Actress Pooja Hegde, who is now waiting for the release of Mahesh Babu's Maharshi, is said to be charging Rs 2 crore as her remuneration for the 15-day shoot of Varun Tej's upcoming movie Valmiki.
Pooja Hegde made her acting debut with Tamil film Mugamoodi in 2012 and she forayed in to Telugu with Oka Laila Kosam in 2014. In 2016, she also entered Bollywood with Hrithik Roshan's Mohenjo Daro, which failed to get her a big break, as it bombed at the box office. She has started in eight film including a special appearance in Rangasthalam in the last seven years.
The actress has only one big hit film - Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava for her credit. Yet, she is one of the most sought after actresses in Telugu with some superstar waiting for her call sheet. Pooja Hegde is also one of the highest paid young actresses down south. Many wonder over the rise in her popularity and remuneration.
It is known that Pooja Hegde has been approached to play the female lead in Valmiki, which is the remake of hit Tamil movie Jigarthanda. She will be seen playing the heroine essayed by Lakshmi Menon in the original. She has limited screen presence in the movie, for which she will have to shoot for 15 days.
According to reports, Pooja Hegde quoted Rs 1 crore as remuneration for Allu Arjun's DJ aka Duvvada Jagannadham, which was released in 2017, but Dil Raju offered her Rs 75 lakh. Later, she hiked her salary to Rs 1.25 crore for Saakshyam and Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava, which hit the screens in 2018.
It is said that Pooja Hegde had signed to star in Maharshi before the release of Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava and she had agreed to take Rs 1.25 crore as salary. But she requested the makers to increased it to Rs 1.50 crore after the Jr NTR starrer became big hit at the box office and the makers are said to have agreed for it.
It is rumoured now that Pooja Hegde has quoted Rs 2 crore as her salary for Varun Tej's Valmiki. Ram Achanta and Gopichand Achanta, who are bankrolling it under their banner 14 Reels Entertainment, didn't think twice before zeroing in on the svelte beauty. The makers are expect to make an official announcement about casting her.
