Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Rakul Preet Singh, Shefali Shah, Sheeba Chadha, Indraneil Sengupta

What’s the recipe for a new-age everyman film?

Take a mould and add in not-so-gourmet ingredients, ranging from small towns and funny best friends to nagging mothers and interfering uncles and aunts, in generous quantities and sauté them. Pepper the mix with social commentaries, romance, humour and a language, which is a cultural reflection of its backdrop. Finally, garnish it with dollops of rib-tickling one-liners and good-old nostalgia that takes you back to your summer breaks when you lived in your home-town before you shifted to a metropolis to chase your dreams.

Also read: Doctor G Box Office: Ayushmann Khurrana Film Witnesses Growth on Day 2, Earns Rs 5.22 Cr

In 2012, actor Ayushmann Khurrana kick-started his acting career with filmmaker Shoojit Sircar’s Vicky Donor. The film, set in Lajpat Nagar, a cosy nook in the Capital that still reeks of puraani Dilli, intended to normalise sperm donation and bust the stigma surrounding it. Thus began the rise of a new genre in Bollywood known as the Ayushmann Khurrana genre, which is often compared to late filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s cinema. He followed it up with Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015), Bareilly Ki Barfi, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (both 2017), Dream Girl (2019) and Gulabo Sitabo (2020). These films went on to perform well and earned critical acclaim.

But for how long can you keep tweaking with the formula? The debacle began with Bala (2019). And then happened Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020). One can call these films old wine in a new bottle or more contextually speaking – it’s a classic case of vegetable biriyani, pulao and tehri.

Ayushmann’s latest outing is Doctor G, a film that addresses gender stereotypes in a female-dominated space. Sounds familiar? Hold on! This is a film which talks about a male doctor trying to come to terms with his role as a gynaecologist and doing his best to let go of his ‘male touch’ so as to make his female patients feel at ease around him. Here, the mother (played brilliantly by actor Sheeba Chadha) isn’t obsessed with getting her son married and is remotely removed from being a nagger. A single mother, she is cool, enterprising, progressive, doesn’t cower at the thought of her Hindu son’s potential girlfriend being a Muslim and perms her hair to up her Tinder and selfie games. What’s also refreshing is the romantic angle (rather the lack of it) between the film’s protagonists – Uday (played by Ayushmann) and Fatima (essayed by Rakul Preet Singh).

Set in Bhopal, Doctor G opens with a conversation between Uday and his best friend, Chaddi, an IAS aspirant, who also lives with him and his mother as a paying guest. It sees Uday, fondly referred to as Guddu, moaning about wanting to get a seat at the orthopaedic department of a medical college. However, he ends up at a gynaecology class and that’s where all the trouble begins.

Without meandering and beating around the bush, the makers straightaway dive into the subject of the narrative right since the first sequence and successfully make the audience a part of Doctor G’s world. While there’s nothing that’s not out-of-the-box in terms of its treatment and template in the first half, what keeps us engrossed is the fast-paced unravelling of simplistic events. And before you know, it’s already time for the interval. The second half incorporates a new storyline, which might seem abrupt on the surface but with time, seamlessly becomes one with the crux of the plot.

The weakest link, however, in the film is the portion that encapsulates the evolution in the dynamic shared by Uday and Fatima. The track adds no value and substance to the narrative and the complete lack of it wouldn’t have affected the flow of the film in any way. To some, it might even appear to be a purposeless hodgepodge and the biggest hiccup in Doctor G.

But Ayushmann shoulders the film like a true-blue seasoned actor. He’s clearly in his comfort zone here and slips under the skin of his character with a rare finesse. The only complaint is the inconsistency while he speaks English. While in some scenes, his English is fluent, in others, the Bhopal boy in him struggles to word his feelings.

Sheeba, who has proved his mettle with Badhaai Ho, Taj Mahal 1989 (2020), Pagglait (2021) and Badhaai Do, among many other projects, is stupendous in Doctor G. She’s one of the biggest highlights of the film. She steals the show with a top-notch comic timing and the way she brings her vulnerability to the fore in a confrontation scene with Ayushmann’s Uday in the second half is stunning.

Shefali Shah, who plays Dr Nandini, the head of the gynaecology department in the medical campus and Uday’s mentor, plays her part to a T. The dearth of nuances, however, in her character stops her from blossoming with her signature glory. Once again, she plays a part that’s stern, restraint and resolute. A surprise revelation is Abhay Mishra, who plays Chaddi. His one-liners and straight-faced humour will crack you up every now and then. His scenes with Ayushmann are thoroughly entertaining. Rakul doesn’t bring much to the table solely because she has no meat to chew. Indraneil Sengupta and Ayesha Kaduskar are decent.

Director Anubhuti Kashyap delivers an impressive act with her debut project. It is said that when stories are told and helmed by women, there’s a certain tenderness attached to their approach and treatment. Needless to say, Doctor G is told from a female gaze. Here, the women might not be man-haters but they surely are portrayed from the lens of a feminist, which is also reflected in the way their disposition and demeanour towards Uday – the only boy in the gynaecology class – transitions. Without any kind of gender role reversal happening, they are made to operate and maneuver in a world that belongs to them.

Watch this film if you want to take a break from the actioners and mystery-thrillers that are gracing the big screen every other Friday of late. Despite its run-of-the-mill template, Doctor G manages to offer a kind of novelty and brings us back the Ayushmann Khurrana we have been yearning for.

