Early work (2012–2017) After noticing still photographs of her pageant win,
Mysskin offered Hegde her debut in his Tamil
superhero film Mugamoodi (2012) opposite
Jiiva. She portrayed Shakthi, a fun-loving girl who inspires the male lead to change his outlook on society. Hegde practised Tamil dialogues for the film by writing and memorising words in English, adding similarities between Tamil and her mother tongue Tulu. Prior to its release, the film garnered high expectations due to its novel theme of a superhero in Tamil cinema, and had a strong opening at the box office in August 2012. She earned nominations for the
SIIMA Award for Best Female Debut – Tamil and
Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South. Expanding to
Telugu cinema in 2014, Hegde starred opposite
Naga Chaitanya in the romantic comedy
Oka Laila Kosam. The success of the production house
Annapurna Studios and director Vijay Konda's previous ventures prompted her to sign the project. She learned Telugu language to play the female lead. Ranjani Rajendra of
The Hindu was appreciative of Hegde's screen presence, while Suresh Kavirayani of
Deccan Chronicle lauded her debut. Around the same time, she was nominated for
Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu. The film proved to be a commercial success. Hegde was next cast opposite
Varun Tej in
Srikanth Addala's drama
Mukunda. Reviewers of the film were generally pleased with the chemistry between the lead pair. Hegde has said that the song "Gopikamma" marked a major breakthrough in her career. It became another successful financial venture for her. In 2016, Hegde made her
Hindi film film debut as the female lead opposite
Hrithik Roshan in
Ashutosh Gowariker's period film
Mohenjo Daro, set against the backdrop of the
Indus Valley Civilisation. She was selected after Gowariker's wife,
Sunita Gowariker, spotted her in an advertisement and called her for an audition. Lisa Tsering of
The Hollywood Reporter dismissed her performance as "forgettable blandness". In 2017, she starred in
Harish Shankar's Telugu action comedy
DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham, opposite
Allu Arjun. Hegde described her role as an outgoing and modern girl, unlike her previous roles in Telugu films, which she considered traditional. Manoj Kumar R from
The Indian Express wrote that "Hegde has convincingly done the given job that is to look stunning in every frame of the film".
DJ opened to commercial success grossing over emerging as one of the
highest-grossing Telugu films of 2017.
Commercial success and fluctuations (2018–2024) In 2018, Hegde featured in three Telugu films. She began the year with an
item number "
Jigelu Rani" for the period action
Rangasthalam. She next starred opposite
Bellamkonda Sreenivas in the fantasy action
Saakshyam, portraying the role of a middle-class
Brahmin girl who was a spiritual leader. Murali Krishna C H found that she "gets more screen time in this film compared to her last outing
DJ and she does a good job". In her final appearance that year, she played the titular character in
Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava directed by
Trivikram Srinivas, where she dubbed for herself. She played Aravinda, who significantly influenced Veera Raghava Reddy (
N. T. Rama Rao Jr.), to challenge the deep-rooted enmity and seek a path of non-violence and self-discovery. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo from
The Hindu credited her role as "impressive" and wrote that she "gets to be more than a glam doll and enjoys her role". The film was the second-highest-grossing Telugu film of the year and grossed over worldwide attaining a
blockbuster status. In 2019, Hegde's first film was
Vamshi Paidipally's
Maharshi co-starring
Mahesh Babu. Her second Telugu film that year was the
Harish Shankar-directed
Gaddalakonda Ganesh, a remake of the 2014
Tamil-language film
Jigarthanda, co-starring
Varun Tej and
Atharvaa. Lauding her chemistry with Tej, Hemanth Kumar noted that she "fits into her character quite well". She suffered sunburn during the filming of the song "
Elluvochi Godaramma", in the middle of the river at
Yanam. Hegde returned to Bollywood after a gap of three years with
Sajid Nadiadwala's comedy film
Housefull 4, directed by
Farhad Samji, the fourth instalment of the
Housefull franchise, featuring her as Rajkumari Mala and Pooja (reincarnated). The film received predominantly negative reviews, but was one of the
highest grossers of the year, earning . In 2020, she reunited with both Arjun and Trivikram in the Telugu action drama film
Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, in which she portrayed the role of a travel company head Amulya, a self-made businesswoman. Neeshita Nyayapati noted that "Hegde manages to bring in spunk into a character that is nothing more than a manic pixie dream girl, but she sure is a delight to watch on-screen". Her performance fetched her several awards, including the
SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Telugu. Hegde's dance performance in the song "
Butta Bomma" received wide response. The film became the first South Indian film to achieve nett in single language and was ranked among the highest-grossing Telugu films of all time, grossing over . In 2021, Hegde starred in
Most Eligible Bachelor, directed by
Bommarillu Bhaskar opposite
Akhil Akkineni, in which she played the role of a stand-up comedian. To prepare for the role, she met several stand-up comedians to learn how they prepare their punchlines. Her performance in the film received positive reception and won her another SIIMA Best Actress – Telugu award. Ram Venkat Srikar from
Cinema Express lauded her well-written role and her performance, which does justice to that writing. She began 2022 by playing the lead opposite
Prabhas in the multilingual period romance film
Radhe Shyam, directed by
Radha Krishna Kumar. Set in 1970s Europe, the film is a love saga of two individuals with different approaches to life: Vikramaditya (Prabhas), who follows fate and destiny, falls for Dr. Prerana (Hegde), who deeply believes in the power of science. It is one of the
most expensive Indian films produced. Monika Rawal Kukreja praised her performance and noted that "she performs the emotional sequences with a lot of maturity and conviction". The film broke record for the highest opening-day earnings, but failed to recoup its budget. Hegde next starred alongside
Vijay in the Tamil action comedy
Beast, directed by
Nelson. Produced by
Sun Pictures, the film marked her return to
Tamil cinema after a gap of 9 years. Jose K George of
The Week wrote that she looks pretty and does a decent job. Hegde's
#ArabicKuthuChallenge went viral on social media, and many recreated her signature step. Despite mixed reviews, the film broke several box office records and was a commercial success. In the same year, she took on a brief role in the Telugu-language action drama film
Acharya, starring
Chiranjeevi and Charan. She performed her second dance number in the film,
F3: Fun and Frustration alongside
Venkatesh and Tej in the party song "
Life Ante Itta Vundaala". In her final release of 2022, Hegde played one of the female leads opposite
Ranveer Singh in
Rohit Shetty's poorly received Hindi period comedy drama film
Cirkus, an adaptation of the
William Shakespeare's play
The Comedy of Errors. In 2023, she starred opposite
Salman Khan in
Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, directed by
Farhad Samji. She played the role of a
Telugu girl who transforms the life of the protective and solitary Bhaijaan (played by Khan). Ronak Kotecha of
The Times of India, wrote, "Pooja has a meaty role, which she pulls off confidently, but could have dialed down over-the-top filmy antics." The film also underperformed commercially.
Recent work (2025–present) Following a year hiatus, Hegde began 2025 by playing a journalist Diya opposite
Shahid Kapoor in the Hindi action thriller
Deva. Vinamra Mathur from
Firstpost stated that she was "severely underutilized". It had poor box-office returns. She next played Rukmini, a veterinarian opposite
Suriya in
Karthik Subbaraj's Tamil film
Retro. Avinash Ramachandran of
The Indian Express was appreciative of her "convincing performance". The film emerged a commercial success. Later, she made a special appearance in the Tamil film
Coolie, starring
Rajinikanth and directed by
Lokesh Kanagaraj. Her glamorous performance in the dance number "
Monica" became widely popular and earned praise from Italian actress
Monica Bellucci. The sequence was physically demanding, filmed in extreme heat, humidity, and dust at a port, causing sunburns, blisters, and lasting
tan lines. Marking her first major dance performance after recovering from a
ligament tear, it required significant resilience, notably while filming on
Maha Shivaratri (26 February 2025), when she performed despite fasting. She will next reunite with Vijay in
Jana Nayagan. Hegde will also star alongside
Varun Dhawan in
Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, in
Kanchana film series sequel
Kanchana 4 co-starring
Raghava Lawrence, and will also star opposite
Dulquer Salmaan in romantic film
DQ41. == Other work ==