Priyanka has challenged me as an actor

It's a comeback of sorts for Priyanka Upendra as her film Priyanka, produced by A Mohan, releases today. The actress says that it was the story and the director, Dinesh Baboo, that got her to take up the project. She speaks to BT about the changing face of Kannada cinema and the challenges that she faced while portraying her character. Excerpts'
Priyanka playing Priyanka I play Priyanka Siddhanth, a professional who works in a software company.She is married, but has no kids. She's a modern-day contemporary woman, who is a very happy and bubbly person. She could be like any woman in today's generation who is in her late 20s or early 30s. The story is about what happens to her and how she deals with it.
Challenges The movie is based on a true incident, so I wanted to get into the skin of the character, as it was important to stay close to what is real to make her believable. There are many scenes in which I haven't got any makeup on, as I want people to see the character and not me. It is difficult to do realistic films when people already identify you as a certain kind of person. So, you have to be honest in your performances. The movie has really challenged me as an actor and it's nice when people appreciate your work.
Romancing a younger man The story involves a woman in her early 30s and a younger man, aged around 28 years, played by Thejus. But I am not exactly romancing him in the film. There is his character and there is another angle with him, but I can't give that away. You have to watch the movie for that.
What's in a name? Yes, my husband also has a movie named after him (Upendra), but these are two completely different kinds of films. 'Priyanka' has a meaning in this movie, and I'm called Priya in every other movie anyway (laughs). Initially, it didn't sink in that the movie name was that important, but then lots of people started pointing out that both of us have movies named after us, and that became a talking point.
Dinesh Baboo, the classy filmmaker The story, Dinesh and the producer, Mohan, who has done Budhivanta with Uppi (Upendra), were all factors that drove me to do this movie. I have liked Dinesh's movies like Amruthavarshini and Suprabatha; he's a classy filmmaker and some of his movies reminds me of Bengali cinema. I like his approach to films. Dinesh wanted us to be well-rehearsed and there used to be pin-drop silence on the set when we were shooting. It was an intense film that way, but Dinesh is a very organized filmmaker. He gave me a lot of space, but at the same time, he had guidelines as to how he wanted me to perform.
The Kannada audience has changed The Kannada movie audience has changed. People here just want to see good cinema, which don't have to be larger than life. It's a difficult market to break into since many different kinds of people live here. English and Hindi films do well here, so Kannada films are competing with not just other Kannada movies, but with films from other languages as well. Apart from that, there is competition from TV as well, so Kannada movies need to have a good idea, be innovative, new, interesting and reflect a bit of Kannada culture.
Reasons to watch We've made an honest film and all of us have given our best. Prakash Raj is seen in a completely different avatar in this movie and it is one of his best performances in Kannada. This movie is Dinesh's forte ' classy cinema with a sensibility. Also, there's something that people can take back from the movie, as there is a message on the ills of social media. As it was a real-life crime that was reported in the media, the movie tries to explain that we mustn't be quick to judge what we see on TV or read in the papers. There's more to people than what meets the eye, and we should all gather information before forming any conclusions. What's more, there are only three song in the movie and all of them are situation-based that seamlessly fit into the scenes.