Pooja Gandhi: Will you be my hero?

Pooja Gandhi hasn’t signed any projects after Gokula, but she’s not in a hurry to choose whatever comes her way. “It’s a resolution I’ve made this year. Last year, I experimented a lot with various offbeat subjects and characters. This year, I want to go commercial,” she says.
As a first step towards her goal, the actress has agreed to do a film for Anitha Kumaraswamy’s banner. There are reports suggesting that Pooja, along with the director of the film, is taking the reality show route to find her co-star. “They wanted a fresh face and everyone thought TV would be the best way to find one,” says Pooja, who’ll be part of the show.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to meet a lot of fans through this reality show. We’ve heard about heroines auditioning for films, but this will be the first time a hero will be searched for and picked on a show,” she adds.
Does this mean that there’s a dearth of heroes in Sandalwood? “Certainly not,” asserts Pooja, adding, “We have a lot of stars and talented actors in the industry. At the same time, there’s a lot of unexplored talent that’s waiting for the right opportunity to be discovered. With this reality show, we might find a face who’ll join the big league soon,” she says.
As a judge, what does Pooja look for in a hero? “It’s actually a package, which includes qualities like a good personality, spontaneity, dancing and acting skills, and the ability to establish good chemistry with his co-stars. In fact, I’ll perform with some participants in a few episodes,” she reveals.
The team has planned a six-city tour across Karnataka to shortlist 12 finalists. “All of them will be groomed and trained on the show. One among them will be cast opposite me in the film, which is a romantic comedy,” concludes Pooja.
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“It’s a unique reality show, in which Pooja and the director will search for a hero. It’ll have 26 episodes, which will see one actor emerge from the four finalists. Initially, we planned something along the lines of Rakhi Sawant’s show. But later, we thought it would be too bold an attempt for Sandalwood. So, when Pooja wanted a hero for the film, we thought we’d stick to a reality show format. We’ll have celebrity guests from the film industry and specialists from several associated fields as part of the show. They’ll groom the participants as they head to the finals. It’s an open entry with an age limit.”
Srikanth Prasad, programming head
of the channel airing the reality show