Pooja Hegde recently collaborated with director Karthik Subbaraj for the gangster drama, Retro. As the film is witnessing a successful theatrical run and is seeing rave reviews, Karthik Subbaraj not only praised Pooja Hegde, but also revealed the reason behind casting her as the female lead. He stated, "Initially, I wanted someone who could perform really well, somebody who had not performed in this zone. I wanted an actor who had not done this sort of a role or this acting space. I thought Pooja Hegde would be good because I saw Radhe Shyam film and a few intense scenes wherein she performed really well. Then we thought to talk to her. And she was quite excited when she came to know about her role and she said that she was looking for something like this where she could concentrate more on the performance side."
He added, "She also did a lot of homework. She had a language trainer, she also had a lot of discussions with the acting trainer, she prepared her lines for the character. I believe she is a really good performer. She got the character in her mind, and the flow of it was very good."
With Retro, Pooja Hegde has added another strong title to her growing body of work. By starring in films in South and Hindi languages, the actress has proven to the a true-blue pan-Indian actress. While she continues to win over the audience's hearts as Rukmani, she is already gearing up for her upcoming Bollywood film, Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai. Directed by David Dhawan, the actress will be seen sharing the screen space with Varun Dhawan. Poised to be a lighthearted rom-com, the film is expected to release soon.