Alia Bhatt, who has co-produced and acted in Darlings, spoke about her decision to opt for the film’s digital release. It started streaming on Netflix from August 5.

Alia Bhatt co-produced Darlings along with Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment. It began streaming on Netflix from August 5. The film is a dark comedy and features Vijay Varma and Shefali Shah along with Alia in the lead. The Gull Boy actress has bankrolled Darlings under her banner Eternal Sunshine, which is a dark comedy directed by debutant Jasmeet K Reen. In an exclusive chat with IndiaToday.in, Alia Bhatt spoke about the reason for releasing the film on OTT instead of theatres.

ALIA BHATT ON WHY SHE CHOSE OTT RELEASE FOR DARLINGS

When asked Alia Bhatt if it was always her plan to release Darlings digitally, the actress quickly replied ‘Yes’. Further explaining the reason, Alia said, “It was not something that we discussed during the pandemic. In 2019 we all had met with regards to Darlings, that’s where the initial talks began. Then in 2020, the world went into lockdown, but from the very beginning, we said that this is that kind of film which on a platform like Netflix will be very good, for various reasons. On Day 1 itself you reach out to over 190 countries, so who wouldn’t want that reach? As we all know the world has become a very small place thanks to content lying on OTT. We are consuming content of all languages – Korean, Spanish, South Indian, etc. It is something that has become very easily accessible now. We don’t have to take a flight or go to film festivals, it’s just a unique way of consuming content.

ALIA CALLS DARLINGS AN INTIMATE WATCH

She continued, “Also Darlings is not a large-scale, larger-than-life sort of spectacle, it’s an intimate, intricate story of all these characters and their lives and their journeys. So,I don’t mind where you watch it as long as you watch it. A film like Gangubai (Kathiawadi) you had to consume that film in the theatre first because that was the style, it was just a spectacle. But, Darlings is not that kind of a film, I am not saying it negatively. I’m just saying that it’s an intimate watch. So, I don’t mind watching it by myself. We are very happy that it is releasing on a platform like Netflix.

ALIA’S FAMILY LOVED DARLINGS

Alia also revealed that her family loved Darlings and had only good things to say about the film. She said, “When my father and my mother both love something they go on and on. Even Neetu aunty, when she saw the film, she also kept praising it. I feel like these are people who don’t need to praise me because they believe in not praising too much. They have that attitude that they want me to keep myself grounded, but they were extremely surprised and impressed. All those lovely words that you want to hear after the movie, they had all that to say.”

Ask her who is her biggest critic and she said, ‘My audience. See I don’t have the biggest critic like that. I think everybody is an audience at the end of the day. Having said that, there are a few people in my life who are very difficult to please, they don’t like anything that I do. Won’t name them, they are just a few friends of mine. For a change they really liked Darlings, so for me, it was like a win-win.

Ek Villain Returns released on July 29. Fans have flooded social media with reviews for Mohit Suri’s directorial starring John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor, Disha Patani and Tara Sutaria.

HIGHLIGHTS

Ek Villain Returns released in the theatres on July 29.
It stars Arjun Kapoor, Disha Patani, John Abraham and Tara Sutaria.
The film is directed by Mohit Suri.

Your wait for Ek Villain to ‘return’ is finally over! The film, which released on June 27, 2014, starring Sidharth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead, was a box office success. The sequel to the film is titled Ek Villain Returns which stars John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor, Disha Patani and Tara Sutaria in lead roles. The second part released today, July 29, and Twitter is exploding with reviews. Here’s what fans have to say.

FANS REVIEW EK VILLAIN RETURNS

Ek Villain Returns pits John Abraham’s character Bhairav against Gautam, played by Arjun Kapoor. The two leading ladies, Disha Patani and Tara Sutaria also add the fiery quotient to the film. Fans who watched the early morning shows of Ek Villain Returns took to their social media and reviewed the film.

3 OUT OF 5 STARS FOR EK VILLAIN RETURNS

IndiaToday.in gave Ek Villain Returns 3 out of 5 stars. Our review read, “The gripping plot of Ek Villain Returns is the winner with an engaging storyline. Mohit Suri, who did a good job with the first film of the Ek Villain franchise, brings a masala entertainer with massy dialogues, thrilling moments and good performances in the sequel. While there are some impressive stunts in the films, there are a few bad VFXs as well. The film’s music is good and the songs are melodious, but none other Galliyaan has a shelf life.

The film had many illogical twists and action sequences. They tried to show John Abraham to be immensely powerful, whose expertise lies in breaking glass, be it in high-rise buildings or a metro rail. He might also also remind you of Sunny Deol when he easily dislodges the pole in the metro train and breaks the iron gate in the zoo.”

ABOUT EK VILLAIN RETURNS

Ek Villain Returns is the sequel to the 2014 hit film, Ek Villain, which starred Sidharth Malhotra, Shraddha Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh. While the first film of the franchise was about a conflict between a hero and a villain, Ek Villain Returns follows the story of two villains, with John Abraham and Arjun Kapoor essaying negative roles. Tara Sutaria and Disha Patani play the female leads in the thriller. The film is helmed by Mohit Suri. Ek Villain Returns marks John Abraham’s first collaboration with the director. Meanwhile, Disha Patani played the lead role in Mohit’s last directorial, Malang.