Starring: Ayushmann Khurana, Rakul Preet Singh, Shefali Shah, Sheeba Chaddha, Indraneil Sengupta, Ayesha Kaduskar
Director: Anubhuti Kashyap
A reluctant gynaecologist, a troubled love life and a small town in the heart of India – certainly sound like the perfect ingredients for a comedy and this Netflix medical drama sets off from this very premise.
Dr Uday Gupta (Khurana) a.k.a. Guddu is dead set on a successful medical career as an orthopaedician, inspired by his hero Dr Ashok Gupta (Sengupta), but fate has other plans for him when he is offered the one last remaining specialisation seat in the field of gynaecology.
Under the watchful eye of respected gynaec Dr Nandini Shrivastav (Shah) and battling through the ragging of his female seniors in the department, including the alluring Dr Fatima Siddiqui (Singh), Uday is determined to bide his time until he scores a seat in his preferred specialisation in the “ortho” department.
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Sticking out like a sore thumb among the women and feeling constantly under scrutiny as the solo male gynaec on the roster, Uday muddles through as he struggles to follow Dr Shrivastava’s curious advice to lose his “male touch”. Will losing this touch emasculate Uday or will it be the making of him as a better man and friend? The answer lies in this fun film with very serious undertones.
Once again, it is the sheer versatility and oodles of talent of Ayushmann Khurana that lifts this less than perfect script to a higher plane. The underlying lessons around overcoming male chauvinism and overpowering the male ego are well intentioned and timely in the #MeToo era. The strength of the female characters in the film is encapsulated perfectly in the character of the tough-talking doctor with a heart of gold, played by another mega talented artist in Shefali Shah. With this talented duo in the driving seat of this light-hearted comedy drama that makes some very hard-hitting points in favour of feminism and breaking barriers, the result is an entertaining film that is a breeze to watch. Sheeba Chaddha as Guddu’s hapless mother deserves a special mention too.
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On the whole, if you don’t mind your films packed with life lessons that are delivered in a comic vein, then ‘Doctor G’ is a worthy addition to your yearend streaming watch-list.