] She also participated in the reality show Bigg Boss Kannada 3, which aired on Colors Kannada in 2016.^[10][11]

Early years and personal life

Pooja Gandhi was born in Meerut^[4] in a traditional Punjabi family. Her father Pawan Gandhi is a businessman and her mother Jyothi Gandhi is a housewife. She studied at Sophia Convent and Dewan Public School in Meerut. She has two younger sisters – Radhika Gandhi, who is also working in Kannada films, and Suhani Gandhi, a Tennis player.^[4][12]

Pooja Gandhi got engaged in November 2012 but broke up the following month.^[13]

Career

Debut (2003)

Pooja started her career by acting in soaps, starting with Zameen Se Aassman Tak directed by Aruna Irani.^[4] She made her debut at the age of 18 in the Bengali film Tomake Salam, released in 2003. She moved to the South Indian film industry with the Tamil film Kokki. The film earned moderate reviews and had a successful run at the box office.^[12]

Public recognition and Initial success in Kannada (2006–08)

Her debut in the Kannada film industry was with Mungaru Male,^[14] The film was the first in India for any language to be screened for continuously one year in a multiplex.^[15] Overall it ran over 865-days in Karnataka. It was remade in Telugu as Vaana^[16] and in Bengali as Premer Kahini^[17] in 2008. She popularly came to be known as Mungaru Male Girl (Girl of "Mungaru Male").^[18]

She then acted in the movie Milana together with Puneeth Rajkumar 'Milana' Upon theatrical release on 14 September 2007, the film saw massive commercial success and completed a 365-day run in theatres.^[19][20]

Pooja worked in Krishna,^[21] together with "Comedy Time" Ganesh, her co-actor in Mungaru Male. She has since acted in several Kannada films like Manmatha, Geleya, Hani Hani, Accident, Kaamannana Makkalu and Nee Tata Naa Birla these were mediocre at the box office.^[4]

In 2008, she starred in the Kannada film Taj Mahal with Ajay Rao. She was nominated for a Filmfare Best Actress Award.^[22][23][24]She was nominated for a Filmfare Best Actress Award. Her next movie was Budhivanta together with Upendra. It became the highest grossing Kannada film of 2008 and turned out to be a much bigger hit than the original Naan Avanillai.^[25][26] The new comers Kiran Srinivas and Suhasi played the lead roles in the film Haage Summane. Music was composed by Mano Murthy. The film released nationwide on 26 December 2008. Her next film was the Tamil movie Thiruvannamalai also starring Arjun Sarja. The film was later dubbed in Hindi and released as Main Hoon Vinashak.^[4]

Her first 2009 release was Anu, which was the remake of Telugu movie Anusuya starring Bhumika Chawla. Other Kannada movies that Pooja Gandhi acted in include Hucchi, Iniya, and Ninagaagi Kadiruve. Other movies from 2009 include the Tamil film Thalai Ezhudu, and Gokula in which she starred with Vijaya Raghavendra and Yash. The film opened on 27 November 2009 to favorable and positive reviews from the critics. it was a major successful at the box office.^[27] In 2010 she starred in Minugu, Sri Harikathe, Nee Raani Naa Maharani and Vega films.

Debut in Bollywood (2010)

She made her debut in Hindi film with I Am 2011, together with Juhi Chawla. 'I Am' received mainly positive reviews from critics. The Times of India called it "an important and intelligent film"^[28] and The Film Street Journal named it "a must watch".^[29] In 2012 'I Am' won the National Award for Best Hindi Film and Best Lyrics.^[30] In the same year she has acted several Kannada movies such as Thavarina Runa, Aptha, Nee Illadhe, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Panchamrutha, Pagal and Jogayya. In 'Jogayya' movie, she made a cameo appearance as an Advocate, directed by star director Prem.

Critical acclaim and accolades

Gandhi received Filmfare Award for Best Kannada Actress and Suvarna Fimfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in Dandupalya (2012). The film was dubbed in Telugu and released as Dandupalyam. It was well received in Andhra Pradesh.^[31] A Tamil dub titled Karimedu was produced by Rama Narayanan's Sri Thenandal Films and released on 24 May 2013 to critical acclaim. it was hit in Tamil Nadu.^[32][33] The film was dubbed in Malayalam and was titled as Kuruthikalam.

