Justalkin Episode 74: Munnabhai MBBS, Grey's Anatomy and more; a look at cool doctors of showbiz
Have you ever thought Bollywood songs might mean different things to different people? Imagine singing “Dekha hai pehli baar, saajan ke aankon mein pyaar” to a doctor, then you’re someone who just got your eyesight! “Kaala Chashma jajda eh”? They’ll assume you have sensitive eyes. “Gori hi kalaiyaan”? You probably have a Vitamin D deficiency. If you sing “Kabhie Khushi Kahbhi Gham”, then you might be slightly bipolar. Bollywood is not fun if you’re a doctor! This is Justalkin brought to you by in.com. Now with what’s happening around our country - the guys in white coats who save our lives are having to save their own first! It started in West Bengal where a doctor was beaten up by relatives of a patient who died. It’s become a full-fledged battle between the system and doctors who already deal with challenges at work. If last week’s events were charted on an ECG, it’d be the worst heart fluctuations ever! I saw this picture where a doctor showed up to work. Seems like he changed his mind halfway through wanting to protest because he had patients waiting. So he turned up to work in a helmet. Things have progressed with talks. So while these superheroes who don’t wear capes are fighting this fight, let’s take a look at how entertainment has represented these guys on screen.
Munnabhai MBBS
The most entertaining doctor of them all! Every hospital scene in a Bollywood movie is serious. Munnabhai, on the other hand, is a laugh riot. This goon who wants to get into a medical college just to get back at the dean is as filmy as it gets. The movie also addresses issues like how doctors are really overworked, and how they are asked to separate their profession from all emotions. And somehow this guy thinks a “Jaadu Ki Jhappi” will solve everything. Did it work in politics? Remember that highly politicized hug that Rahul Gandhi gave Modi in parliament? Munnabhai wasn’t right about everything! I remember reading about people trying to copy just like Munnabhai did since the time the movie came out! A man who wanted to clear the UPSC exams, used a hands-free device and asked his friend to give him the answers. He got caught. A man who used a carrom striker in his shoe so he could qualify with the minimum height to be a cop. He got caught as well. Instead of inspiring people to become doctors, Munnabhai just made all these guys try all sorts of shenanigans! A serious case of the wrong diagnosis of the movie!
Grey’s Anatomy
People still watch reruns of the earlier seasons. And they’ll be thrilled because it’s been renewed for seasons 16 and 17 as well! This isn’t ending anytime soon. It’s hard to believe, but the pressures of all things doctors deal with in hospitals is actually a guilty pleasure for some people. Grey’s Anatomy follows the life of Meredith Grey and her life at the hospital, along with the lives of other characters which takes some twists and turns. But the fact that they’re doctors doesn’t mean they don’t have some fun as well. They have some people who make it worth turning up to work. There’s Mark Sloan, who is dubbed McSteamy because he’s so good looking, and Patrick Dempsey plays Derek Shepherd, whom they call McDreamy. There was a lot of other drama in this series. Doctors died themselves, there were relationships, there were break-ups, suddenly half-siblings turn up. There are a lot of times where their private lives and professional lives sort of cross paths. Sometimes it’s just friendships, sometimes it's sexual, but there’s absolutely no dearth of emotions in this series!
Scrubs
Now I like Scrubs way better than Grey’s anatomy. Because it’s still set in a hospital, with a lot of characters, each one more entertaining than the other, lots of medical crises to deal with, plot twists, but it’s all funny! And just like Greys’ anatomy, most of the characters start off as medical interns, and then the series follows their journey to becoming doctors. It’s narrated from the perspective of John Michael Dorian, or JD, who keeps having day-dreams. What was great about this series was that the cast members shared kickass chemistry. It’s very obvious when you watch even a single episode! There were so many occasions where they were just allowed to improvise and take things on the fly on set. Sometimes when they refer to patients who are dead in this series, they say “Oh yeah we killed them”. It took me aback sometimes because every other series or movie that features doctors, asks them to treat patients like just a case! So they actually take credit for the bad stuff as well, on this series, just that you might not always recognize it hidden under all that humour.
