Pooja Gandhi is an Indian actress and model who mainly works in
Kannada
Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
-language films.
After starring in the commercially successful 2006 film ''
Mungaru Male
''Mungaru Male'' ( ) is a 2006 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film co-written and directed by Yogaraj Bhat, and produced by E. Krishnappa. It stars Ganesh, Pooja Gandhi and Anant Nag. The film is believed to have shaped and strengthened ...
'', Gandhi became one of the most-popular and highest-paid actresses in Kannada-language films and won several awards, including an honorary doctorate.
Gandhi is most-commonly referred to as ''Male Hudugi'' (Rain Girl) in the media and the
Kannada film industry
Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. Kannada cinema is based ...
. Gandhi has acted in over five languages and 50 films in a decade.
The ''
Bangalore Times'' placed her in its list of "25 Most Desirable Women of 2012".
Gandhi made her acting debut in 2001 with the Hindi film ''
Khatron Ke Khiladi'' opposite
Raj Babbar
Raj Babbar (born 23 June 1952) is an Indian Hindi and Punjabi language, Punjabi film actor and politician belonging to Indian National Congress. He is a three-time member of the Lok Sabha and a two-time member of the Rajya Sabha. He was the sta ...
.
Since then, she has played lead roles in commercially successful films such as ''
Kokki'' (2006), ''
Mungaru Male
''Mungaru Male'' ( ) is a 2006 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film co-written and directed by Yogaraj Bhat, and produced by E. Krishnappa. It stars Ganesh, Pooja Gandhi and Anant Nag. The film is believed to have shaped and strengthened ...
'' (2006), ''
Milana'' (2007), ''
Krishna
Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
'' (2007), ''
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
'' (2008), ''
Budhivanta
''Buddhivantha'' ( ''Genius'') is a 2008 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Ramnath Rigvedhi. starring Upendra in the lead role, while Pooja Gandhi, Brinda Parekh, Saloni Aswani, Natanya Singh, and Suman Ranganathan play the female leads. ...
'' (2008), ''
Anu'' (2009), ''
Gokula'' (2009), ''
Dandupalya'' (2012), ''
Dandupalya 2
''Dandupalya 2'' (or simply ''2'') is a 2017 Indian Kannada-language crime thriller directed by Srinivas Raju and produced by Venkat. Based on the infamous dacoit gang from Dandupalya, the film is a sequel to the 2012 film '' Dandupalya'' and ...
'' (2017) and ''
Dandupalya 3
''Dandupalya 3'' (or simply ''III'') is a 2018 Indian Kannada-language crime thriller film directed by Srinivas Raju and produced by Ram Talluri. Based on the infamous dacoit gang from Dandupalya, the film is a sequel to the 2017 critically acc ...
'' (2018). Following the success of a series of films, Gandhi established herself as one of Kannada cinema's leading actresses.
In 2012, Gandhi joined the political party
Janata Dal (Secular)
{{Infobox Indian Political Party
, party_name = Janata Dal (Secular)
, party_logo =
, colorcode = {{party color, Janata Dal (Secular)
, abbreviation = JD(S)
, president = H. D. Deve Gowda
, founder ...
, before joining the KJP party and later the
BSR Congress
The Badavara Shramikara Raithara (BSR) Congress was a political party based in Karnataka state. It was founded in 2011 by B. Sriramulu, a former minister in the Karnataka State Government. In the 2013 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election
...
party. She contested the Karnataka assembly elections in the constituency
Raichur
Raichur, also pronounced as Rāyachūru (formerly Raichore), is a city and headquarters of eponymous Raichur district in the Karnataka state of India. Raichur, located between Krishna River, Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers.
History Ancient His ...
but failed to win the seat.
In 2016, Gandhi received an honorary doctorate award from the Governing Council of Confederation of International Accreditation Commission (CIAC) in affiliation with
KEISIE International University – South Korea, for her contribution to the Kannada film industry.
Early years and personal life
Gandhi was born on 07 October 1983 in
Meerut
Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...
