Priyanka Thimmesh: Made in China is a stark reminder of what the world went through in 2020 during the pandemic

Bigg Boss Kannada Season 8 contestant Priyanka Thimmesh, who was last seen onscreen in the Prajwal Devaraj starrer Arjun Gowda, is quite excited about her next. Made in China is the directorial debut of cinematographer Preetham Tegginamane and follows the trials and tribulations of a young couple, one of who gets stranded in China during the pandemic lockdown. The film was shot as a virtual project, wherein the characters interact with each other over digital conversations, like FaceTime, for instance, much like the Malayalam film C U Soon.

What appealed to Priyanka about the film is that the entire narrative revolves around her and Nagabhushana, who plays her husband. “He gets stuck in China during the pandemic, while I am back home and heavily pregnant. How we navigate this delicate situation forms the crux of the narrative,” explains Priyanka. And while the subject sounds serious, the film is far from it, and is quite an entertaining take on a situation that many faced in the last two years. The actress says that what attracted her to the story was her character and the fact that she is pregnant throughout the duration of the film. “If you look at regular commercial films, the heroine hardly ever has anything major to do. As an artiste, I prefer to do meaty roles, than play the run-of-the-mill heroine, who’s there only for the glam quotient. Made in China is not only close to reality, but it also assured me good screen space, from start to finish, as the film is about me and Nagabhushana - the relationship dynamic between a husband and wife in a forceful separation). So, there’s not only screen space, but also immense scope for performance,” she says.

The subject of the film maybe supremely relatable, but isn’t it coming to audiences a tad late – now that everything is back to normal? “When we began shooting for the film in September last year, life was already almost back to normal back then itself. No one was even wearing a mask on the set. We were aware that the hardships in the film do not happen anymore, but it will serve as a reminder of what most of us have been through. Most audiences will relate to the incidents in the film,” says Priyanka. Made in China, she adds, is less than two hours long and will transport audiences back to 2020. “The film has been made in the hope that we will never again see a day like how we did when the lockdowns were announced across the globe,” says Priyanka.

Next month, Priyanka has another release, Sugarless, in which she is paired with Dia fame Pruthvi Ambaar. “This is a film that I had completed before going into the Bigg Boss house, but it’s coming out only now. I play Pruthvi’s girlfriend and, later, wife in the film. The focus of Sugarless, though, is on diabetes and the issues a young person with the condition faces. This too is a fun and entertaining film,” says the actress.

At the moment, Priyanka’s only busy with the promotions of these two films, but adds that she is in discussion for a new Kannada project. “I am also looking for opportunities across the border too and have been having meetings with Tamil and Telugu film teams. Hopefully something will work out soon,” she signs off.