Her roles as a judge on hit shows like Derana City of Dance highlighted her charismatic, empathetic personality.

Umashankar’s trajectory reveals three insights for media studies:

Through public speaking engagements and media campaigns, she consistently advocated for children's education and youth leadership development.

Her collaborations with Sri Lankan filmmakers brought high-production-value romance and drama back to the forefront.

The turning point in Pooja’s career came with Bala’s critically acclaimed magnum opus, Naan Kadavul (2009). Discarding her glamorous commercial image, she portrayed Hamsavali, a blind beggar girl caught in a brutal human trafficking ring.