Hassan: Pooja Raghunandan, a renowned artist and journalist from Hassan, has been awarded the prestigious Kittur Rani Chennamma Award by the state government as part of the International Women’s Day celebrations.
The award will be presented at a programme to be held at the Ravindra Kalakshetra in Bengaluru on March 8 in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar and dignitaries.
Born in Kundanagari, Belgaum, Pooja has been at the forefront of sports activities since childhood and has brought fame to Belgaum by participating in state and national-level swimming competitions and winning many medals.
After marriage, she became active in cultural activities in Hassan.
Pooja, who has been involved in all fields such as theatre, social service, journalism, modeling, literature, music, health and education is a multi-faceted talent.
She has been serving the theatre field for a decade as an artist, technician, and organizer.
She has given performances on many prestigious fora in the state and has acted as the heroine and supporting role in social and historical plays with the group Ranga Hridaya.
She was attracted to children’s theatre and started a children’s theatre camp called Kunionu Bara for the first time in Hassan and is successfully leading it as its director.
Pooja has successfully worked as a panel advisor of the Censor Board under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, for two years now.
She has also won the hearts of moviegoers by acting as the heroine in the film Last Station, based on the life story of a woman who works as a cemetery attendant.
She has acted as the heroine in more than 10 artistic films as well. She gave a good performance as the heroine in the film Ondaondu Kaladaga starring K. Suchendra Prasad, which was also screened at the Goa International Film Festival.
She has provided a platform for many new talents of Hassan district through her YouTube channel as well, and has participated as a jury member of the Paridrishya International Film Festival apart from being throughout the country as a voice artist for the Doordarshan Chandana Vijnana Vismaya series programme.
Pooja has done many notable works in the field of social service as the president of the Rotary Club and is actively participating in many social service organizations as well.
It is very special that she recently got the opportunity to meet and interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She has also received dozens of prestigious awards and honours, including the Hassan district level Karnataka Rajyotsava Award for her artistic service.
Currently, she is working to prevent foetal gender detection as a district member of the District Health Committee.
She is an honorary member of the Inner Wheel organization, editor of the local daily Hoysalpatha Patrika, president of the Srividya Foundation, and secretary of the Rangahridaya team.
Pooja is known for successfully handling all of this, including her family, proving her phenomenal multitasking abilities.
‘Becoming a Mother’
A one-person stage experiment based on the true story of her life’s ups and downs, titled Becoming a Mother, has been successfully brought to the stage under the direction of renowned director Krishnamurthy Kavattar, which has already seen 29 experiments across the state.
It is noteworthy that many people, inspired by this experiment on the legal process of adopting children, have taken up adoption.
This stage play has been praised by leading theatre professionals, artists and art lovers in the state, and the money raised from this stage play is being donated to various charitable causes, including providing assistance to cancer patients and helping with school renovations, as part of Pooja’s stage and social commitments.
