DoctorG, Hindi Film Review

10/15/2022 Melwyn Williams

This is a coming-of-age film for Ayushmann Khurrana. Since his film, Vicky Donor, almost a decade ago, we have seen him play many characters. This one, for a fact, is going to be the turning point in his career towards further stardom as well as being a better actor.

One person to mention is the director of the film, Anubhuti Kashyap. She is promising. Rakul Preet is fresh like a morning flower, and Shefali Shah has done a superb job.

Storyline:
The film revolves around the plot of a young doctor pursuing his post-graduation medical studies. Dr. Uday Gupta (Ayushmann Khurrana) wants to specialise in orthopaedics, but he ends up being the only male in the gynaecology department of a medical college in Bhopal, much to his frustration.

He takes it up, but quickly finds himself in a series of amusing situations and incidents. The question is whether these experiences will make him a better doctor and a better person. This is the basic plot of the film.

Review:
An attribute that stands out in this character, played by Ayushmann, is how he is completely unaware of his chauvinistic and patriarchal beliefs. A line you wouldn’t ever expect to hear from a doctor is “Jo cheez mere paas hai hi nahi, uska ilaaj kaise karoon.” Except for Ayushmann Khurrana’s Doctor G (Dr. Uday Gupta), who is confused, entertaining, and whimsical.

Whether it’s Dr Jenny Jacob (Priyam Saha), Dr KLPD aka Kumudlatha Pamulparthi Diwakaran (Shraddha Jain), the nurses, or Shobha Gupta (Sheeba Chadha as Dr Uday’s mother), the female characters in this story bring a great deal of strength to the narrative at every juncture. Ayushmann Khurrana’s character’s life revolves around the medical college’s stree-rog vibhaag, which is the gynaecology department. He is desperate to find an exit route from there. Numerous characters add life to the story, which is set primarily on the campus of a medical college in Bhopal.

These characters collectively set the mood and tone of the film beautifully, which is mostly light-hearted, humorous, and bouncy. The film’s producers, Junglee Pictures, who are known for supporting unique and ground-breaking films such as Raazi and Badhaai Ho, have attempted to give the audience a different experience this time with #DoctorG.

Even a delicate theme, such as losing one’s male touch, along with a couple of other issues, are treated in the second half, and effectively portrayed through well-written humour and scenes that never descend into slapstick. The use of comedy is just right. The serious subjects are well handled and have a strong impact. The performances are quite honourable and tasteful.

What could have been a straightforward and flat hospital comedy becomes an extremely appealing story with a deep social message. The writers (Sumit Saxena, Saurabh Bharat, and Vishal Wagh), along with director Anubhuti Kashyap, have narrated the plot with unbiased eyes, which makes this movie appealing. The music (Amit Trivedi) is appropriate and adapts nicely.

Ayushmann Khurrana is convincing and genuine in his acting, whether he is the unsettled doctor on a campus trying to cope with all his female colleagues, dealing with his love life, or arguing with his mother at home about people’s perceptions.

He is completely convincing, highly entertaining, and bang on the spot. Even as his character grows and develops, he sustains his grip. Rakul Preet Singh’s acting abilities are showcased admirably without detracting from the film’s central conflict. With this film, Shefali Shah extends her winning streak. Sheeba Chadha is hilarious as Uday’s liberal mother, who, while portraying the part of the perfect parent, is also trying to live her life freely at the same time.

Anubhuti Kashyap’s first mainstream film showcases her ability to deliver a variety of complex and subtle performances. She clearly shows her ability to direct a story in a way that engrosses the audience as well as taking it in a direction that makes it a talking point for the right reasons. Every character in Doctor G does an excellent job of bringing the story to life. A must-see film! I give 3.5 stars for the film.