Shubha Poonja
Season Journey CompleteShubha Poonja
Bio
Shubha Poonja is an Indian actress and content creator born on 9 September 1983 in Mangaluru, Karnataka, into a Tuluva community family. Her father is Sheshadri Poonja and her mother is Sulochana Poonja. She married businessman Jayaram in a private ceremony in Mangaluru in 2018. She began her Kannada film career in 2003-04, becoming one of the Sandalwood industry's prominent actresses between 2008 and 2012. Over two decades she has worked in nearly 50 films across Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam, establishing herself as a versatile performer. Her breakthrough lead role opposite Ganesh in Krishna was a commercial hit, earning her wide recognition. She gained further prominence through Dandupalya (2012), the controversial real-crime thriller directed by Srinivasa Raju depicting the Dandupalya gang, in which she played one of the gang members alongside Pooja Gandhi - a bold role for which she was widely discussed. Other notable films include Ganda Hendathi, Naanu Avanalla…Avalu (2015), and Raaj the Showman. She also manages an active YouTube channel as a secondary creative outlet. In February 2021, she entered Bigg Boss Kannada Season 8 - having been approached by the show's producers each season since the show's inception but only agreeing to participate in Season 8. Inside the house she formed a close friendship with Raghu Gowda and Nidhi Subbaiah, and won the Best Performer of the Week award during the season. She was eliminated on Day 110, finishing eighth.
Her two decades of Kannada film career spanning nearly 50 films across Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam; her lead role opposite Ganesh in the blockbuster Krishna (also known as Krishnan); her role in the controversial real-crime thriller Dandupalya (2012) alongside Pooja Gandhi; her romantic films Ganda Hendathi and Naanu Avanalla…Avalu (2015); her YouTube channel which she actively manages alongside her acting work; finishing eighth in Bigg Boss Kannada Season 8 (2021) - a show she had been approached for across all seven prior seasons.