Actress Pooja Hegde is all set to reignite her much-loved on-screen pairing with Tamil superstar Vijay, in what is expected to be his final film before retiring. With a career spanning 12 years across multiple industries Pooja sits down to discuss her journey.

Talking about her reunion with Vijay for his final film, she says, "I’m very excited because of course it’s a Jodi that's kind of been a hit with Arabic Kuthu and Beast. And it’s great working with him. He’s just so professional and such a nice person. So, it’s great to work with him because he just makes it very easy," Pooja says, brimming with enthusiasm.

While she acknowledges the bittersweet nature of Vijay’s retirement, Pooja is keen on celebrating the journey. "Of course, a part of me is sad that it’s his last film because we love to watch his films, and I mean, I love his films. And more than anything, it should just be treated as a celebration,” she adds.

Pooja, who has been a part of multiple blockbusters and also a few duds in the recent pasts, reflects on how her definition of success has evolved over the years. "My definition of success has changed over the years," she admits, before adding that this phase of her career is particularly significant.

"I feel like my lineup this year, the kind of films I take now, will define what kind of actor I am for the rest of my thing. Coming from a non-filmy family, you really have to hustle very hard to get your projects. I've managed to establish myself to one level and now I want to move to the next level,” she explains.

Pooja’s ambitions are clear – she seeks to work with good filmmakers, take on roles that push her as an actor, and earn critical acclaim, all while balancing the mass-appeal films that her fans adore. She adds, “That's my goal right now. I want to work with good filmmakers. I want to do the right kind of films which pushes me as an actor for critical acclaim as well. Yes, I've had blockbuster successes. I’ve had six blockbusters back-to-back. However, I think you’re only a success until you perform the act and then you have to do it again. I don't take successes to heart because when failure happens, you have to take that also to your heart. But I want to push myself to do better work, to do good films, to do good roles and leave a memorable filmography behind. So that's where I'm at. Also, I am an entertainer. So, I do want to continue doing the big blockbuster, Mass Masala films because there's also that audience, which are my fans. So, I think it's a mix of both where I want to work with good filmmakers and have commercial success.”

Pooja’s recent films, especially in the Hindi front such as Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, Cirkus, and Radhe Shyam were box office disasters. On the topic of failures and how she handles them, Pooja speaks with refreshing candor.

“I've been able to predict it. There are some films when you're making it, you feel it. Nothing has come as a big shock to me. But we are artists, we are actors, we have to be allowed to fail, because unless we aren't allowed to fail, we will not give you anything new. You cannot, expect every time you're gonna do the same thing and it's gonna work out. At the end of the day, I'm not at the edit table. I am not making the film. I am not writing the story,” she says thoughtfully.

For Pooja, it’s about giving her best to every project. "Did I do my best to that particular role? Yes. From the films that were offered to me, were these my best options? Yes," she asserts. “It will be a trial and error. It will be. It's a process. It's a roller coaster. Right. There'll be ups, there'll be downs, but as long as you're having fun while.”

She adds, "When I had my successes, I just thought, ‘Wow, this film did well. Let's move on to the next’. I don't think I even celebrated my successes that much, which sometimes I feel like I should have. Because when my films didn't do well, I didn't think too much of it either. I was like, okay, fine. I learned something from it. And I move on. I also think that if you have given your hundred percent to any film, there will be somebody who will watch your film and you will get something from it for sure."

There was this South bandwagon going on through the pandemic developed by the media mainly to put Hindi cinema down as within the digital world, that was the need of the hour to get views or likes. Now post the pandemic, there has been a record number of dubbed releases from the South and most of them have met their disaster fate. 

The bigger thing than the final fate is that there are just no takers of South films from the first day as shows get cancelled. These films open to such limited audiences that even if there is some likeability in a region where South films are more appealing, it will still not get much collections due to the no show on the first day.

There will be the branded films like KGF - CHAPTER 2 and RRR which either have value from a previous film or the director has some value due to his previous film which you know have great chances to score. Then there will be a PUSHPA: THE RISE - PART 01 type of a film which comes along and surprises but even that will always be a rarity. Also PUSHPA: THE RISE - PART 01 had a budget and scale which also gives it a chance. But the sort of releases which we have been seeing are basically tack fests and met their deserved fate.

