Doctor G REVIEW: Ayushmann Khurrana tries to portray struggles of male gynaecologists but loses the plot midway

Film: Doctor G

Director: Anubhuti Kashyap

Star cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Rakul Preet Singh, Shefali Shah and Sheeba Chaddha

Bollywood Bubble ratings: 3/5 stars

Doctor G Movie Review:

Stree-rog vibhaag (gynaecology department) is one of the important departments in medical science. Sex, menstruation, erectile dysfunction, and other Venereal disease have always been taboo in our Indian society. Yes, a lot of people are talking about it openly but there’s still a major section of people who either feel embarrassed or shy to talk about it, let alone accept the problem. I’m glad that Bollywood is touching upon such subjects just to make people aware of it, and to normalise these topics. Speaking of which comes a movie like Doctor G that speaks about a young male medical student who strives hard to succeed in the gynaecology department which is mostly ruled by the women population.

“How do I treat something that I don’t have?” asks a bemused Uday Gupta (Ayushmann Khurrana), a medical student who aspires to become orthopaedic but is forced to settle for the stree-rog vibhaag in a medical college in Bhopal. On the other hand, when Uday’s girlfriend dumps him, she says that he shouldn’t take up orthopaedic as his profession as he is spineless. It tells us how one should learn certain things despite not having them. After watching Doctor G, I actually Googled to understand how many male gynaecologists are available in India before I write my review. Yes, the ratio is quite low compared to women gynaecologists. The majority of women surveyed reported preferring a female over a male Ob/Gyn.

There’s a scene in the movie where Ayushmann’s character tells that women prefer female gynaec over males and for a second you actually side with him. However, it is Shefali’s character who reminds us that first one should accept the fact themselves and then people will believe you. The scene goes, “Male, female kya hota hai? Doctor toh doctor hota hai (There’s no male, or female when it comes to doctors) … You have to lose the ‘male touch’,” says his female teacher. “Yeh ‘male touch’ kya hota hai re? (What does ‘male touch’ mean?)” poses a frustrated Gupta.

In this scene, you really can understand the dilemma and the struggles that a male doctor goes through. I like how they tried to showcase it; however, it was for a limited period of time. I wish they had shown more aspects and drawbacks that male gynaecologist face during their initial or practice days. I like the fact they didn’t limit themselves to showing the struggles and showed other female problems but I feel that was secondary when the primary plot is about male gynaecologist conflicts.

 

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Story:

A medical campus comedy-drama, Doctor G is about the hilarious struggles of Dr Uday Gupta, who wanted to specialise in Orthopaedic, but is stuck in an all-female class in Gynaecology. He is absolutely embarrassed to be in the department and feels that he is not meant to be in the department as doesn’t have female genitals. But will he change his department, or will the department change him?

 

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Star Performances:

Ayushmann Khurrana plays Uday Gupta, a medical student. He is a small-town boy who is narrow-minded. He doesn’t want to take up the gynaecology study as he thinks it’s something a woman should do and not men. He believes that when he doesn’t have female genitals, he will not understand it. However, his thinking changes when he meets Dr Nandini, asking him to lose his ‘male touch.’ Ayushmann who often picks up social taboo subjects has once again featured in a movie that talks about the social dilemma and struggles of male gynaecologists. Just like in his previous films, he doesn’t disappoint us in Doctor G with his performance. He plays his part with conviction.

 

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Rakul Preet Singh essays the role of Fatima, a senior medical student. She is carefree, feisty and heartwarming. Fatima lives her life on her own terms and owns up for her own mistakes as well. Rakul adds freshness to the story and delivers a promising performance. After seeing her Cuttputlli, I’m glad to see her in a little substantial role.

 

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Shefali Shah plays the role of HOD Dr Nandini. She is a no-nonsense lady and is about ‘all work and no play’. She is a woman of substance and will completely strip you off if did any mistake. I know the movie is actually headlined by Ayushmann Khurrana but man, I feel Shefali is the star of the movie. She does all the actions with her intense gaze and facial expressions, its bang on. I loved her throughout the film and it is the earnestness of the character that pulls me closer to her and makes me believe in her. There’s something about Shefali Shah in how to portrays her characters onscreen. She brings a level of solemnity to her characters.

 

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Sheeba Chaddha plays the role of Uday’s mother Lakshmi in the movie. After Shefali Shah, she is my favourite character in the movie. She depicts every other mom in India and it is quite relatable. Right from being inquisitive about their kid’s love life to exploring the new age relationship and technology, Lakshmi is a relatable mom. Sheeba is quite entertaining as Lakshmi and I enjoyed her character throughout the movie. The last I saw Sheeba was in Khuda Haafiz 2 as an antagonist and oh man, the switch between the two characters is marvellous. She is definitely a par excellence actor.

Conclusion:

In totality, Doctor G is a fun, light comedy film which is backed by a social taboo subject. Though the film is supposed to be about the struggles of male gynaecologists, it drifts apart in the course, thus making the main theme of the film secondary. I’m going with 3 stars because of the plot and Shefali Shah and Sheeba Chaddha’s extraordinary performances that made this movie entertaining.

Watch the Doctor G trailer after the review:

Also read: Ayushmann Khurrana decides to accept a pay cut post pandemic, here’s why