,
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
, India,
and was raised in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
in a traditional
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabis, Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a ...
family. Her father Pawan Gandhi is a businessman and her mother Jyothi Gandhi is a housewife. Pooja studied at Sophia Convent and Dewan Public School in Meerut. Her younger sisters are Radhika Gandhi, who is also an actress in Kannada films, and Suhani Gandhi, a tennis player.
Pooja Gandhi started her career as a
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided in ...
, appearing in advertisements and television series including ''
Awaz – Dil Se Dil Tak'' – a Hindi-language remake of ''
Lost'' – and ''
Zameen Se Aassman Tak
''Zameen Se Aassman Tak'' () is a Hindi-language television series on Sahara One. The series follow the story of a family who gets separated by a natural disaster, Earthquake. The series was produced by Aruna Irani.
Premise
The story is of th ...
'', which was directed by
Aruna Irani
Aruna Irani (born 18 August 1946) is an Indian actress, who has acted in over 500 films throughout Hindi, Kannada, Marathi and Gujarati cinema, playing mostly supporting and character roles. She received two Filmfare Awards for Best Support ...
.
Gandhi was engaged to the industrialist Anand Gowda in November 2012 and ended the relationship the following month. In 2023, Gandhi married her long-time friend the businessman Vijay Ghorpade in accordance with
Kuvempu
Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa (29 December 1904 – 11 November 1994), popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He wa ...
's Mantra Mangalya concept.
Career
Debut (2001)

Pooja Gandhi started her acting career in television
soap opera
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
s, starting with
Zameen Se Aassman Tak
''Zameen Se Aassman Tak'' () is a Hindi-language television series on Sahara One. The series follow the story of a family who gets separated by a natural disaster, Earthquake. The series was produced by Aruna Irani.
Premise
The story is of th ...
.
[ Her film debut, at the age of 18, was the ]Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
film '' Khatron Ke Khiladi'' (2001). Gandhi later appeared in the Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
film '' Tomake Salam'' and in 2003, she moved to the South Indian film industry with the Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
film '' Kokki'' (2006), which received moderate reviews and was successful at the box office.
Initial success and fame in Kannada (2006–08)
Gandhi's debut in the Kannada film industry was in ''Mungaru Male
''Mungaru Male'' ( ) is a 2006 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film co-written and directed by Yogaraj Bhat, and produced by E. Krishnappa. It stars Ganesh, Pooja Gandhi and Anant Nag. The film is believed to have shaped and strengthened ...
'', which became the first film in India in any language to be screened continuously for one year in a multiplex, and ultimately ran over 865-days in Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
. ''Mungaru Male'' collected over ₹75 crore in its theatrical run at the Indian box office, and became the highest-grossing South Indian film during its time of release. Gandhi received praise for her performance as aNandini in the film; ''Indicine.com'' critic stated: "Sanjana makes a confident debut". She then acted in '' Milana'' with Puneeth Rajkumar
Dr. Puneeth Rajkumar (17 March 1975 – 29 October 2021), affectionately known as Appu (by his fans, after his first lead role in the movie Appu (2002 film), ''Appu''), was an Indian actor, playback singer, film producer, television presenter a ...
; it was theatrically released on 14 September 2007, gained commercial success and completed a 500-day run in theatres. ''Milana'' was dubbed into Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
as ''Ishtam Enikkishtam''. In the same year, Gandhi acted in ''Krishna
Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
'' with her ''Mungaru Male'' co-star Ganesh
Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...
, it was a financial hit at the box office, completing 100-days. It marked the second-consecutive hit of the Ganesh and Gandhi pairing after ''Mungaru Male''. ''Krishna
Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
'' marked Gandhi's hat-trick 100-day film in her Kannada film career.
In 2008, she starred with Ajay Rao
Ajay Rao (also credited as Krishna Ajay Rao) is an Indian actor who works primarily in Kannada film industry. He rose to fame with 2003 blockbuster movie '' Excuse Me''.
