Mother’s day 2024: Pooja Hegde's mum reveals how she pushed her daughter to take up acting and pursue a career

Pooja Hegde's mom Lataa Hegde gets candid about her journey, multi-tasking between her ambition and family life, and encouraging Pooja to give cinema a chance.

Actor Pooja Hedge is a multi-tasker and she gets that from her mother Lataa Hegde, however, the actor’s calm demeanor she acquires from her father Manjunath Hegde, confesses her mum.

Pooja Hegde's mother Lataa Hegde shares some heartwarming memories with the actor.

Lataa, who oversees Pooja’s film commitments, points out similarities between herself and her actor-daughter. “We are very hard working people. If we set our minds at doing anything then we will achieve it no matter what. I think that is something that is there. One more quality we share is being ethical. If we have given our word for somebody, we will stand by it. Another thing is, we are quite homebodies. We like our home, we have few friends but solid friends. For us good time is spending time with your family and best friend,” Lataa tells us in a candid chat, adding, “But yeah, I am more hyper, she is calmer than me, that she gets from her dad.”

Did you know that Lataa is a true-blue Mumbaikar? Born and brought up in the town, she did her BSc in Life Sc/iences, pursued law from government law college, then a course in PR from Xaviers before taking up MBA. The 62-year-old further reveals that she originally wanted to study medical but since seats were limited in Mumbai, her “typical South Indian family” didn’t allow her to “My family said to get married and go wherever I want,” she quips.

A multi-tasker, Lataa finished her MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Marketing Management after getting married at the age of 25, and soon got a job in advertising . However, she soon had to leave her job.

“My husband was also in advertising and one of us had to get out of it. I was quite clear that I wanted two children and I will have my kids not too far apart, and till they were four or five, I will be at a stay-at-home mother. So, I gave up my job. Two years later, Pooja was born and then, when she turned four, I realised I wanted to do something to get back to work,” she recalls.

Soon, Lataa became an entrepreneur and managed successful business in Computer Education and Software development. A working mother, she divided her time between pushing her business and managing school-going children at home.

I encouraged Pooja to take up films: Lataa Hegde

 

As time passed, Pooja, a tomboy and introvert in nature, decided to step out in the limelight. Interestingly, while some parents are skeptical about their children pursuing acting, it was the other way round in case of Pooja and her mum.

“Pooja went to college and put her name down for all inter college activities. At one such event, she was spotted by pageant people and she participated and started doing modelling a bit. She was also getting film offers but kept turning them down,” shares Lataa Hegde, adding, “I was the person who asked her, ‘Pooja why are you saying no to acting? Just because you haven’t done something doesn’t mean you cannot do it.’ I pushed her to do her first Tamil film. I told her if the universe is knocking on your door more than once, you should do it. I started accompanying her to shoots. When she came in front of the camera, she realised it was for her.”