Pooja Gauthami Umashankar, mononymously known as Pooja, is a Sri Lankan actress, who has primarily appeared in Tamil, Sinhala and Malayalam language films. Early and personal life Pooja's mother, Sandhya and her father, H. R. Umashankar. Umashankar was at Valparai, working with Hindustan Unilever Limited, as a manager. Pooja can speak Kannada, Sinhala, Tamil, and English. After she did her pre-schooling in Sri Lanka, she came to India and went to Poornapragnya in Aldur, Chikmagalur and then to Nirmala Convent in Mysuru. Later she continued her education at Baldwin's Girls High school in Bengaluru and did graduation (B.Com.) and Post Graduation (MBA) at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. In December 2016, she married Prashan David Vethakan, who is a Sri Lankan businessman. Career Pooja was introduced by a friend of her to cinematographer-turned-director Jeeva, who signed her for the role of Anglo-Indian girl in his Tamil venture Ullam Ketkumae. Pooja said that at that time she planned to finish that film and return to her original job and did not take an acting career into consideration. She stated: "I said to myself I'd act in just this film, see what it's like, make good use of the money and get back to studying". She was soon offered a role opposite R. Madhavan, which she could not decline and made her rethink her decision. Ullam Ketkumae'''s massive delay meant that her second film, the romantic comedy Jay Jay (2004), directed by Saran, became her first official release. Pooja received favorable reviews for her performance in Jay Jay; G. Ulaganathan from Deccan Herald wrote: "Spirited, lively, Pooja's sparkling eyes and smile do leave an impression". She next played the romantic interest of Ajith Kumar in another Saran film, Attahasam, which, in spite of mixed critical response, went on to become a financial success. Pooja, too, met with criticism, with critics citing that she had "only limited role" and was "wasted [...] in an insignificant and half-baked role". Pooja's subsequent release happened to be Ullam Ketkumae that featured her in one of the five leading roles alongside Shaam, Laila, Arya and Asin. The film fetched positive remarks and emerged as a sleeper hit. She went to appear in commercial Tamil films such as Thambi and Pori. In 2007, Pooja also appeared in a Malayalam film, Panthaya Kozhi, before landing the lead female role in Bala's Naan Kadavul. Her portrayal of Hamshavalli, a blind beggar,