Ayushmann Khurrana: In Doctor G, every female character has a voice

Ever since the first look and the trailer of Junglee Pictures’ Doctor G were unveiled, there has been immense excitement and curiosity about the film and the subject. Ayushmann Khurrana has always managed to win the audience over with his stellar performances and choice of unconventional roles that leave a solid impact. He once again steps into an unexplored territory in Hindi cinema with this medical campus comedy. In the film directed by Anubhuti Kashyap, the actor will be seen playing Dr Uday Gupta, who reluctantly accepts a seat in the gynaecology department of a medical college in Bhopal while his real interest lies elsewhere. Here, he is surrounded by a strong all-women team of doctors, who have a significant role to play in his journey — on campus and off it. The story, which largely plays out within the hospital wards, has ample humour, witty punches and a narrative that’s handled with intelligence and sensitivity. Doctor G releases in theatres today. Junglee Pictures, which has backed films like Raazi and Badhaai Ho, is known to make unique, path-breaking films. Doctor G is their third collaboration with Ayushmann. “I have had an amazing experience essaying this character, and I also enjoyed collaborating with Anubhuti and Junglee Pictures for the third time after Bareilly Ki Barfi and Badhaai Ho. This experience is definitely special. Doctor G has a specific theme which I hope the audience enjoys,” he says. The film also boasts of a fine star cast, which includes Rakul Preet Singh, Shefali Shah and Sheeba Chadha, among others, where each character adds that extra dose of humour. In Doctor G, Ayushmann’s character is unwilling to be a part of a world that he feels is a woman’s domain. However, in our everyday life, we all hear a lot of stories of how women navigate their way through male-dominated fields. When asked if this interesting aspect drew him towards the film, Ayushmann says, “Dr Uday Gupta’s character doesn’t know that he is a chauvinist and patriarchal in his thinking. It is more dangerous when you come across a sweet, harmless-looking guy, and then you get to know the person and realise that he is a typical guy - and by that, I mean he is a chauvinist. So, it’s not a black-and-white character. Dr Uday has the potential to become a nice guy or someone who believes in gender parity. That’s his journey in the film. Unfortunately, we live in a man’s world, and more films and art forms should be introduced that drive this message forward. Like in this film, we have great women representation — Anubhuti Kashyap (director), Amrita Pandey (CEO, Junglee Pictures) and Rangoli Agarwal (associate cinematographer). Also, it’s not just me (my character), every female character in Doctor G has a voice — whether it is the character portrayed by Shefali Shah, Rakul Preet Singh, Sheeba Chadha or my batchmates. In the film, I am the one who is imperfect and needs to be treated. I represent the quintessential man on the road who thinks he is progressive, but he is not. So, I think this will definitely be a talking point of the film.”Talking about Doctor G and the interesting mix of characters, director Anubhuti Kashyap says, “I always saw this film as Uday’s journey and his conflict with this entire department and not any one individual. Yes, the head of the gynaecology department (played by Shefali Shah) is evidently the one he is up against, but he has an entire department that he has to work around. We needed a few key characters, some of who are his classmates, nurses and seniors, who could lend the story a solid layer. The conflicts with these characters always lead to something concrete. Every character was thoughtfully cast, keeping the end goal in mind.”