Career
Ajay Rao debuted as a lead with the film '' Excuse Me'' (2003) and ...
in the financially successful Kannada-language film ''Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
'', which ran over 200 days in two centres in Karnataka. She was nominated for a Filmfare Best Actress Award
The Filmfare Award for Best Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise the female performer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first given in 1 ...
; Sify
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology (ICT) company providing telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation integration services, and ...
's critic wrote: "Pooja Gandhi looks pretty and has done a good job". ''Rediff.com
Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...
'' editor Vijaysarathy said: "Pooja Gandhi looks stunning and has worked hard to give a strong performance". Her next movie was ''Budhivanta
''Buddhivantha'' ( ''Genius'') is a 2008 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Ramnath Rigvedhi. starring Upendra in the lead role, while Pooja Gandhi, Brinda Parekh, Saloni Aswani, Natanya Singh, and Suman Ranganathan play the female leads. ...
'' alongside Upendra
Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born subs ...
; it became the highest-grossing Kannada film of 2008 and completed 100-days in main centres in Karnataka.
Series of commercial failures (2009–2011)
Gandhi appeared in more than 12 films in several languages, including, Kannada, most of them failed at the box office.
In 2010, Gandhi made her Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India
** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language.
* Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
debut opposite Nandamuri Taraka Ratna and Poorna in '' Mukkanti'', which was a financial failure at the box office.
Also in 2010, Gandhi appeared in her third Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
film ''I Am
I Am or I'm may refer to:
Language and literature
* "I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name
** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible
* "I Am" ( ...
'' with Juhi Chawla
Juhi Chawla Mehta ( Chawla; born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress. She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Recognised for her comic timing and vivacious on-screen ...
. ''I Am'' received mainly positive reviews from critics and audiences upon the theatrical release. ''The Times of India'' called it "an important and intelligent film" and ''The Film Street Journal'' named it "a must watch". In 2012, ''I Am'' won the National Award
The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian P ...
for Best Hindi Film and Best Lyrics.
Critical acclaim and box office success (2012–18)
In 2012, Gandhi made a comeback in the female-oriented film '' Dandupalya'', which went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the Kannada industry, and completed 100-day theatrical runs in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
. It collected over ₹40 crore
Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...
against budget of ₹3 crore. Gandhi received Filmfare Award for Best Kannada Actress and Suvarna Fimfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in '' Dandupalya''. The film was dubbed in Telugu and released as ''Dandupalyam'', which was well received in Andhra Pradesh.
Critics praised Gandhi for her performance; ''Rediff.com
Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...
'' said she "walks away with acting honours", and called her "a stunner with her vain looks sans makeup throughout the movie and she has lived her role exceptionally well". ''DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
's'' critic wrote: "viewers should not miss out on Pooja's performance". ''Business Standard
''Business Standard'' is an Indian English-language daily edition newspaper published by Business Standard Private Limited, also available in Hindi. Founded in 1975, the newspaper covers the Indian economy, infrastructure, international busi ...
's'' critic stated:Pooja Gandhi as the leader of the gang is brilliant and extremely confident in her role. While some may typecast her performance as cheap and unwelcoming, I believe it takes guts for a regular heroine to shed her image and agree to play such a gritty part. She definitely deserves special mention for proving cliches wrong.
''The Times of India
''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
's'' critic stated: "Pooja Gandhi walks away with full honours".
In 2013, Gandhi made her Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
film debut in ''Maad Dad
''Maad Dad'' is a 2013 Malayalam film, directed by Revathy S Varmha, starring Lal, Nazriya Nazim, Meghana Raj, and Lalu Alex. It marked Nazriya's debut film as a leading actress.
Cast
Production
Mohanlal was to play the title role first, b ...
'' (2013) with Lal and Meghana Raj
Meghana Sundar Raj Sarja is an Indian actress who primarily works in Malayalam and Kannada films along with a few Telugu and Tamil films. She made her acting debut in the 2009 Telugu film '' Bendu Apparao R.M.P''. She has won Karnataka State ...
