Sad as a fan but rooting for Vijay’s political journey: Pooja Hegde

New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) Actor Pooja Hegde says as someone who loves watching Vijay on screen, she’s sad about the Tamil superstar taking the political plunge but supports his decision.

Hegde is set to reuntie with Vijay in “Jana Nayakan”, in what is widely believed to be his last film before he quits cinema to become a full-time time politician. They earlier starred together in Nelson Dilipkumar’s “Beast” (2022).

The superstar actor, who formed his party Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam last year, revealed the film’s title last week.

Asked how she felt about working with Vijay in his 69th and tentatively last film, Hegde told PTI: “As a person who loves to watch him on screen, I’m very sad. But I also support his journey. I’m rooting for him. So, more power to him.”

Hegde’s latest release is “Deva”, in which she co-stars with Shahid Kapoor.

The actor plays an investigative journalist named Diya in Rosshan Andrrews’ film, which released on Friday.

Hegde said Diya is a bold woman who asks tough questions and even unafraid to say anything to the titular character Deva, a brilliant but defiant cop.

“When you sometimes ask questions you’re not supposed to, it can be taken in a wrong way. But their job is so crucial. It requires a lot of guts. I took those qualities in an investigative journalist and applied it to my scenes.

“I don’t think people have seen me like that in Hindi (films), especially. So when I heard the script, I felt this is the right film for me… As artists, you’re always exploring and you’re looking for new characters that you can play,” she added.

While she didn’t get to interact with real-life investigative journalists as they pretty much work “in the shadows”, Hegde said she drew inspiration from the 2016 Oscar-winning film “Spotlight” for her role.

“For me, ‘Spotlight’ was a film that I really loved on investigative journalists. And, I know ‘Erin Brockovich’ was not a film where she (character played by Julia Roberts) was a journalist, but I liked how inquisitive she was in uncovering the truth… ‘Deva’ is not a film like ‘Spotlight’ but at the same time, I kind of took those qualities and put it into my scenes,” she said.

Hegde has a slew of films lined up for release including “Retro” with Suriya and a slapstick comedy directed by David Dhawan and co-starring Varun Dhawan.