An Indian film and theatre actress, Pooja Balu predominantly features in Tamil movies, and made her debut with director Selvaraghavan's Mayakkam Enna in 2011, starring Dhanush and Richa Gangopadhyay in the lead roles. She was then cast by director Karthik Subbaraj to play the role of a widow Malar in the drama Iraivi (2016), which won Pooja the Edison Award for Best Character Artist Female. Her next venture, the crime psychological thriller Kuttrame Thandanai, in which she plays the protagonist's friend, won her lot of appreciation along with accolades such as Vikatan Award for Best Supporting Actress, Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards for Best Supporting Actress, and BehindWoods Gold Medal for Best Critics Choice. She also was seen in a supporting role in M. Manikandan's Aandavan Kattalai, starring Vijay Sethupathi and Ritika Singh in the lead roles. Her movie Mayakkam Enna is being dubbed in Telugu as Mr. Karthik (2017).