''Sugarless'' is a 2022 Indian

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

-language

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film produced by K. M. Shashidhar in his directorial debut. The film stars

Pruthvi Ambaar Pruthvi Ambaar is an Indian actor who works in Kannada and Tulu films. He started his career as a radio jockey. His performance in the Kannada film ''Dia'' (2020) gained him recognition. Career Ambaar started his career as a radio presenter ...

and Priyanka Thimmesh. It revolves around a 28-year old man getting diagnosed with

type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes (T2D), formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent ...

, but choosing to conceal it from his lover. The film was released on 8 July 2022.

Plot

28-year old Venkatesh meets Mahalakshmi and falls in love with her. Shortly before the two are to marry, Venkatesh is diagnosed with

, but he chooses to conceal this fact from Mahalakshmi.

Cast

Production

In May 2020, it was announced that producer K. M. Shashidhar would be making his directorial debut with a film revolving around

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

. The story and screenplay were written by Shashidhar, while the dialogues were written by Guruprasad, with Lavith as cinematographer. The title ''Sugarless'' was announced on 11 August, with

and Priyanka Thimmesh as the leading actors the same month. According to Shashidhar, he preferred "content-oriented" scripts over the numerous action and romance-centric ones narrated to him earlier, and wanted to make one such film. He eventually decided to make a film with diabetes as its theme as he believed the subject was not yet explored in Kannada cinema, and since he himself is diabetic, used that as inspiration. Shashidhar believed that "a subject that explores the stigma that is associated with this disease will reach out to every household".

Soundtrack

The music was composed by J. Anoop Seelin.

Release and reception

''Sugarless'' was cleared by the

censor board The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisio ...

with a U certificate without any cuts, and released on 8 July 2022. Sunayana Suresh of ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'' rated the film 3 stars out of 5, saying it is "entertaining for those who seek those old-school comedies that one saw with actors in the 90s and early 2000s. It definitely makes for a light watch, with good references and homages too". Y. Maheswara Reddy of ''

Bangalore Mirror ''Bangalore Mirror'' is an English-language daily published by The Times Group in Bangalore, India, as a compact newspaper. It is a deputed newspaper and is the second-largest circulating English daily in the city. In 2020, as part of its COVID ...

'' wrote that Shashidhar "deserves appreciation for not only selecting the right subject but also aptly narrating it to create awareness about diabetes. The positive element of this movie is that it narrates how diabetics can lead a healthy life like others provided good and healthy food habits". A. Sharadhaa of ''

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu ...

'' wrote, "''Sugarless'' touches upon a grave topic accompanied by plenty of laughs. Credit should go to the director as the film acts as a guide to millions who are suffering from the disorder. It also features diverse actors, which makes ''Sugarless'' an absorbing watch". M V Vivek of ''

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by businessman K. N. Guruswamy and launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printers Mysore, a privately hel ...

'' reviewed the film more negatively, saying it "is that kind of a film that pique's your curiosity with its offbeat title. It then deceives you by not doing anything about its potential". Prathibha Joy of ''

OTTPlay HT Media is an Indian mass media company based in Delhi. It has holdings in print, electronic and digital media. HT Media's flagship newspaper is the ''Hindustan Times'', the second most widely read English newspaper in India after ''The Times of ...

'' also gave a negative review, saying, "The only saving grace, if one can call it so, is leading man Pruthvi. He is earnest in his scenes, but is, unfortunately let down by the weak script".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title 2020s Indian films 2020s Kannada-language films 2022 comedy-drama films 2022 directorial debut films 2022 films Indian comedy-drama films Works about diabetes