Nidhi Subbaiah returns to Kannada screens

Nanna Ninna Prema Kathe

is being touted as actress Nidhi Subbaiah's comeback vehicle in Sandalwood, a reference that she isn't keen on. 'Why is it a comeback? True, I have not done

Kannada

films in nearly four years, but I have been busy in another industry,' says the actress, adding, 'In fact, during my time away, there were offers that I just could not take up due to scheduling issues. When Nanna Ninna Prema Kathe came along, I was busy, but the makers insisted that they wanted me in the lead role and waited patiently for two months for me to finally say yes. They really made me feel wanted.'
Directed by Shivu Jamkhandi, the film is a love story that takes inspiration from real-life incidents of honour killings in North Karnataka. 'I play a girl from a wealthy North Karnataka family, who falls in love with an orchestra musician belonging to the lower middle-class strata of society. Naturally, her family is unhappy with her choice and what happens thereafter forms the rest of the story. Amid all the romance and drama, there is a message for society as well,' says Nidhi.
And while the actress loved the historical locations that the team shot at, including the Gol Gumbaz and the Jamkhandi Fort, it is the adulation that they received from people in the area that will stay with her. 'We shot there for nearly two months and people would come to the set every day, take pictures with us, and generally just hang out there. It was very heart-warming seeing their love for Kannada cinema,'
says Nidhi.