Pooja Hegde Signs Telugu Film After 5 Years?

After a long gap, Pooja Hegde is reportedly set for a proper comeback to Telugu cinema. Her last full-fledged Telugu outing was Acharya (2022), though it was signed back in 2020. While she was briefly associated with Guntur Kaaram (2024), she exited the project in the early stages of production. Apart from a special appearance in F3, her presence in Tollywood has been largely absent for the last five years.

During this period, Pooja shifted focus to Tamil and Hindi films. She was part of Beast with Vijay, signed Retro, Jana Nayagan, Coolie, and Kanchana 4 in Tamil, and also took up a few Hindi projects that didn’t perform as expected. Despite the mixed results, her commercial appeal and glamour quotient have kept her name relevant in big-banner discussions.

Now, industry insiders suggest that she’s in talks for a Telugu film opposite Dulquer Salmaan. The project is said to be a love story, marking the directorial debut of a newcomer named Ravi. Sudhakar Cherukuri’s SLV Cinemas, the banner behind Dasara and Paradise, is backing the film. Reports indicate that the script was ready a while ago but got delayed due to Dulquer’s packed dates. The makers recently approached Pooja, and she is said to have responded positively.

Pooja’s last major success in Telugu was Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020), which cemented her place as a top heroine. Post that, a string of underwhelming films like Most Eligible Bachelor, Radhe Shyam, and Acharya slowed her momentum.

Meanwhile, Dulquer has become a familiar face in the Telugu market after the success of Sita Ramam and Lucky Baskhar. With Kaantha and Aakasamlo Oka Tara on the way, his Telugu graph continues to rise.

Though an official announcement is still pending, the Pooja-Dulquer pairing has already started creating buzz in industry circles. If it materializes, this could mark a fresh chapter for Pooja in Tollywood and yet another notable project for Dulquer.