Gandhi has signed up to make her Tulu language film debut in Beere Devupoonje, playing the role of Raja Nartaki. The film, produced and directed by R. Dhanraj, will be based on a Tulu warrior named Devapoonja who lived 400 years ago.^[34]

Gandhi made her debut in Malayalam film with Maad Dad (2013) together with Lal and Meghana Raj.^[35]She became "Item Girl" for the Mata fame Guruprasad directed Kannada movie Director's Special(2013). According to sources said that Gandhi had rejected a request to do a special song in Devarane movie. Following days Pooja says "i accepted this offer only because director Guruprasad wrote this song keeping me in mind. That makes it special", who'll sizzle in the song Chanchal Champakali.^[36][37]In 2015, she starred and produced a movie Abhinetri, also she introduced as Producer, movie became below average at the box-office.^[38]

Politics

Pooja Gandhi joined the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS) party on 18 January 2012.^[39]

She then joined briefly the KJP, but she finally contested the 2013 Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections from Raichur on a BSR Congress ticket. This first attempt at public office proved unsuccessful.^[40]

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

No	Year	Film	Role	Language	Notes
1	2003	Tomake Salam	Ankitha	Bengali
2	2006	Kokki	Raji	Tamil
3	2006	Mungaru Male	Nandini	Kannada
4	2007	Milana	Priya	Kannada	Special appearance in song "Ninnindale"
5	2007	Krishna	Pooja	Kannada
6	2007	Manmatha		Kannada	Special appearance
7	2007	Geleya	Herself	Kannada	Special appearance in song "Hudugi Malebillu"
8	2008	Hani Hani	Ramya	Kannada
9	2008	Vaitheeswaran	Pooja	Tamil
10	2008	Accident	Pooja	Kannada
11	2008	Kaamannana Makkalu	Herself	Kannada	Special appearance in the song "Ammanni ammanni"
12	2008	Nee Tata Naa Birla	Pooja	Kannada
13	2008	Taj Mahal	Shruthi	Kannada	Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Kannada Actress[41]
14	2008	Kodagana Koli Nungitha	Lakshmi	Kannada
15	2008	Budhivanta	Pooja	Kannada
16	2008	Maharshi	Manasa Veena	Kannada
17	2008	Janumada Gelathi	Manjula	Kannada
18	2008	Thiruvannamalai	Malathy	Tamil
19	2008	Haage Summane	Nandini	Kannada	Special appearance
20	2009	Anu	Anu	Kannada
21	2009	Thalai Ezhuthu	Pooja	Tamil
22	2009	Iniya	Janaki	Kannada
23	2009	Huchchi	Preethi	Kannada
24	2009	Ninagaagi Kaadiruve	Shweta Nandan	Kannada
25	2009	Gokula	Leela	Kannada
26	2010	Minugu	Sanchitha	Kannada
27	2010	Mukkanti	Shailaja	Telugu Tamil	[42][43]
28	2010	Sri Harikathe	Pooja Krishnamurthy	Kannada
29	2010	Nee Raani Naa Maharani	Rani, Pooja Gandhi	Kannada
30	2010	Vega		Kannada
31	2011	Thavarina Runa		Kannada
32	2011	Aptha	Anjali Devi	Kannada
33	2011	Nee Illadhe	Sharanya	Kannada
34	2011	I Am	Aparna	Hindi
35	2011	Hare Rama Hare Krishna		Kannada
36	2011	Panchamrutha	Prithi	Kannada
37	2011	Jogayya	Advocate	Kannada	Cameo appearance
38	2011	Paagal	Pooja	Kannada
39	2012	Dandupalya	Lakshmi	Kannada	Winner – Suvarna Film Award for Best Actress Winner – SIIMA Award for Best Actress in a Negative Role Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Kannada
40	2012	Jaihind	Anjali	Kannada	[44]
41	2012	Hosa Prema Purana	Herself	Kannada	Special appearance in the song
42	2012	Damaad Ke Intezaar Mein	Aliya	Hindi	[45]
43	2013	Maad Dad	Lisa	Malayalam
44	2013	Director's Special	Herself	Kannada	Special appearance in song "Kannalle eshottu kolltiya"
45	2014	Kalyanamasthu	Radha	Kannada
46	2015	Abhinetri	Sharat Lata / Nanda	Kannada	Also producer[46]
47	2015	Thippaji Circle	Thippajji	Kannada
48	2016	Kathe Chitrakathe Nirdeshana Puttanna	Unnamed	Kannada
49	2016	Mahaamarana	Pooja	Kannada	Short film[47][48]
50	2016	Dandupalya 2	Lakshmi	Kannada	Filming[49][50][51]
51	2016	Karimedu 2		Tamil	Filming
52	2016	Dandupalyam 2		Telugu	Filming

As producer

Year	Film	Language	Cast
2015	Abhinetri	Kannada	Pooja gandhi
2016	Mahaamarana	Kannada	Pooja gandhi, Srinagar Kitty, Uttar Karnataka people [52]

Awards

• Filmfare Best Actress Award for Tajmahal movie (2008).
• Filmfare Best Actress Award for Dandupalya movie (2012).

