Pooja Devariya

Pooja Devariya (born 29 July 1991) is an Indian theatre and film actor as well as a performance coach who works primarily in Tamil films, alongside a Kannada film.

Pooja Devariya
Born
Pooja Balu

(1991-07-29) 29 July 1991
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Occupation(s)Theatre, Film Actor, Performance Coach, Founder-Scout & Guide Media
Years active2009 - present

Career

Theatre

After working with many theatre groups in Chennai in various capacities, Pooja became the principal actor and one of the directors with the theatre company Stray Factory[1] This association lasted till 2016, during which time she was the recipient of numerous acting and directing awards including Short+Sweet Theatre Festival’s Best Actress Award for Stray Factory’s Carpouram. Pooja was to forge a strong connection with the founder of Short + Sweet Theatre Festival franchise, Mark Cleary. His guidance and mentorship drove Pooja to expand her repertoire and perform her plays in multiple countries. One such performance of her play, My name is Cine-maa in Hollywood won her the Emerging Artist Award[2] and also bagged her multiple Best Actress awards in Chennai, Mumbai and Malaysia[3]

Films

Pooja’s entry into the Tamil Film Industry was in 2011, when she played the role of Dhanush’s friend Padmini in Selvaraghavan’s Mayakkam Enna, She played Malarvizhi in the 2016 Karthik Subbaraj flick Iraivi[4][5]

The same year, she starred in M. Manikandan’s Kuttrame Thandanai which received positive reviews[6]

In 2018, Pooja made her Kannada debut with the film Kadheyondu Shruvagide, directed by Senna Hegde[7]

Performance coaching

In 2020, Pooja Devariya founded Scout & Guide Media with her partner Sumanth Shetty. An actors’ studio & production house, Pooja’s work with Scout & Guide Media involves training new and established actors, and being the bridge between the director’s vision and the actor’s performance[8] While the concept of a performance coach is very prevalent in Hollywood and European films, it is a relatively recent phenomenon in the Indian Film Industry. Pooja worked extensively with director Bharat Bala on Netflix’s anthology, Navarasa[9] The entire title sequence was shot using Bolt, a robot used for extremely high-speed cameras. Pooja helped Bharat Bala figure out the best acting techniques/expressions that can work in this set up for the title sequence[10]

Her most notable work in this field has been for Lokesh Kanagaraj’s 2022 Kamal Haasan starrer Vikram, in which she was the performance coach for Vijay Sethupathi[11] with particular emphasis on his unique body language for this role. Her association with Vijay Sethupathi has been a long one[12] and she is his performance coach for both the upcoming Sriram Raghavan film Merry Christmas and Kishor Pandurang Belekar’s upcoming silent feature Gandhi Talks.

Personal life

She is half Kannadiga from her mother's side.[13]

Filmography
  • All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.
YearFilmRoleNotes
2011Mayakkam EnnaPadmini
2016Aandavan KattalaiAarthi
2016IraiviMalarWon, Edison Award for Best Character Artist Female
2016Kuttrame ThandanaiAnuWon, Vikatan Award for Best Supporting Actress
Won, Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards for Best Supporting Actress
2018 Katheyondu Shuruvagide TanyaKannada film
2019Vellai PookalRamya
2019AyogyaSanthiya
2023Vallavanukkum Vallavan

As Performance Coach
YearTitleDirector
2021NavarasaBharat Bala
2022VikramLokesh Kanagaraj
2022DSPPonram
TBDGandhi TalksKishor Pandurang Belekar
TBDJawanAtlee

Awards and nominations

Films

YearAwardCategoryTitle
2016Behindwoods AwardsBest Actress Critics ChoiceIraivi
2016Edison AwardsBest Supporting ActressIraivi
2016Behindwoods AwardsBest Actress Critics ChoiceKuttrame Thandanai
2016Vikatan AwardsBest Supporting ActressKuttrame Thandanai
2016Norway Indian Film FestivalBest Supporting ActressKuttrame Thandanai

References
  1. "I'd be a hypocrite if I say I will not do commercial films: Pooja - Times of India". The Times of India.
  2. "Iraivi girl goes to Hollywood". 16 September 2016.
  3. "Curtain Calls: Pooja Devariya | Verve Magazine". 20 April 2016.
  4. "Shattering stereotypes: 15 women characters in Tamil films we love". 10 April 2022.
  5. Rangan, Baradwaj (3 June 2016). "Iraivi review: A few good women". The Hindu.
  6. "Review: Kutrame Thandanai is an interesting crime thriller".
  7. "Senna Hegde finds his leading lady in Pooja Devariya - Times of India". The Times of India.
  8. "Ace your acting skills with actress Pooja Devariya - Times of India". The Times of India.
  9. "Meet Pooja Devariya: The Woman Behind the Emotions of Netflix's Navarasa". 7 August 2021.
  10. "Nine emotions within minutes: How 'Navarasa' teaser was made". 28 July 2021.
  11. "Vijay Sethupathi works with performance trainer for 'Vikram' - Times of India". The Times of India.
  12. "Vijay Sethupathi on being the busiest lead Tamil actor — even during a pandemic-Entertainment News , Firstpost". 14 September 2021.
  13. https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/interviews/2018/jul/28/how-pooja-devariyas-kathe-began-7186.html
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