Debut (2001) '' in 2006 Pooja Gandhi started her acting career in television
soap operas, starting with
Zameen Se Aassman Tak. which became the first film in India in any language to be screened continuously for one year in a multiplex, and ultimately ran over 865-days in
Karnataka.
Mungaru Male collected over ₹75 crore in its theatrical run at the Indian box office, and became the highest-grossing South Indian film during its time of release. Gandhi received praise for her performance as aNandini in the film;
Indicine.com critic stated: "Sanjana makes a confident debut". She then acted in
Milana with
Puneeth Rajkumar; it was theatrically released on 14 September 2007, gained commercial success and completed a 500-day run in theatres.
Milana was dubbed into
Malayalam as
Ishtam Enikkishtam. In the same year, Gandhi acted in
Krishna with her
Mungaru Male co-star
Ganesh, it was a financial hit at the box office, completing 100-days. It marked the second-consecutive hit of the Ganesh and Gandhi pairing after
Mungaru Male.
Krishna marked Gandhi's hat-trick 100-day film in her Kannada film career. '' film in 2006 In 2008, she starred with
Ajay Rao in the financially successful Kannada-language film
Taj Mahal, which ran over 200 days in two centres in Karnataka. She was nominated for a
Filmfare Best Actress Award;
Sify's critic wrote: "Pooja Gandhi looks pretty and has done a good job".
Rediff.com editor Vijaysarathy said: "Pooja Gandhi looks stunning and has worked hard to give a strong performance". Her next movie was
Budhivanta alongside
Upendra; it became the highest-grossing Kannada film of 2008 and completed 100-days in main centres in Karnataka.
Series of commercial failures (2009–2011) Gandhi appeared in more than 12 films in several languages, including, Kannada, most of them failed at the box office. In 2010, Gandhi made her
Telugu debut opposite
Nandamuri Taraka Ratna and
Poorna in
Mukkanti, which was a financial failure at the box office. Also in 2010, Gandhi appeared in her third
Hindi film
I Am with
Juhi Chawla.
I Am received mainly positive reviews from critics and audiences upon the theatrical release.
The Times of India called it "an important and intelligent film" and
The Film Street Journal named it "a must watch". In 2012,
I Am won the
National Award for
Best Hindi Film and
Best Lyrics.
Critical acclaim and box office success (2012–18) in 2015 In 2012, Gandhi made a comeback in the female-oriented film
Dandupalya, which went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the Kannada industry, and completed 100-day theatrical runs in Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh. It collected over ₹40
crore against budget of ₹3 crore. Gandhi received
Filmfare Award for Best Kannada Actress and
Suvarna Fimfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in
Dandupalya. Critics praised Gandhi for her performance;
Rediff.com said she "walks away with acting honours", and called her "a stunner with her vain looks sans makeup throughout the movie and she has lived her role exceptionally well". ''
DNA's'' critic wrote: "viewers should not miss out on Pooja's performance". ''
Business Standard's'' critic stated:Pooja Gandhi as the leader of the gang is brilliant and extremely confident in her role. While some may typecast her performance as cheap and unwelcoming, I believe it takes guts for a regular heroine to shed her image and agree to play such a gritty part. She definitely deserves special mention for proving cliches wrong. ''
The Times of India's'' critic stated: "Pooja Gandhi walks away with full honours". In 2013, Gandhi made her
Malayalam film debut in
Maad Dad (2013) with
Lal and
Meghana Raj. Then she became an Item number in the Kannada film ''
Director's Special (2013). According to sources, Gandhi rejected a request to perform a special song for Devarane but she later accepted this offer because the director Guruprasad wrote this song with her in mind. She appears in the song as Chanchal Champakali. In 2015, she starred in and produced Abhinetri''. In 2017, she starred in the
Dandupalya 2, which is the sequel to
Dandupalya. In 2018, her next film was
Dandupalya 3, along with almost same cast and crew. Gandhi received acclaim from critics and audiences for her performance in the film. The writer Sunayana Suresh of
The Times of India stated: "Pooja Gandhi in her uninhibited avatar is another person who deserves applause". The writer Sharadha of
New Indian Express stated: "Pooja Gandhi wins over the audience with her powerful performance". ==Politics==