Reality shows

• She was one of the Top 5 finalist of the Bigg Boss Kannada 3 which was aired on Colors Kannada during 2016.^[53]

References

1. "SANJANA RE-CHRISTENED AS POOJA GANDHI".
2. "Meet Kannada cinema's busiest star!".
3. "Name hopping for luck's sake".
4. "Mischievous to spiritual with movies in between". Times of India. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
5. "Sriramulu steals star power from Yeddyurappa as Pooja Gandhi joins BSR Congress". indiatoday.in.
6. "Superstars of the Kannada Film Industry". mybangalore.com.
7. "Pooja Gandhi plays herself in ‘Minugu’!".
8. "Raining troubles for male girl".
9. "'Bigg Boss 3' Kannada: Pooja Gandhi critiques Shruthi, returns to the house".
10. "Bigg Boss: Pooja Gandhi, Master Anand enter finale". timesofindia.com. Jan 19, 2016.
11. "Pooja Gandhi Bigg Boss Kannada 3 Finalist Wiki Biography".
12. "mypoojagandhi.com". mypoojagandhi.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
13. "Actor Pooja Gandhi breaks up with fiance". 19 December 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
14. Super Admin (29 July 2009). "Pooja Gandhi debuting in Bollywood movie". Entertainment.oneindia.in. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
15. "'Mungaru Male' National record". Correspondent. IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
16. Mungaru Male in Telugu. Idleburra.com. Retrieved on 2016-02-15.
17. "Premer Kahini - ScreenIndia.Com". www.screenindia.com. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
18. Imran, Ranbir in 'Mungaru Male' Bolly remake. Movies.indiatimes.com (1970-01-01). Retrieved on 2016-02-15.
19. "Vamshi - Review".
20. "Not-so-new faces debuting in Sandalwood".
21. "KRISHNA 100 GANESHA 50". Indiaglitz.com. 7 January 2008.
22. "'Taj Mahal' the winner!". Indiaglitz.com. 2008-11-08.
23. "Taj Mahal review". sify.com. 2008-08-04.
24. "Taj Mahal changed his destiny". The New Indian Express. 2008-11-19.
25. "2008– Top 5 films at the box-office". Sify.com. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
26. "Buddhivantha' completes century...".
27. Gokula is a treat to watch. Rediff.com (2009-11-27). Retrieved on 2016-02-15.
28. Malani, Gaurav (29 April 2011). "I AM: Movie Review". Times of India. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
29. "Review Of I Am". Film Street Journal. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
30. "Vidya Balan wins National Award for 'The Dirty Picture'". The Times Of India.
31. "Dandupalya dubbed version a hit". The Times of India. 31 January 2013.
32. "Pooja Gandhi’s Dandupalya is now Karimedu in Tamil". kollytalk.com. 9 May 2013.
33. "Movie review: 'Karimedu' – spine chilling, realistic". Indo-Asian News Service. 24 May 2013.
34. "Pooja Gandhi to make Tulu movie debut". The Hindu. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
35. "Pooja Gandhi comes to Malayalam". newindianexpress.com.
36. "Pooja Gandhi does an item number". timesofindia.com.
37. "Pooja Gandhi's item number in Guruprasad's Director's Special". filmibeat.com.
38. "Three Pooja Gandhi's ahead!". sify.com.
39. "Actress Pooja Gandhi joins JDS". Mangalore Today. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
40. "Karnataka polls: Actress Pooja Gandhi badly flops in Raichur". 8 May 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
41. Srinidhi, Sharadha (26 July 2009). "Looking forward to meet Ramya: Radhika". Times of India. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
42. "Tarakarathna Aims Only On Tamil Stories".
43. "After 'Mukkanti' It's 'Venkatadri".
44. "Pooja Gandhi turns patriotic in 'Jai Hind' | Film Reviews". Filmreviews.bizhat.com. 12 November 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
45. "DAMAAD KE INTEZAAR MEIN". www.filmibeat.com.
46. "The rise and fall of an actress". 1 February 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
47. "Water crisis: Film industry does it's bit".
48. "Ravani Team Makes a Short Film on Kalasa-Banduri".
49. "Pooja Gandhi's Dandupalya 2 first look poster revealed".
50. "DANDUPALYA 2 ON FLOORS". m.indiaglitz.com.
51. "Going Back To Crime". www.newindianexpress.com.
52. "Kalasa-Banduri: more organisations extend support to the agitation".
53. "Who will in Bigg Boss 3?". www.newindianexpress.com.

External links

• Pooja Gandhi at the Internet Movie Database