Tired of living out of a suitcase, Pooja Hegde has gifted herself a house in Mumbai, her hometown. “Buying a home was an emotional event for me. It gave me a sense of achievement because, while growing up, I dreamt of having a house of my own, and now I’m able to tick it off on the list,” shares the actress.
She feels a sense of gratitude that she has been able to work hard, shooting back-to-back films, so that she could work towards achieving her dreams. She sees her new home as a symbol of all her hard work.
So, was it a long search to find the perfect house, we ask. “Indeed,” smiles Pooja. “My mother used to go house hunting for me, and shortlist the best options. I had a lot of set ideas about where my house should be, how it should look, etc.,” she says, and credits her mother for helping her to get something very close to her dreams.
“She helped me with the interiors too,” Pooja adds, but stresses that she wanted to be hands-on in the whole process. The actress describes the experience of buying and setting up the house as ‘crazy’ because she was constantly travelling for work, and had barely any time off.
“Whenever I got some time off in the middle of a shooting schedule, I would fly to Mumbai and choose what was needed for the interiors, so it was hectic and took a lot of time,” she reveals, adding that her staff chipped in to help too.
But she believes the time and all the effort has been worth it, because a home is where one can unwind and revitalise. Pooja has been doing a lot of Hindi films. Asked whether that was the reason she had bought a home in Mumbai, she pointed out that she is doing a lot of Telugu films too.
“The reason I bought a house in Mumbai was because I wanted to be close to my family. Since they live in Mumbai, I decided to buy a house in the city,” she clarified, adding that an added advantage was that being in Mumbai, she could binge on home-cooked food!
Given the Covid-19 scenario, Pooja kept her house-warming ceremony low key — it was attended only by her family and close friends. “Moreover, since it was a personal and special moment in my life, I wanted to keep the gathering limited,” she explained.
The fact that she has been able to buy a house at such a young age doubles her excitement, and Pooja hopes it will inspire other girls to dream big. “I want to tell all girls that you also can have this, provided you continue to believe in yourself and work hard,” she says.
