Nandita Swetha, the actor who stole hearts with her debut in Nanda Loves Nanditha, is making a long-awaited return to Kannada cinema. Though her breakout role earned her the enduring nickname “Jinke Mari,” Nandita soon found herself drawn to Tamil and Telugu industries, where she has acted in over 40 films. But despite the busy career outside, Kannada and Bengaluru have always remained close to her heart.

“I may have found the spotlight elsewhere,” says Nandita, adding, “But at the end of the day, I live in Bengaluru, I speak Kannada, and this is home.”

Her return is through a female-led film titled Benny, written and directed by Shreelesh S Nair, who made his debut with Pepe. Produced by Ramenahalli Jagannatha under the Sunday Cinemas banner, the film’s first look was launched with much fanfare by Sudeep, adding buzz to the project. The team also includes music director Sachin Basrur, and writers Guruprasad Narnad, Ranjan Narasimhamurthy, Manu Shedgar, Prahlad Puthenchery, Poorvik V Prasad, and Prakyath S.

“In the last few years, I’ve taken on strong, women-centric roles in Tamil and Telugu, and those gave me recognition and confidence. So when I decided to return to Kannada, I didn’t want to do just another film. I wanted something meaningful.”

Nandita is clear that this comeback isn’t temporary. “I don’t want people to think I’ve just taken up a Kannada film and will disappear again. I’m here to stay. With the strength of this script and my experience, I want to show that we do have strong Kannada heroines.”

Calling 2025 her Kannada comeback year, she concludes with conviction, “This film marks a new chapter, I want to build my career here, where I belong.”