Pooja: A dedicated actress

by Ranga Chandrarathne

Born in Sri Lanka and lives in Bangalore, Pooja Uma Shankar is the Sri Lankan-Indian beauty who portrays the main character Angelika with heart-throb Channa Perera in " Angelika" that hit the silver screen presently. She also plays as Uttara in the film.

She is described by her directors as one of the most dedicated actresses who goes to great lengths to do justice to her roles. Graduated from the University of Bangalore, Uma Shankar holds a Masters Degree and loves the city of Chennai.

She is for a love marriage but says that her parents should also like the boy that she is going to marry. For food, she prefers Italian and continental food. She was so dedicated that in double quick time she learnt to pronounce her words in Sinhala for the film "Angelika". "It was very hard but at the same time it was interesting.

Though my role was dubbed in Sinhala I had to by heart the dialogues because it is essential that lip-reading should match with the dubbing. I firmly believe that Channa as one of the talented directors as well as an excellent actor. I learnt a lot from him." Says Pooja referring to the challenging roles she played in Angelika.

Her most favoured actress is Angelina Jolie. Uma Shankar likes her both as a mother and an actress and the way she balances both very well. She appreciates Angelina Jolie's work in Cambodia that describes them as "awesome".

Though she goes on as Pooja Uma Shankar in Boollywood, her real name is Pooja Gautami Umashankar. Uma Shankar describes Sri Lanka as the place she likes most in the globe. Perhaps, that is due to her kingship with Sri Lanka as her mother happens to be a Sri Lankan.

She is young, beautiful and equally talented. She prefers Sri Lanka as her holiday destination specially Nuwara Eliya. She thinks that Sri Lanka is an ideal film location as India. She hopes to act in more Sri Lankan films especially under talented directors like Channa Perera.