Dr ARORA: GUPT ROG VISHESHAGYA - V View Reviews #79

Imitiaz Ali's Dr Arora :Gupt Rog Visheshgya is a comedy-drama that revolves around a middle-aged sexologist who tries to help the residents of a small town in solving their sex-related problems. He listens to his patients patiently and emphatically and solves the problems like erectile dysfunction, nightfall, premature ejaculation, gonorrhoea etc.

The protagonist Dr Arora( Kumud Mishra) runs his clinic in Morena(Madhya Pradesh), Sawai Madhopur(Rajasthan) and Jhansi(Uttar Pradesh). He makes his patient understand that sexual health requires professional guidance as any other health condition and should be treated with kindness and care. There is no shame or guilt attached to it. Parallelly his own heartfelt love story, his failed marriage, and his travel on the train every night to just have a glimpse of his love run throughout. Then there are subplots, the patients, their problems and their backstories contribute to the plotline. Society is not ready to accept sex-related problems as medical problems. People refrain to talk about it. Therefore Dr Arora is targeted and framed. What happens, and how it happens  need to be seen in 8 episodes that are streaming on Sony LIV. The complex plot and subplot and the political angle give this series scope for next season.

The story of a small town, self-proclaimed but well-intentioned sexologist in an image concerned society is a bold attempt and a sensitive subject for a drama. The concept is good but it falls short in its execution. It frequently jumps from past to present and from one town to another adding confusion. However, it manages to create awareness with no cheap humour or double-meaning dialogues. The setting of 90s... an old, dusty clinic, with narrow passages and the music, lends the desired effect it intended. There are some good dialogues but some conversations are uncomfortable if somebody else is watching at the same place. The soul of the series is Dr Arora's optimism. Kumud Mishra as the doctor owns this series. He with his calm, composed, sparkling eyes is comforting and eye-pleasing. His acting is superb and he is the right choice for the character. Vivek Mushran as Dinkar Bagla is likeable. His reel son Suraj captures the plight of the teenagers well. Gaurav Parajuli as Devender Thakur is arrogant and innocent at the same time. Shruti Das as Putul did justice to her character. Vidhya Malavade as Vaishali is good. Raj Arjun as Baba Firangi with his funny accent tries to add some more humour to the series. Ajitesh Gupta and Sandeepa Dhar as SP Tomar and Mitu Tomar are comical. Their chemistry is endearing. Shekhar Suman, Shakti Kumar,  Pitobash, and Himani Shivpuri are reasonably well in their limited screen space.

Watching this series manages to raise awareness but the proper execution could have made it a hit. It can be watched on Sony LIV.