There’s a new Pooja in town

Pooja Prakash Raj, the very low-key daughter of the highly esteemed South Indian actor Prakash Raj, is shyly taking her first steps into the limelight. After a childhood spent learning classical Indian music at Kodaikanal International School (she plays the tabla and sitar, besides singing), she travelled to Bhutan to collaborate with a Bhutanese artist for her first single Let it Go. Four years on, the Plymouth University student, who currently studies public relations and classical dance and music, plans to join Bollywood. However, Pooja does not want to act, but plans to make a mark with her voice. She hopes to debut with either Dharma Productions or Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The Bollywood bug bit seven years ago, when she watched the Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Tagore starrer Aaradhana and caught herself singing Mere Sapno Ki Rani.

Pooja says she would also love to work with Farah Khan as she was most impressed by her work in Om Shaanti Om. But the endgame is KJo. “Karan Johar is so cute. I wanna be in his show so I can sit with Ranbir Kapoor someday.”

When asked what it was like to grow up in her father’s shadow, Pooja says, “People don’t really know what Prakash Raj’s daughter looks like. 

The only time someone makes the connection is at immigration. They see my last name on the passport and ask to take photos with me”. If all goes well in tinsel town (Inshallah), Pooja’s days of anonymity are numbered.