House
Dr. Gregory House is not a man you can mess with. He’s a medical genius, but he’s also nasty, and he uses his knowledge to argue his way out of any situation. He’s the kind of person you’ll hate for being right! When you meet a doctor you’ll want them to be understanding, sympathetic, and willing to listen to what you have to say very patiently before a diagnosis. But you should thank your lucky stars if you’ve never met a doctor like House before! They show doctors to be the humans that they are. They also face a lot of issues like we regular folk do. And what’s really interesting about this MD, House, is that he is addicted to painkillers. He has a problem with his leg, for which he needs Vicodin, and he’s become addicted to the drug! This doctor has an addiction! You think doctors know everything, but not this one!
Anand
Trust Hrishikesh Mukherjee to take a story about a doctor and friend and turn it into a masterpiece. This movie turned out to be Amitabh Bachchan’s first hit. Rajesh Khanna was already a very well established star when the movie came out, so this movie became another feather in his cap. He played this guy who took life in his stride and was always happy and positive. Amitabh Bachchan is the doctor who can’t stop his emotions getting the better of him. Anand wants to live life to the fullest even when he knows he doesn’t have too long to live. The movie is partly the journey of a cancer patient and it’s not a sad turn of events. The cancer patient actually goes on to be the shining, positive, happy element of the movie! Because Babumoshai, Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahin!
Kyunki
Kyunki was a very sensitive movie. Because it dealt a lot with mental health. Now Salman Khan plays a mental patient in this one. He does whatever he needs to do but just laughs his way out of everything. Very close to his real life! But the doctors who do make a difference are played by Kareena Kapoor and Jackie Shroff. Om Puri plays the main doctor, who runs this institution; he plays the strict one who believes in method, and who separates medicine from his emotions. He doesn’t mind taking any measures to get results. Jackie Shroff is the opposite, he thinks patients need love and care. And Kareena is the worst kind of doctor. The kind who falls in love with her patient! But I think the best part about the movie was that they talk about professionals who deal with people with mental health issues. Also, it’s just not the kind of movie you’d expect from Priyadarshan! But he broke barriers with this one.
Shwaas
Shwaas is a story that’ll have you tearing up! A Marathi movie, also India’s official entry to the Oscars in 2004, with a lot of other awards even here at home in India. It’s the story of a sweet grandfather who has to explain to his little grandson, that although he’s so little, he needs surgery and might lose his eyesight. It’s a very sweet story with some very intimate scenes, like where the grandpa is just trying to show the kid as much of the world as possible so he can remember everything even when he loses his eyesight. This movie shows doctors in a very positive light. The doctors in this film really care what happens to the little boy, they want everyone to understand what is happening, not just rush them into something because they have to. It’s nice that a movie was made about doctors and there aren’t any villains, and the only bad guy is the medical problem!
Arjun Reddy/ Kabir Singh
Arjun Reddy went on to become a huge hit! Well, maybe that’s the understatement of the year. And you know it’s a crazy big hit when the guys in Mumbai decide a Bollywood remake needs to happen ASAP! Shahid Kapoor is gonna play the role of this troubled doctor in the remake called Kabir Singh. The protagonist is a medical student who is really unpredictable, he’s a big bully, juniors are terrified of him, it looks like he almost bullies a girl into being in a relationship with him, and then he loses his marbles when things go bad and he starts drinking, but through all of it he still continues to practice to be a surgeon. This movie was all the rage but I thought it was silly to make a movie about an alcoholic surgeon. Imagine him in the OT! He probably used forceps to eat kebab to down his drink!
No matter what your profession is, even if it’s something as tough and as respectable as a profession in medicine, movies will find a way to dramatize the guts out of it! Well, Kabir Singh is gonna be out in a few days. I hope real life doctors find as much of an easy release from their problems in the meantime! This is Justalkin brought to you by in.com.
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