Pooja Hegde reveals why she took a break from Bollywood after ‘heartbreaking’ failure of Mohenjo Daro

Pooja Hegde got a dream launch in Bollywood, with Ashutosh Gowariker’s period drama Mohenjo Daro, in which she was cast opposite Hrithik Roshan. Unfortunately, the film tanked at the box office. She said in a new interview that its failure was ‘heartbreaking’ for her.

After Mohenjo Daro, Pooja focussed on her projects down south, before returning to Hindi films with Housefull 4 last year. She said that she consciously took a break from Bollywood as she wanted her second film to be ‘sturdy’.

Talking to Mid-Day, Pooja said, “An actor’s first film is their showreel to the world. I was under contract, so I hadn’t signed another film during the period. Its failure was heartbreaking. Eventually, South films came along, and work attracted more work. I held off signing Hindi films because I needed a sturdy second movie. I built on the success of Housefull 4, and here I am!”

Pooja recently joined the cast of Rohit Shetty’s Cirkus, which also stars Ranveer Singh, Jacqueline Fernandez and Varun Sharma. The supporting cast includes Siddhartha Jadhav, Johnny Lever, Sanjay Mishra, Vrajesh Hirjee, Vijay Patkar, Sulbha Arya, Mukesh Tiwari, Anil Charanjeett, Ashwini Kalsekar and Murli Sharma.

Cirkus is Rohit’s take on the classic Shakespearean play, The Comedy of Errors. The film is set to go on floors next month and will be shot in Mumbai, Ooty, and Goa. Presented by T-Series in association with Reliance Entertainment and co-produced by Rohit, it is slated to release by the end of 2021.

 

Pooja also has the Telugu period romance Radhe Shyam in her kitty. She has been cast opposite Prabhas in the film and will be seen playing a music teacher. He, meanwhile, will essay the role of a palm reader. Earlier this month, on her birthday, the makers released her character poster.

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