After winning the Miss India U.S.A. pageant, Pooja was selected by Amitabh Bachchan Corp. Ltd. as one of the budding new stars out of 60,000 contestants. Later she became a video disc jockey for Channel V but eventually returned to her true passion, acting. In pursuit of this dream, she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and has acted as the main lead in 10 feature films: two in Tamil, “Kaadhal Rojave,” “Chota Jadugar”(also in 3-D); in English, “Flavors”, “Night of Henna”, “Park Sharks”, “Hiding Divya’, “Anything For You”, “Knots Urbane”, “Bollywood Beats”, and “Drawing with Chalk”. She has also played a District Attorney on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit with Kal Penn known for the Harold and Kumar Goes to White Castle Franchise. In her latest project called “Bollywood Hero”, Pooja stars opposite the famous and witty American comedian, Chris Kattan. She plays Chris’s romantic lead and love interest on a journey to India to become a Bollywood star. The project premiered on the IFC Network in August 2009 while Keanu Reeves, Maya Rudolph, and Adam Samberg have all made special appearances in the three-part TV Mini-Series. This show has been heralded as one of the summer’s funniest romantic comedies.
For her role in “Flavors” she received the Screen Actor’s Guild Emerging Actor Award. Her performance in “Night of Henna” has been widely appreciated, especially by A.O. Scott of the New York Times, who wrote that Kumar has an “unassuming loveliness about her role,” and Time Out New York, which published, “Were it not for Kumar’s luminous charisma, the film would be unwatchable.”
Pooja is also very proud of her work in a film called “Hiding Divya,” with Madhur Jaffrey, which centers around three generations of women and how they deal with mental illness. These issues are especially prevalent these days, as they are more widely acknowledged than ever before and affect millions of people.
Pooja has been recognized in major ad campaigns for Pepsi, Budweiser, American On-Line, Verizon, Bombay Dreams, Dodge, TATA True Roots, Outback Steakhouse, Pearl Vision, New York Lotto, and First Response. She also served as host for a comedic show for ImaginAsian TV called “Movies for the ImaginAsian,” in which she introduces Chinese, Japanese, and Bollywood films to second generation Asians. Another show she hosted was called “Jaago aur Jeeto”, which means stay awake and win – this aired on one of India’s biggest television networks called ZeeTV. It was a 2 hour LIVE game show in which callers would call in to win prizes for playing various games. Pooja had to improvise in English and Hindi.
Pooja has also produced and starred in two short films called “1001 Auditions” and “Shoot My Life.” “1001 Auditions” has been featured in over 15 international film festivals and has been nominated for the best short film at the Stuttgart film festival in Germany.
Her recent guest-starring role for NBC for the show “Chuck” has been widely appreciated. Pooja will also be receiving the Actor of the Year Award from Anokhi magazine in February 2010 for her contribution to entertainment and media. She will be seen on the big screen later this year in a film called, “Man on a Ledge”, with Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, and Ed Harris. |
