Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Doctor G is a comment on the ‘nice guy’ syndrome. Written by Anubhuti Kashyap and Saurabh Bharat, and directed by Kashyap, the film does not glorify the male protagonist—thankfully, unlike other Khurrana films. In fact, he is as flawed as it gets, and the redemption is not heroic.
In fact, every time there is an occasion to clap for the sole male gynaecologist at the obstetrics and gynaecology department at the Bhopal Institute of Medical Sciences, there is a sane voice reminding both the characters in the film and the audience that Uday Gupta (Khuranna) is just doing the bare minimum. He does not need to be applauded and celebrated for it.
Kashyap’s directorial debut is not just about Uday’s ‘plight’ but also about how sexism and toxic masculinity is deeply rooted in the minds of men. The opening scene is a conversation where Uday is complaining about his girlfriend Richa’s male friend. The phenomenon of women’s male friends secretly moonlighting as their hookup partner is a fairly common social media trend/concept in India. The quiet dismantling of Uday’s toxic ‘nice guy’ trope by his friend sets the tone for the rest of the movie.
Doctor G deals with heavy topics from the assault of doctors to the lack of language to convey ‘stree rog’ by Indians. The second part of the movie takes a turn to the grim topics of grooming underage girls and teenage pregnancy.
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Flawed hero, zigzag growth
The film is the story of a doctor who wants orthopaedics as his postgraduate subject but gets gynaecology instead. At the advice of his cousin Ashok (Indraneil Sengupta), he decides to take the medical entrance test again while ‘booking’ the gynaecology seat as a backup option. It’s a man-child growing up—thankfully without bells and whistles.
Ayushmann is convincing in all the roles he plays. Here, he also shows restraint and does not make the story about him, despite the title of the film. His failings and inadequacies, as well as growing up, especially when he almost commits a crime by not reporting an underage abortion, are done without making it noisy. Even when he ‘saves’ a girl, he is not the perfect hero, it is just the beginning of being a better man.
He is toxic and does not realise it till very late, but it does not end in romance. That is a saving grace of Doctor G. In fact, not trying to suddenly make the hero likeable makes the film likeable, unlike what Bala did in 2019.
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The women of Doctor G
What Anubhuti Kashyap does is cleverly subvert the trope of a usual Ayushmann film. Since his roles in the past are more or less the same–a hyphenated male saviour in a world of minority of some form—this one places him where he needs to be saved instead.
In a department full of women who keep reminding him about the ‘the last doctor who could not survive’, Uday has to survive, not just his HOD Dr Nandini (played by powerhouse Shefali Shah), but also senior doctor Fatima (Rakul Preet Singh). He is already admonished by his ex-girlfriend for not being a good listener, especially when it comes to women. It ultimately takes the women in his department to make him change.
Dr Nandini reminds everyone that Uday does not get to be celebrated just because he is competent–that is a basic requirement for every doctor. She also reprimands him for slacking off, while asking him to lose his ‘male touch’ and be clinical instead.
When Uday complains that even female patients prefer female gynaecologists, he is asked to face his own bias before commenting on patient behaviour. Shah does not have a lot to do, but like every project, she shines as the no-nonsense doctor, tired of a man-child and wanting him to be a good doctor at the same time.
Rakul Preet is a fresh breath of air as a woman engaged to someone else but kisses Uday, and then decides to not take it further. This boundary is a breath of fresh air in Bollywood.
Sheeba Chaddha as the wannabe homechef and Tinder-using widowed mother of Uday excels in her role. She provides the perfect mix of comic relief and women placing themselves first.
Doctor G is heavier than the usual Ayushmann Khurrana films. The laughs are fewer and the reality checks are heavier. But it is also about a movie that does not crack jokes at the expense of women and teaches without making the man a hero or the film a preach fest. That is a good, rare feat.