Nandita Swetha: I feel like I have started afresh in Kannada

Swetha rose to stardom with her first Kannada film, Nanda Loves Nandita (2008), after which she came to be known as Nandita Swetha. There’s been no looking back ever since as the Kannada heroine went on to establish herself in the Tamil and Telugu industries.

Fast forward to the present, and she has just bagged her second project in Kannada. “I hardly have any recollection of my first film. At this moment, I feel like I have started afresh in the Kannada industry. To be working opposite Yash in a film directed by Anil Kumar, a sequel to Kirataka, made under Jayanna Combines, is an overwhelming moment,” says the actor, who has put in six years in the Tamil industry and two years in Tollywood.

Her first film, Nanda Love Nandita, was a box-office hit and Swetha is confident that her next Kannada film will be a close competitor. “After I watched myself in Nanda Love Nandita, I felt that this is not the way a heroine should look on screen. At that point, I took a two-year break to mould myself and got a makeover. After that, I only chose films that suited me, irrespective of the language. Although I got a few offers in Kannada, I could not pick them up because of date clashes,” she says, adding that this time, she is working around her dates to ensure that the project with Yash goes without any hiccups. “From my end, I always make sure that no film team should wait for me. That’s one reason, I have lost out on big projects. When director Anil messaged about the project with Yash, I was like ‘Are you serious?’ When he told me the gist, I liked the story and said, ‘yes’. And since it is a sequel to Kirataka, which was a hit, I didn’t have to think twice before signing it.”

Swetha, who has a series of films in the pipeline, is currently gearing up for the release of her Telugu film, the Dil Raju production, Srinivasa Kalyanam in which she is paired opposite Nithin. She has also completed shooting for Bluff Master, and has begun work on a sequel to Prema Katha Chitram in Telugu. In Kollywood, she awaits the release of a film with SJ Surya, directed by Selvaraghavan. She also has a project with actor Vaibhav, a film with Arvind Swami, and a heroine-centric film that is yet to be completed. “In spite of all that work behind me, I am still nervous about doing a Kannada film,” she laughs.

For Swetha, Bengaluru is still home. “I am a Kannadiga at heart,” says the actor, who enjoyed speaking to us in the local language.