Some of the bigger Telugu releases which are probably the best bets did not even bother with a dubbed version as they knew the likely results. The box office collections of South films released in Hindi in 2022 are as follows and the fate outside KGF - CHAPTER 2 and RRR is a total disaster. Anything can be written to paint a certain picture but numbers never lie.

Khiladi - 1.4 crore

Valimai - 2.1 crore

ET - 6 lakhs

Radhe Shyam - 17.41 crore

James - 50k

RRR - 275 crore

KGF - Chapter 2 - 427 crore

Raw (Beast) - 2.3 crore

Major - 9.6 crore (2 weeks)

Vikram: Hitlist - 6 crore (2 weeks) (Note - This film has not done well but has held at those low levels. The film started with a 25 lakh first day and may well end up with around 10 crore nett lifetime driven by Mumbai circuit as third week should be better than second due to lack of releases)

777 Charlie - 1.65 crore (1 week)

There are going to be many more South dubbed releases this year or are being planned to be released and the disasters will continue to pile up.

A Punjabi born in Delhi, singer Jonita Gandhi’s family migrated to Canada before she turned one and as she grew up, she naturally developed an accent. Singing in Indian languages without the accent requires a lot of effort, says the singer. “It requires effort and a lot of patience. Not so much for Hindi and Punjabi, because I grew up speaking these languages. But I had no exposure to Tamil or Telugu,” shares Gandhi.

Her song Arabic Kuthu from the Tamil film Beast has done well. The 32-year-old admits that it wouldn’t have been possible without her team members, who helped her get the diction right. “I have to rely on a good team, people who can tell me how it needs to be done, and if I am singing right or not. I am blessed to be able to mimic sounds really well,” explains the Gilehriyaan (Dangal, 2016) singer.

She has done playback for Hindi films such as Dishoom (2016), Kalank (2019) and Dil Bechara (2020), among others. When asked if her accent was an issue during her early days in Bollywood and Gandhi responds in the affirmative.

“Initially, it was a roadblock. People would assume I can’t sing without even listening to me. Today, my body of work speaks for itself. People have heard me sing in different languages. They call me and say, ‘I still don’t know how you sound like this, and that you have sung all these songs’,” she signs off.

Delhi is back to on the top places-to-be list for makers of films and web show. A series of projects have recently been or are being shot or are gearing up for filing at various locations across Delhi-NCR.

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar recently revealed that he is shooting for RakshaBandhan in the Capital as he shared a video of him running barefoot on the busy streets of Chandni Chowk. We have also learnt that the shoot of this Aanand L Rai-directed film will go on till October 15 and it will feature, Faridabad, Laxmi Bai Nagar, and Dilli Haat.

Another biggie, Uunchai featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Boman Irani, Anupam Kher and Parineeti Chopra, is ready to set camp in the city. The schedule will begin in November, and locations such as South Ex, Greater Kailash and Aerocity will set the background for the movie.

The digital medium, too, is not behind in locking Delhi as their shooting ground. Web film Khufiya, which will be directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, will be filmed in Delhi, too. Line producer Navmeet Singh says the unit will be here till October 20. The makers of Season 2 of Delhi Crime and season 3 of Breathe will also start shoot soon in the Capital.

Even the southern film industry is preferring Delhi now. Tamil actor Vijay shot for his Tamil film Beast here for five days in September. Line producer Ravi Sarin says it has become easier to shoot in the city now. “The situation is better than before, because of Delhi Police and Swati Sharma (Secretary- Tourism, Delhi Government). The restrictions have eased a little, and people can shoot now,” he tells us.

The shoot of the second season of the web show Made In Heaven is currently underway, while another web show Escape wrapped up its shoot. Filmmaker Luv Ranjan’s untitled next, with Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor also completed its shoot in the Capital.

Manoj Bajpayee’s web film Despatch got done with the Delhi schedule in September, and their locations included Paharganj and Bengali Market.