Pooja Kumar


Pooja Kumar is an Indo-American actress known for her work in Indian films. After winning the title of Miss India USA, she started her global career as an American actress, producer, and model. Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan chose her as one of the bright new stars where he looked at over 60,000 contestants fighting for that recognition. He introduced her to Priyadarshan and they gave her the opportunity to host the International Miss World Competition which was broadcast live in over 50 countries.
She has appeared in Hollywood feature films such as, Man on a Ledge, Brawl in Cell Block 99, Bollywood Hero,, Flavors, Hiding Divya, Park Sharks, Bollywood Beats, Night of Henna, Anything for You, Drawing with Chalk, and Knots Urbane. Her international projects includeVishwaroopam, and Vishwaroopam 2 opposite actor Kamal Haasan and Uttama Villain. These were shot simultaneously in both Hindi and Tamil. She made her Tollywood debut with PSV Garuda Vega starring Rajasekhar.
She was a VJ for BPL Oye for India's Channel V, an Indian movie show called Bajaj Ki Lehren with Jaaved Jaffrey, and hosted game show based in Milan, Italy called Jaago aur Jeeto for Zee TV.

Early life

Pooja was born into a Mathur family in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents are immigrants from India; her father is from Dehradun and her mother is from Lucknow. She attended Washington University where she graduated with degrees in political science and finance. Pooja is also trained in the Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Kathak forms of Indian classical dance. She was crowned Miss India USA in 1995.

Career

Pooja Kumar first signed on to appear in director K. R.'s Tamil film Kadhal Rojave in 1997 alongside George Vishnu, but the film's production delays meant that it only released in 2000 and her stint as an actress in the Tamil film industry went unnoticed. She was earlier signed and then left out of the 1997 film V. I. P, while she had also signed to appear alongside Karthik in Chithra Lakshmanan's Chinna Raja, but was eventually dropped from the film.
Pooja produced a short film, "1001 Auditions", that has been selected in eight film festivals, including being nominated for "Best Short" at the Stuttgart Film Festival in Germany. She has also produced a short film called "Shoot My Life". Pooja has also been seen in national TV commercials for Bombay Dreams, Verizon, Dodge, Pearle Vision, New York Lottery, Tata True Roots, AOL Time Warner, and Outback Steakhouse.
In 2003, she received the Screen Actors Guild Emerging Actress Award for Flavors. In 2008, she hosted a late-night live quiz show on Zee TV in India, known as Jaago Aur Jeeto. She appeared in the musical comedy miniseries Bollywood Hero on the IFC in 2008. She starred opposite Saturday Night Live comedian Chris Kattan in the three part series. In the late 2000s, she appeared in the Pakistani drama serial Ishq Junoon Deewangi on Hum TV. After a long gap she reappeared in Kollywood industry from the film Viswaroopam paired with Kamal Hassan.

Filmography

YearFilmRoleLanguageNotes
2000Kadhal RojavaePoojaTamil
2003Magic Magic 3DDeeptiTamil
2004FlavorsRachanaEnglish
2005Night of HennaHavaEnglish
2006Hiding DivyaPalini ShahEnglish
2009Bollywood BeatsLaxmiEnglish
2009Knots UrbaneRachnaEnglish
2009Park SharksPriEnglish
2010Anything For YouUma KrishnanEnglish
2010Anjaana AnjaaniPeshtoHindi
2010Drawing With ChalkJasmineEnglish
2012Man on a LedgeNinaEnglish
2013VishwaroopamDr. Nirupama Viswanath/Nirupama wisamTamil
2013VishwaroopDr. Nirupama Viswanath/Nirupama wisamHindi
2015Uthama VillainKarpagavalliTamil
2016Meen Kuzhambum Mann PaanaiyumMalaTamil
2017Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila PengalumTamilDelayed
2017PSV Garuda VegaSwathiTelugu
2017Brawl In Cell Block 99Denise PawtherEnglish
2018Vishwaroopam IIDr. Nirupama ViswanathTamil
2018Vishwaroop IIDr. Nirupama ViswanathHindi
TBAThe Invisible MaskHindi