Harshika Poonacha

Background

Harshika Poonacha was born in Ammathi, a small village in Kodagu district of Karnataka as the only daughter to her parents.

Education

In 2007, she finished her pre-university course. She joined Cambridge Institute of Technology, Bangalore"s electronic engineering course and completed her Bachelor of Technology degree in 2011.

Career

She mainly appears in Kannada language films and has also worked in Telugu, Kodava, Konkani and Tulu language films. She made her acting debut in 2008, for the film Pacific Union College. She acted in her first film Pacific Union College when she was 18 years old and doing her Pacific Union College at Christ College. Poonacha spent the next two months working as a television show anchor, before beginning a professional course.

She anchored programs like Nimmindha Nimagaagi, Hrudayadinda and the Sarigamapa television reality show.

During the time, she took a two-month break from her shooting assignments to attend her classes, complete assignments and prepare for examinations In 2012 she joined "Maxpro" Software Company and agreed to work for five days in a month while working 21 days in films.

She said: "Getting into films was an accident. I never dreamt of becoming an actress".

After Pacific Union College, she acted in a Kodava film Ponnamma, a Konkani film Kazar and a Telugu film Edukondalavada Venkataramana Andaru Bagundali.

In 2010, Harshika acted in an important role in Jackie, which catapulted her to an instant celebrity status. She also acted in a film named Cycle opposite Shivarjun. She played the daughter of a crorepati who gets kidnapped for ransom in the comedy film 5 Idiots.

In 2013, she first had two releases in a row, Cycle and Ale and her third release Managana Kaili Maanikya opposite Ramesh Aravind, which was her first comedy film, in July.

Her two films, B3 a love story directed by Gana Shyam with Srikanth and Adwaitha an action-based film directed by Bachelor of Medicine Giriraj which has Ajai Rao in the lead, released both on 6 December. She has signed her first Tamil film Anandha Thollai.

She also has a Telugu film titled Panipuri coming up. She also appeared in a video album Hoo Manase.

Achievements

• She later appeared in Thamassu with Shivrajkumar for which she won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, and played Ramya in Nariya Seere Kadha, in which Ravichandran played the lead role.

Views

Quotations: "Getting into films was an accident. I never dreamt of becoming an actress".