. Then she became an Item number in the Kannada film '' Director's Special'' (2013). According to sources, Gandhi rejected a request to perform a special song for '' Devarane'' but she later accepted this offer because the director Guruprasad
Guruprasad (2 November 1972 – October 2024) was an Indian film director and actor in the Kannada film industry. His debut as a director was the 2006 film which became a cult hit and his second film as a director is . Both films did receive ...
wrote this song with her in mind. She appears in the song as Chanchal Champakali. In 2015, she starred in and produced '' Abhinetri''.
In 2017, she starred in the ''Dandupalya 2
''Dandupalya 2'' (or simply ''2'') is a 2017 Indian Kannada-language crime thriller directed by Srinivas Raju and produced by Venkat. Based on the infamous dacoit gang from Dandupalya, the film is a sequel to the 2012 film '' Dandupalya'' and ...
'', which is the sequel to ''Dandupalya''. In 2018, her next film was ''Dandupalya 3
''Dandupalya 3'' (or simply ''III'') is a 2018 Indian Kannada-language crime thriller film directed by Srinivas Raju and produced by Ram Talluri. Based on the infamous dacoit gang from Dandupalya, the film is a sequel to the 2017 critically acc ...
'',
which was simultaneously released in Kannada and Telugu, along with almost same cast and crew. Gandhi received acclaim from critics and audiences for her performance in the film. The writer Sunayana Suresh of ''The Times of India'' stated: "Pooja Gandhi in her uninhibited avatar is another person who deserves applause". The writer Sharadha of ''New Indian Express
''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...
'' stated: "Pooja Gandhi wins over the audience with her powerful performance".
Politics
On 18 January 2012, Pooja Gandhi joined the political party Janata Dal (Secular)
{{Infobox Indian Political Party
, party_name = Janata Dal (Secular)
, party_logo =
, colorcode = {{party color, Janata Dal (Secular)
, abbreviation = JD(S)
, president = H. D. Deve Gowda
, founder ...
(JDS). She then briefly was a member of the Karnataka Janata Paksha
Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) was an Indian political party based in Karnataka state. It was founded in 2012 and disestablished in 2014, merging with the Bharatiya Janta Party. It was headed by Chief Minister of Karnataka, Karnataka Chief ministe ...
(KJP) but she contested the 2013 Karnataka Legislative Assembly
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly (formerly the Mysore Legislative Assembly) is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature ...
elections in the seat of Raichur
Raichur, also pronounced as Rāyachūru (formerly Raichore), is a city and headquarters of eponymous Raichur district in the Karnataka state of India. Raichur, located between Krishna River, Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers.
History Ancient His ...
as a candidate for Badavara Shramikara Raitara Congress (BSR Congress) but she failed to win the seat.
Controversy
Pooja Gandhi and the film '' Dandupalya'' were criticised by the social group Bahujan Samaj Horata Samiti for a scene, which they said is offensive. After the movie's release, Ambedkar Kranthi Sena activists demonstrated in Bengaluru
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
against the film's "glorification of anti-social activities". Pooja countered this claim, saying: "According to the dictionary, nudity means that you are not covered with a single item of clothing from head to toe. But in this scene, I have worn a sari and I am trying to cover my body, except for my back".
Filmography
Kannada films
Other language films
As producer
Television
Awards and nominations
Awards
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandhi, Pooja
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century Indian actresses
Actresses in Malayalam cinema
Actresses in Hindi cinema
Indian film actresses
Actresses in Kannada cinema
Actresses in Bengali cinema
Actresses in Tamil cinema
Indian women film producers
People of Punjabi descent
Actresses from Meerut
Janata Dal (Secular) politicians
Karnataka Janata Paksha politicians
BSR Congress politicians
21st-century Indian women politicians
21st-century Indian politicians
Film producers from Karnataka
Kannada film producers
Film producers from Uttar Pradesh
Female models from Uttar Pradesh
Female models from Karnataka
Women members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly