Acting

Pooja Gandhi

**Pooja Gandhi** (born October 7, 1983) is an Indian actress, producer, and politician who works predominantly in Kannada cinema, alongside appearances in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Malayalam films. Popularly dubbed the *"Male Hudugi"* (Rain Girl) across Karnataka, she emerged as one of Sandalwood's most recognizable leading ladies of the mid-2000s and 2010s. Born into a Punjabi family in Meerut, she began her acting career in television before debuting in South Indian cinema with the Tamil film *Kokki* (2006). Her career-defining breakthrough arrived later that year with Yogaraj Bhat’s romantic blockbuster *Mungaru Male* (2006). Playing Nandini opposite Ganesh, the film’s historic box office run catapulted her into top stardom and established her as a major draw in Sandalwood. Following *Mungaru Male*, Gandhi headlined a succession of commercial and critical hits, including *Milana* (2007) opposite Puneeth Rajkumar, *Krishna* (2007), *Taj Mahal* (2008), Upendra’s *Budhivanta* (2008), and *Accident* (2008). In 2012, she shed her mainstream romantic heroine image with a raw, hard-hitting performance as Lakshmi in Srinivasa Raju's crime thriller *Dandupalya*. Her depiction of the infamous gang member earned her widespread critical acclaim, along with the SIIMA Award for Best Actress in a Negative Role and a Suvarna Film Award, prompting her to reprise the role across the franchise's sequels in 2017 and 2018. She also ventured into film production with the biographical drama *Abhinetri* (2015). Beyond feature films, Gandhi was a top-five finalist in Season 3 of *Bigg Boss Kannada* (2016) and has been actively involved in regional politics, contesting elections and working across civic and political platforms in Karnataka.