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 #PoojaHegde #RetroMovie #CoolieMovie #THRIndia