‘Dr Arora’ Review: An Attempt To De-Stigmatise Sex Problems With Sensitivity Albeit Half-Baked Subplot Makes For A Confusing Watch
Despite all the talk about it, sex still continues to remain a taboo in our society. We’ve got the conversation around sexual health and women’s pleasure but the talk about sex and sexual function-related problems are lesser talked about. We do have sexologists across the country but people shy away from talking about their sex problems and consider them to be something to be ashamed about. In order to get the conversation going around it, our entertainment industry regularly comes up with films and series in a bid to remove the stigma around it. Created by filmmaker Imtiaz Ali and directed by Sajid Ali and Archit Kumar, Dr Arora: Gupt Rog Visheshagya is an 8-episode series about a travelling sexologist Dr Vishesh Arora, played by Kumud Mishra, as he tries to treat patients and find a cure to the stigma and shame about sex problems. It also stars Vidya Malvade, Vivek Mushran, Raj Arjun, Shekhar Suman, Pitobash Tripathy and Sandeepa Dhar among other actors. The web series premieres on the OTT platform Sony LIV on July 22.
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The Story
Dr Arora: Gupt Rog Visheshagya is an eight-part series that tells the heartfelt story of Dr Arora as he turns into a travelling sex doctor who treats patients with sexual health and sexual functioning-related problems. The series follows Dr Arora as he travels from Morena in Madhya Pradesh to Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan as well as Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh to run his clinics and treat people and resides in UP’s Agra. This small town sex doctor operates from an old dingy clinic as he treats problems like erectile dysfunction, nightfall, premature ejaculation and gonorrhoea among other issues. Dr Arora also tries to deal with the issue of toxic masculinity which makes men think that they’re not manly enough if they’re unable to perform in bed. He also educates people on sexual health and puberty-related topics that need to be talked about while treating some high-profile patients like a political leader and Superintendent of Police. But amid all of this, there’s a story about the doctor and how he became a doctor that is explored in the backdrop of the series. Dr Arora: Gupt Rog Visheshagya is made in an old-school style and has some truly soulful music along with Dr Arora’s love story that adds to the drama.
Cast And Characters
Kumud Mishra as Dr Vishesh Arora: We have known Kumud Mishra to be a seasoned actor and he leads the series with his nuanced acting skills on full display. His portrayal of Dr Arora creates magic in the series with his expressions as he deals with his character’s personality. Dr Arora happens to be innocent, opinionated but sometimes patronizing in nature and Kumud Mishra manages to portray every emotion with immense depth as he showcases how the doctor deals with his own personal biases. Kumud has a strong hold over the entire show as he carries it on his shoulders to the best of his ability. TBH, I don’t think anyone could’ve played this role as well as this actor. He puts Dr Arora’s vulnerabilities on display, showing the twinkle in his eyes as he treats patients with compassion and care.
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The rest of the cast also managed to win hearts with their performance despite the limited screen time. Vivek Mushran portrays the role of a well-read journalist with biases against sex doctors after he forms a judgement against Dr Arora for educating and treating his son in a way that he condones. Raj Arjun adds some humour to the show with his character as he seeks treatment from the doctor. Actors Shakti Kumar and Shekhar Suman manage to make the most of their limited screen time. Actors Ajitesh Gupta and Sandeepa Dhar also manage to make an impact with their portrayal of a high-profile couple trying to get treatment for a problem that haunts the married life of their characters. Vidya Malvade brings her A game to the table with her portrayal of Vaishali, who happens to be Dr Arora’s ex-wife. Vidya and Kumud pretty much create magic with their intimacy on the show.
Verdict
This series has its heart in the right place as it tries to deal with all kinds of taboo topics. Another thing to note in this series is that it presents the problem at hand with ease and sensitivity. It does not make fun of sexual health or sexual functioning-related problems. It is noteworthy that this show has managed to portray sex problems without any cheap double-meaning jokes, sexual innuendos or dirty humour. It makes a strong and valid point about Indian society’s attitude towards sex and sexual health problems and has uncomfortable conversations that NEED to be had at a dinner table with your entire family while balancing it out with good humour. And the web series does it in a matter-of-fact way. But Dr Arora: Gupt Rog Visheshagya falters in terms of structure in storytelling.
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While the main plot of Dr Arora: Gupt Rog Visheshagya is made very clear, the sub-plots are underdeveloped and barely scratch the surface. Several characters also did not have proper character arcs and seems half-baked. All of this put together with poor and unstructured storytelling makes the entire series very complex and confusing at certain points. But the realistic portrayal of sexual health problems, sex doctors and society’s take on it all is noteworthy. At the same time, the political subplot seems unnecessary and with the cliffhanger that the show ends on, it seems that it may all make sense and the viewers may be able to connect the dots in season 2 of the web series.
